08/14/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/14/2024 13:21
By Karen Willis, Managing Technical Director, Built Environment, NEMA
Navigating the complex landscape of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Life Cycle assessments (LCAs) while meeting Corporate Social Responsibility standards is a growing priority for NEMA lighting members. As green building frameworks demand greater transparency and organizations like the American Institute of Architects and Mindful Materials call for firm commitments, manufacturers face the daunting task of responding to a bewildering array of methodologies that often lack clarity and comparability.
The challenge lies in the fact that published performance data for sustainable products can be very difficult to evaluate and compare. The absence of internationally standardized Product Category Rules and Product Specific Rules for lighting products leads to significant variations in EPDs. The use of secondary data and disparate assumptions is also an issue. This lack of standardization makes it nearly impossible to create a level playing field for assessing the environmental performance of lighting products.
To address these challenges and achieve international harmonization in EPD methodologies and LCAs for lighting products, the Global Lighting Association (GLA) recently released a white paper calling for industry action. NEMA is an active member of the GLA, and the following NEMA Lighting Sustainability Task Force members contributed to the report: Acuity Brands; Current Lighting, GE Lighting, a Savant company; LEGRAND North America; Lutron Electronics; RAB Lighting; and Signify North America. The paper proposes several key solutions:
Industry-wide collaboration is essential to advance transparency and prevent divergent practices that could complicate product comparison. By implementing these harmonization measures, the global lighting industry can produce more accurate, reliable, and comparable EPDs.
The goal of LCA/EPDs is to improve environmental performance, and these solutions will also aid in that effort, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions based on consistent and transparent environmental performance information, ultimately advancing the industry's sustainability goals.