The EPD (Environmental Product Declaration), known as DEP (the French term, Déclaration Environnementale de Produit), provides reliable, verified information on the environmental impacts of a product throughout its life cycle. In the construction sector, it has become a reference document: the RE2020 (France's 2020 environmental regulation) relies directly on products' environmental data to calculate a building's carbon footprint. This guide covers the whole subject: what an EPD is, the regulatory framework that governs it, its French variants through the FDES and the PEP, and its concrete role in the sustainable construction ecosystem.
What is an EPD (Environmental Product Declaration)?
An EPD is a standardized document that presents a product's environmental performance throughout its life cycle, from raw material extraction to end of life. It is based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) carried out according to precise rules, then verified by an independent third party.
This third-party verification is the defining feature of the EPD. In ISO 14025 terminology, it is a type III environmental declaration: the data is not simply declared by the manufacturer, it is checked by an accredited body. This is what guarantees the objectivity and comparability of the information, and therefore the trust of users.
In practice, an EPD answers a simple question for the buyer, the specifier or the project owner: what are the real impacts of this product, and how does it compare with an alternative? Where a marketing claim remains unverifiable, the EPD provides a quantified, governed and enforceable figure.
EPD, DEP, FDES, PEP: untangling the acronyms
The abundance of acronyms is the first source of confusion on this topic. Here is the hierarchy to remember:
- EPD / DEP: the generic, international term. Any verified type III environmental declaration is an EPD.
- FDES (Fiche de Déclaration Environnementale et Sanitaire, environmental and health declaration sheet): the French variant for construction products (concrete, insulation, joinery, coverings, etc.). It adds a health dimension specific to French regulations.
- PEP (Profil Environnemental Produit, product environmental profile): the French variant for electrical, electronic and HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) equipment, including lighting.
In other words, an FDES and a PEP are both EPDs, but applied to different product families and governed by specific national rules. Keeping this distinction in mind avoids many scoping errors when compiling an RE2020 dossier.
The regulatory framework: the EN 15804 standard
The EN 15804 standard is the European reference for EPDs in the construction sector. It governs the LCAs of construction products and defines the rules for declaring environmental performance: which indicators to calculate, over which life cycle phases, with which units. It is what ensures that a declaration produced in France and another produced in Germany remain comparable.
EN 15804 is a sector-specific variant of the generic LCA standards ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, which define the principles and methodological framework of any Life Cycle Assessment: goal and scope, inventory of flows, impact assessment, interpretation.
The version in force is amendment A2, that is EN 15804:2012+A2:2019. This amendment was approved by the CEN (European Committee for Standardization) in 2019 and became mandatory for any new EPD in October 2022 within the European Union. In France, the NF EN 15804+A2 version was published in October 2022, together with its national complement NF EN 15804+A2/CN, which notably carries the health dimension of the FDES. The move from A1 to A2 expanded the set of indicators (at least 13 impact indicators versus 7 previously) and harmonized the breakdown of life cycle modules. To go further on this point, our dedicated article details what the EN 15804 standard is.
How an EPD is created: the step-by-step process
Creating an EPD follows a rigorous sequence:
- Carrying out the LCA. The manufacturer, generally supported by a consulting firm, carries out an LCA compliant with the EN 15804 standard and the product category rules (PCR) applicable to its product family. This step relies on precise activity data: composition, manufacturing processes, energy consumption, transport, end of life.
- Third-party verification. An independent accredited body checks the study's compliance with the standards and the reliability of the data. It is this verification that distinguishes an EPD from a simple internal product assessment.
- Publication. Once verified, the EPD is published in a dedicated database and made available to professionals.
An EPD contains several blocks of information: environmental indicators (greenhouse gas emissions, primary energy consumption, resource use, waste production), technical data (composition, reference service life, recyclability) and, for French FDES, health information (indoor air quality, hygrothermal, acoustic, visual and olfactory comfort).
EPDs in Europe: ECO Platform and mutual recognition
At the European level, ECO Platform is the association that brings together the national operators of EPD programmes. Its role is to harmonize practices and organize mutual recognition: an EPD verified in one member country is recognized in the others, which considerably simplifies cross-border construction projects while preserving the transparency and comparability of data. Each country keeps its own operator, which verifies declarations at the national level.
