HOW TO USE EPDs FOR SCOPE 3 REPORTING

Key Summary

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From low-carbon public procurement to green-building credits, the market now expects transparent, standard-compliant EPDs.
Yet the prospect of chasing dozens of numbers across plants, suppliers and spreadsheets feels… daunting.
Follow the map below, grab a handy cheat-sheet on the way, and you’ll be ready to hit Publish without drowning in Excel.

‍Step 1 – Understand Scope 3 Categories

The GHG Protocol defines 15 Scope 3 categories (e.g. purchased goods, capital goods, transportation, use of sold products, end-of-life). Not all apply to every product, but EPD data typically contributes to:

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Category 1: Purchased goods & services
Category 2: Capital goods
Category 4/9: Upstream/downstream transport & distribution
Category 11: Use of sold products
Category 12: End-of-life treatment

Step 2 – Break EPD into Life Cycle Stages

EPDs follow EN 15804 (construction products) or ISO 14025 standards and are structured in modules. Each module provides EPD data that aligns with a corresponding Scope 3 category:

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A1–A3 (Product stage): Raw material supply, transport, manufacturing → Scope 3 Category 1: Purchased goods and services.
A4–A5 (Construction stage): Transport to site, installation → Category 4: Upstream transport and distribution or Capital goods (if part of assets).
B1–B7 (Use stage): Use, repair, replacement, maintenance, energy, water → Category 11: Use of sold products.
C1–C4 (End-of-life): Deconstruction, transport, processing, disposal → Category 12: End-of-life treatment of sold products.
D (Beyond system boundary): Benefits & loads beyond system (e.g. recycling credits) → reported separately, not counted directly in Scope 3 but can inform avoided emissions.

Step 3 – Map Data Into Scope 3 Reporting

Turning EPD data into Scope 3 reporting involves four key steps:

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Extract the GHG emissions (kg CO₂e) per module from the EPD.
Allocate those values to the corresponding Scope 3 categories.
Scale results: EPDs often give results per functional unit (e.g. 1 m² of material). For Scope 3, scale to actual purchased or sold quantities.
Adjust for reporting boundaries:
- Decide on cut-off rules: if your Scope 3 inventory is corporate-wide, only include categories relevant to your activities.
- Ensure consistency: EPD impacts are cradle-to-gate by default unless full life cycle declared.

Step 4 – Assemble the Scope 3 Report

When preparing your Scope 3 report, structure the data as follows:

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Purchased goods (A1–A3): Category 1.
Capital goods (A1–A5 if asset incorporated): Category 2.
Transport & distribution (A4, C2): Category 4 (upstream) or Category 9 (downstream).
Use phase (B modules): Category 11.
End of life (C modules): Category 12.
Module D: reported separately as avoided emissions, not included in Scope 3 totals.

Illustrative Example – Concrete EPD

A1–A3: Raw material + production: 300 kg CO₂e per m³, Scope 3, Category 1
A4: Transport to site: 20 kg CO₂e, Scope 3, Category 4
C1–C4: Demolition, disposal: 50 kg CO₂e, Scope 3, Category 12.
D: Recycling credits: –40 kg CO₂e (reported separately as avoided emissions, not included in Scope 3 totals).