26.11.2025

5 min read

HOW TO MEET DUTCH SUSTAINABILITY REQUIREMENTS:
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO ECI, MKI, NMP, AND MRPI

Key Summary

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ECI, MKI, NMD and MRPI all link to the same requirement: using verified EPD data from the National Environmental Database (NMD) to calculate the Environmental Performance of Buildings (MPG) in the Netherlands.‍
To publish in NMD, manufacturers need an EN15804+A2-compliant EPD, an ECI/MKI value, and verification by an NMD-qualified verifier.

NMD publication has standardized annual fees, requires manual verification, and high-quality data that can directly influence tender outcomes, making reliable, compliant EPDs essential for the Dutch market.

How do ECI, MKI, NMD and MRPI relate?

Your Dutch customer wants an ECI? Another one needs an MKI? And the third one asks if you published in NMD and the next wants your data verified by MRPI? 🤯
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The customer intention in these cases is most likely always the same: In the Netherlands, the Environmental Performance of Buildings (MPG) must be calculated for all new construction projects. If they ask for one of the above, they want to follow this regulation.
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To calculate the MPG, verified environmental product data published in the NMD (National Environmental Database) needs to be used.

what is nmd?

The NMD (National Environmental Database) is a public platform storing EPDs and supporting validated calculation tools for building environmental performance. It is analogous to Ökobaudat in Germany or INIES in France - a state-acknowledged database that ensures that product data is comparable.

Note: When NMD talks about “calculation tools”, what this means are building level LCA tools (not product LCAs / EPDs!) - these tools work based on the EPDs published in NMD.

What are the requirements to publish in nmd?

NMD developed their own guidelines to ensure that calculations are fair, transparent, and traceable. To publish into the database, as a manufacturer you need to:
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have an EPD following EN15804+A2 and the Dutch Assessment Method (“Bepalingsmethode / PCR-NL”),
include a so-called environmental cost indicator (ECI) or - (MKI) in Dutch - a Milieukostenindicator, and
verify with an NMD-qualified verifier.

what is the mki or eci?

The MKI (Milieukostenindicator) or ECI (Environmental Cost Indicator) is a single value that translates a product's total environmental impact into Euros. It’s used primarily in the Dutch construction industry, required in public tenders, and published in the Dutch EPD Database NMD. The MKI (ECI) is computed by multiplying impact results by Dutch shadow-cost factors updated regularly by NMD and then summing up the results.

If you are searching for a solution following these requirements and streamlining your NMD publication, feel free to reach out to Emidat.

what methodological standards must the epd follow to publish in the nmd?

Currently, two sets of indicators need to be calculated:
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A1 set (legacy): 11 categories used historically for the single score MKI/ECI (Environmental Costs Indicator).
- Set A1 data uses Ecoinvent 3.6. NMD publishes its own process database aligned to these versions.
A2 set (current/forward): 19 categories in line with EN 15804+A2
- For Set A2 data, Ecoinvent 3.9.1 is required from 01.01.2025 (with a 6-month transition period).

In practice, this means that LCA consultants or experts have double the work because for each input, two different datasets are researched and two different LCA outputs are calculated.

why do i need two calculate two different lca datasets to publish in nmd?

The Netherlands were early in making environmental impact information a requirement in public tenders, when EN15804+A1 was still the common standard. When the market switched to +A2, many of the existing +A1 EPDs were still valid for a few years.

To prevent manufacturers that had already published under +A1 from redoing their assessments, NMD allowed for a transition period until all +A1 EPDs are outdated. During this transition, the ECI is still calculated based on the +A1 EPD data.

When publishing an EPD in this transition period, the +A1 indicators are necessary to calculate the ECI. But to avoid redoing the EPD later on when the ECI standard switches to +A2, during this period you need to provide both datasets.

National legislation on building level will be changed to EN15804+A2-based data on 01.07.2026, it will be optional to deliver +A1 data from 1st of January 2026 onwards.

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how can i verify my epd for publication in nmd?

NMD accepts LCA-data verified according to the NMD verification protocol (i.e. following the Assessment method based on EN15804) by an NMD-qualified verifier, who can but do not need to be associated with a program operator (PO). This can result in EPDs from different Eco-Platform Program Operators (e.g. MRPI, EPD Global, EPD International, IBU) used for NMD, but always following the NMD verification protocol.
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Unfortunately, there are currently no tool verification guidelines to publish in NMD. This means, that - although the creation of the EPD and ECI can be automated with tools like Emidat - every product published in NMD needs to go through manual verification.

what is the role of the MRPI in the context of ECIs and nmd publication?

MRPI is a Dutch program operator that has NMD-qualified verifiers and offers a building-level LCA tool which is validated under NMD. (A full list of validated building-level calculation tools can be found here.) MRPI is analogous to other program operators verifying and publishing EPDs on the European Eco-Platform has applied to become a notified body to verify under the new construction products regulation (CPR).

what is the easiest way to get my existing epd into nmd?

Ideally, you have created your EPD with a digital solution like Emidat, focused on making the translation between different standards (EN15804+A1, EN15804+A2, ISO21930) and the publication to different databases (e.g. Ökobaudat, NMD, INIES) simple. Then, the output of NMD-compliant is either one single click or one call away (depending on your license model).

Otherwise, you will need to ask your consultant or tool-provider to use your existing background report to recalculate the LCA.

what are the costs of publishing in nmd?

Generally, when creating EPDs, you should expect three cost blocks paid to three different actors involved in the process:

1. LCA / EPD creation (tool providers / LCA practitioners)

2. Verification (verifiers), and
3. Publication (program operators / databases)

Note that fully verified tools like Emidat may handle this complexity for you in the background.

While tool and verification costs depend highly on your products, publication rates with NMD are unified: As a building material manufacturer, the publication rates are at €587 / year as a fixed annual contribution incl. 3 environmental declarations. Publishing more than 3 declarations, the costs go down to €84 / EPD / year (4-16 EPDs), €46 / EPD / year (16-30 EPDs), and €20 / EPD / year (30+ EPDs).

Example: If you publish 10 products in NMD, you pay €587 + 7*€84 = €1.175 / year. Detailed rates can be found here for 2025 and here for 2026.

summary

Overall, the Dutch ecosystem for EPDs is quite advanced and gives us an outlook how mandatory LCA / EPD requirements may look like in the future both on a product and building level. The way environmental data is already used in practice means it can be a deciding factor in the awarding of a tender. In some cases doubts around the validity have been taken to court, with consequences for the contracting parties involved. For this reason, data quality requirements around LCAs / EPDs increase when tenders are tied to it.
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Do you want to learn more? Reach out for professional LCA Expert support.

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