And in France? The INIES database and the national operator
In France, the management of environmental declarations is handled by INIES (the national database on the environmental and health impacts of construction products). INIES hosts the national reference database, verifies and publishes FDES and PEP, and guarantees their compliance with European and national standards.
The FDES is specific to construction products. It complies with the NF EN 15804+A2 standard and its national complement NF EN 15804+A2/CN. Its French particularity lies in its health dimension: beyond environmental performance, it covers the health quality of indoor spaces, water quality and comfort in use.
The PEP, for its part, is intended for electrical, electronic and HVAC equipment. It is governed by the PEP ecopassport programme and the NF EN 50693 standard, an LCA variant specific to these product families.
The verification process in France goes through independent bodies accredited according to the INIES programme rules. Once verified, the declarations are published on the INIES database, accessible to all construction professionals.
Why EPDs have become essential: the role of the RE2020
The regulatory turning point came with the RE2020 (2020 environmental regulation), which came into force in January 2022 for new buildings. The RE2020 introduces a carbon indicator over the building's entire life cycle, calculated by LCA. This building LCA aggregates the impacts of the products that make it up, based on the data from the FDES and PEP available in the INIES database.
Direct consequence: a manufacturer whose products do not have an FDES or a PEP is assigned heavily penalizing default values (default environmental data, or DED), deliberately unfavourable. Having a good-quality EPD therefore becomes a concrete competitive advantage: the product is better valued in the project owner's calculation, and thus more easily specified. The RE2020 has also driven a marked increase in the number of declarations published in INIES since 2022.
EPDs and the sustainable construction ecosystem
EPDs feed the entire building value chain:
- Manufacturers: they make it possible to objectively showcase a product's environmental performance and to stand out in a market increasingly attentive to carbon.
- Specifiers and consulting firms: they feed the building LCA required by the RE2020 and secure design choices.
- Project owners: they provide the data needed to arbitrate between solutions and document a project's carbon trajectory.
For a manufacturer, producing an EPD most often fits into a broader eco-design approach: measure first, then identify the hot spots, then act on the formulation, the processes or the end of life. It is precisely this sequence that we support at Releaf Carbon, with the rigor of a consulting firm and the clarity of a tool.
How much does an EPD cost and how long does it take?
The cost and lead time of an EPD depend on the product's complexity, the availability of activity data and the scope (individual, collective or sector EPD). A support scheme exists to ease the bill for SMEs: the Diag Éco-conception (eco-design diagnostic) from Bpifrance (the French public investment bank) co-finances the upstream LCA, with coverage of up to 70% of the cost for companies with fewer than 50 employees and less than 10 million euros in revenue. In the Hauts-de-France region, the Booster Rev3 scheme can also cover 50% of the pre-tax cost, up to 10,000 euros. To frame your project and estimate the budget, let's talk about your needs.
Moving from measurement to value
The EPD is not just one more paperwork exercise: it is the verified translation of a Life Cycle Assessment, and the key that lets a product exist in the regulatory calculations of low-carbon construction. Understanding the EN 15804 framework, the French FDES / PEP variants and the role of the INIES database means giving yourself the means to turn a regulatory constraint into a commercial argument. At Releaf Carbon, we support manufacturers across the whole chain, from the LCA to the verified declaration. To assess your situation, let's discuss your project or explore our methodological resources.
Frequently asked questions
An EPD is the generic international term for a verified type III environmental declaration. The FDES is its French variant, specific to construction products, to which is added a health dimension specific to national regulations. Every FDES is an EPD, but not every EPD is an FDES.
Yes. For construction products, an EPD must comply with the EN 15804 standard, in its A2 version (EN 15804:2012+A2:2019), which became mandatory for any new declaration in October 2022. In France, the reference is the NF EN 15804+A2 and its national complement NF EN 15804+A2/CN.
Verified FDES and PEP are published in the INIES database, managed by the national operator of the same name. This database is the reference source used for the LCA calculations required by the RE2020.
It is not a legal production requirement, but it is strongly recommended. Without an FDES or a PEP, the product is assigned deliberately penalizing default environmental values, which disadvantages it against competitors that have a verified declaration.
An independent, accredited third-party body, according to the rules of the relevant programme (INIES for FDES, PEP ecopassport for PEP in France). This external verification is what distinguishes an EPD from a simple internal calculation.