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ecoinvent
The primary LCI background database for material and energy flows.
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Ökobaudat
Construction product specific and compliant with programme rules for DACH publications.
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IBU database
The programme rule background for EPDs published through IBU.
HOW WE WORK
Methodological depth and precise modelling produce high-quality results
Method sounds abstract, but it decides what a study is actually worth. It determines whether the outcome is a single number or a dependable basis for verification, comparison and reduction.
SIX METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES
What every study has to satisfy before it leaves us
Our principles are not marketing claims but the fixed working rules for every project. Where an assignment cannot be built cleanly along these principles, we raise it early and propose a dependable alternative.
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01 ISO 14040 · 14044 The functional unit comes first
Method does not begin with the bill of materials but with a question: what is actually being compared? We define the functional unit precisely, meaning the reference quantity, the service life and the performance of the product. Without that foundation a study can produce numbers but no statements that hold.
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02 EN 15804+A2 The layer structure is documented
For multi-layer construction products we represent the assembly as it is actually manufactured: component by component, layer by layer. We do not aggregate prematurely to a kilogram of product where that loses important methodological differences, as it would for fire protection assemblies, membranes or multi-layer systems.
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03 ISO 14044 · ILCD-Handbook Data quality stated explicitly
We name data gaps openly rather than hiding them behind default values. Where supplier data is missing we document the proxy used, the reasoning and the sensitivity. That makes it clear which statements hold and where the study reaches the limits of what it can say.
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04 ISO 14044 · § 4.4 Sensitivities as standard
Every study contains a sensitivity and hotspot analysis. For us that is not an add-on module but part of the method. It is what makes visible which assumptions genuinely influence the results, and where reduction measures should actually start.
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05 EN ISO 14025 Separation from the third party
We produce, others verify. When we model an EPD it is reviewed by an independent, accredited third-party programme, typically IBU or eco-platform. That separation is methodologically necessary and not negotiable for us.
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06 EN 15804+A2 · A3-Updates Method updates are documented
When standards or programme requirements change, we document the effect on existing studies: what changes arithmetically, what stays comparable, what has to be reassessed? We keep an active eye on our existing clients before a re-verification becomes a problem.
METHODOLOGY STACK
Which databases, tools and programmes we use, and why
We choose databases, tools and programmes according to what the project requires. What matters is not a fixed tool but which solution makes the study in question methodologically sound, reviewable and a fit for what the client needs.
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openLCA
Open source modelling, usable across databases.
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ecoverity Excel models
Our own models for specialist processes that standard tools cannot represent cleanly.
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ecoverity workflow automation
Internal workflow automation for producing LCAs and EPDs: automated data extraction from bills of materials and supplier documents, programme-compliant report generation for EPDs and LCAs, and continuous versioning of model states.
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IBU (Institut Bauen und Umwelt)
An established German programme and the largest operator for DACH market EPDs to EN 15804+A2 and ISO 14025.
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ift Rosenheim
An independent EPD programme operator to EN 15804+A2 with particular strength in windows, doors, facades and functional building elements.
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Kiwa-Ecobility Experts
An international programme operator with its own construction products EPD programme, broadly positioned beyond the EU and particularly relevant for manufacturers selling internationally.
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International programmes
Depending on product category and target market, for example EPD International for non-European markets.
NORMATIVE FOUNDATIONS
The set of standards we work to
Regulations such as the EU CPR and the CSRD refer explicitly to standards. Those standards supply the calculation rules and the scope of application. Eight of them form the methodological axis of our work.
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EN 15804+A2
The EPD standard for construction products. It defines the module structure of the life cycle (A1-A5 production and construction, B1-B7 use, C1-C4 disposal, D reuse and recycling) and the impact categories that have to be declared.
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ISO 14040 · 14044
The methodological foundations of life cycle assessment: principles and framework (14040) and concrete requirements (14044). Every dependable LCA refers to this pair of standards.
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EN ISO 14025
Type III environmental declarations, the cross-programme framework for EPDs. EN 15804+A2 is the product-category-specific version of that framework for construction products.
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ISO 14067
The method for product carbon footprints. The standard behind PCF studies and therefore the methodological basis for product-level climate data in customers' Scope 3 categories.
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ISO 14064
Greenhouse gas inventories at organisation level (part 1), project level (part 2) and for verification (part 3). The methodological basis alongside the GHG Protocol for Scope 1, 2 and 3 reporting.
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DIN EN 15978
Building-level LCA and whole-life carbon calculation. The bridge from product to building, and therefore the anchor standard for EPBD whole-life carbon reporting.
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EN ISO 14026
Footprint claims and the comparability of environmental statements. Relevant in the context of substantiation under the Empowering Consumers Directive.
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GHG Protocol
Not a DIN or ISO standard, but the de facto standard for Scope 1, 2 and 3 reporting in corporate disclosure, and compatible with ESRS E1.
CRITICAL REVIEW
When a critical review decisively raises what a study can say
A critical review is an independent methodological assessment of an LCA study to ISO 14071 . A single reviewer or a review panel checks whether the method, the data quality, the modelling decisions and the conclusions are compliant with the standards and can be followed.
A critical review is mandatory for comparative studies communicated publicly, for example when the global warming potential of a product is compared with a competitor material. Even where it is not required, a review can be worthwhile when a study is used in sensitive markets or when the results are communicated heavily.
We accompany the review process: together with you we select suitable reviewers, prepare the background documentation, coordinate the procedure and work the comments in so the changes can be followed.
METHODOLOGY IN PRACTICE
Put our methodology to work
- METHODOLOGY · DATA BASIS Life cycle assessment (LCA) The methodological basis for the functional unit, layer structure, data quality and sensitivities in a study.
- DOCUMENTATION Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) A verified Environmental Product Declaration with a clean separation from the third party and background documentation ready for review.
- DOCUMENTATION Digital Product Passport (DPP) Structured EPD and PCF data for the coming EU CPR requirements, consistent with the LCA data basis.
Method sounds abstract until you see it applied to your product.
Get in touch. We analyse your product situation, place it methodologically and say plainly where the extra depth pays off for you.