Chalmers Conferences, LCM 2013

RELEVANCE AND UNCERTAINTY OF EPD DATA
Cornelia Stettler, Fredy Dinkel

Last modified: 2014-09-11

Abstract


The goal of EPDs is to provide transparent information on relevant
ecological impacts over the life cycle of a product or a service. Both criteria,
transparency and relevance, are crucial for the use of EPDs and are the
backbone for an ecological decision making. Existing EPDs and related
PCRs were compared to evaluate if they fulfill the goal to give a sound basis
for decision. The following provoking statement arose: “EPDs are often not
useful for the decision making.” The following reasons for this statement
indicate an optimization demand. The relevance of impacts is often not
analyzed and documented. Information of low relevance causes a loss of
focus. The uncertainty of results is neglected and frequently higher than the
ascertained difference between products.

Keywords


EPD; LCA; Relevance; Uncertainty; Transparency

References


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