To mark the third year of its 2030 Challenge for Products, Architecture 2030 has announced that it will develop an open standard Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and EPD summary template to simplify the process of reading, comprehending, and using EPDs across the building industry. To kick-start the initiative, which the organization is undertaking with CannonDesign and other architecture and engineering stakeholders, Architecture 2030 is accepting feedback from industry participants via an online survey. Click here to access the survey. (Want more scoop on what an EPD entails? We've got you covered here.)
The goal of providing a standardized template is to help harmonize and control quality across various EPD programs, increase transparency in building products, and assist in the development of product baselines, according to Architecture 2030's press release. Under the 2030 Challenge for Products, materials currently specified for new buildings should be at least 30 percent below the product category averages. The carbon-reduction goals of the challenge then increase in stringency to a 35 percent reduction or better by 2015; 40 percent reduction or better by 2020; 45 percent reduction or better by 2025; and 50 percent or better by 2030. Click here to read more about the 2030 Challenge for Products.
