CISC is proud to share important information on Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for various steel products to support design teams in developing their projects and successfully winning bids.
EPDs are documents that quantify the environmental impacts from the lifecycle of a product. The CISC supports the transparent reporting of environmental impact data associated with construction products to help successfully achieve reductions targets and do our part to reduce carbon emissions.
FAQs
Embodied carbon is the measure of all non-operational carbon emitted by a material during its lifecycle. Emissions include the production phase; raw material extraction and manufacturing, the construction phase; transportation and installation on site, the use phase; the repair and maintenance, the end of life phase; emissions related to the demolition and waste disposal of the material. Sources of emissions over the lifecycle of a material vary depending on the material. Recycling removes the need to extract virgin building materials and reduces embodied carbon as such. For steel, recycling provides a significant reduction in embodied carbon emissions. The majority of north American steel mills employ electric arc furnaces to produce steel with high recycled contents, making their products some of the lowest emitters in the world.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are documents that quantify the environmental impacts from the lifecycle of a product. EPDs typically include values for global warming potential, ozone depletion, acidification and eutrophication.
The CISC has developed 4 verified & registered industry average Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for hot rolled and cold formed steel
EPDs are calculated using the regions' applicable Product Category rules (PCRs)
CISC engaged its members to report their embodied carbon data for calculation and compilation.
EPDs ensure designers and decision-makers have the information they need to effectively and accurately compare building material options.
EPDs provide background data and assumptions behind embodied carbon values. Referencing them can ensure accurate data reporting.
The CISC has developed 4 verified & registered industry average Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for hot rolled structural steels and cold formed steel:
- Fabricated Hot Rolled Structural Steel sections
- Fabricated Hollow Structural Steel Sections (HSS)
- Fabricated Structural Steel Plates
- Cold Formed Steel Sections and Panels
Mill specific EPDs can be found here:
