ASCER has announced the development of a sectorial Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The technical work has been developed by the Institute of Ceramic Technology (ITC), and the EPD has been registered under the GlobalEPD system of AENOR.
 

The Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is an internationally recognized initiative  – harmonized and comparable among the different countries – that determines the environmental impact of products from the construction sector. EPD provides a reputable declaration of the environmental impact throughout the life cycle of the products and its eco-efficient manufacturing process. Spain will be joining Italy, North America and Germany who each currently have have sectorial EPDs.
 

In preparation for the development of the EPD, ASCER and ITC have had the valuable cooperation of their member companies who have provided data about their Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). The participating companies (representing 40% of Spanish production) have contributed all of their inventory data, and the results obtained in this study are considered to be representative of the Spanish sector of ceramic tile manufacturers.
 

In addition to the sectorial EPD, ASCER continues to promote the development of individual EPDs by manufacturing companies. This environmental communication is one of the most useful tools for transmitting the impacts of the products being used in residential and commercial buildings. Both public and private projects are beginning to introduce this environmental label as a specification requirement when sourcing ceramic coverings.
 

This project, as well as that of the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), is just one part of the many other initiatives that the ceramic sector is involved in the field of sustainability. Other examples among the most recent include the development of an environmental and energy benchmarking study in the ceramic tile industry, ASCER’s participation in the FOUNDRYTILE project and the development of a Sustainability Standard for ceramic tiles within the ISO Standardization Committee.

FROM Tile of Spain