CPA is pleased to announce the publication of environmental product declarations (EPDs) for particleboard and medium density fiberboard (MDF) made in North America. CPA was instrumental in the development of these EPDs, which are sponsored by the American Wood Council and Canadian Wood Council. The EPDs are certified by UL Environment, a business unit of Underwriters Laboratories that is recognized by the green building community as an independent certifier of products and their sustainable attributes. EPDs sponsored by UL are recognized by US Green Building Council’s LEED rating system, Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes and other green building certification programs.

Based on ISO standards 14025 and 21930, EPDs have worldwide applicability and include information about product environmental impacts. These include use of resources, global warming potential, emissions to air, soil and water, and waste generation.

“The composite panel industry is based on the recovery of forestry residuals to fabricate high-value construction and consumer products, and these EPDs yet again showcase the unmatched environmental performance of wood,” said Tom Julia, President of the Composite Panel Association (CPA). “CPA members are proud to have supported the development of the Life Cycle Inventory and Life Cycle Assessment reports upon which these EPDs are based.”

EPDs have become the standardized format to communicate a product’s environmental impact to consumers, similar to nutrition labels on food products or credits in green building rating systems. Specifiers, designers and fabricators now have an important new tool to objectively compare wood products with those made of plastic, metal or other materials.

“I’m confident that these important new EPDs for particleboard and MDF will showcase the superiority of composite wood and result in greater use of these environmentally-friendly products,” Julia added.

Building codes and green building rating systems are driving demand for verified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) information found in EPDs. For detailed information, visit compositepanel.org to view the “Wood Products and Environmental Product Declarations” PowerPoint presentation along with the particleboard and MDF EPDs.

ABOUT CPA

The Composite Panel Association (CPA), founded in 1960, represents the North American composite panel industry on technical standards, industry regulation, and product acceptance. CPA also operates a world-renowned testing and certification program for industry products and was the first Third Party Certifier approved by the California Air Resources Board. For a list of companies and products represented by CPA visit CompositePanel.org and DecorativeSurfaces.org.

Source: Composite Panel Association