In July 2024, the Governing Body of the iMasons Climate Accord (iCA)— AWS, Digital Realty, Google, Meta, and Microsoft — signed an open letter calling on all suppliers serving data centers to publish EPDs for their products. This supports greater transparency in Scope 3 emissions as part of broader efforts to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint. EPDs must become the backbone of climate accountability in procurement, design, and innovation. Let’s unpack why this matters and what it means for organizations navigating this rapidly evolving space.
Integrating LCAs and EPDs to Drive Innovation and Market Impact
With increasing environmental regulations and a growing consumer demand for transparency, the tools available to measure and communicate sustainability efforts have never been more critical. Two of the most effective tools in the sustainability toolkit are Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
Why Product Carbon Footprints Are Critical for Data Center Sustainability
The rapid digital transformation happening across every industry has fueled significant growth in data centers and supporting infrastructure. Efforts to improve data center sustainability have centered on operational efficiency, but this doesn’t capture the complete picture of environmental and business impact. By looking at product carbon footprints, companies can uncover hidden risks, identify new opportunities for efficiency, and make informed decisions that support both business objectives and environmental goals.
Frequently Asked Questions about Life Cycle Assessments (LCA)
Understanding sustainability requires more than just knowing the latest buzzwords. Acronyms like LCA, EPD, and PCF are everywhere, but what do they mean, and why do they matter? We’re using a familiar analogy, making soup, to explain three key sustainability tools to help you better understand how these tools are essential for measuring, communicating, and improving environmental performance.
The 3 Most Common Types of Life Cycle Assessments
Key Terms to Navigate LCA and EPDs
Sustainability conversations can get technical — fast. With so many acronyms and specialized terms, it’s easy to feel lost or overwhelmed. Whether you're conducting a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) or preparing an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), this glossary will help you decode key concepts and confidently lead the conversation.
Sustainability Alphabet Soup: LCA, PCF, and EPD Explained
Understanding sustainability requires more than just knowing the latest buzzwords. Acronyms like LCA, EPD, and PCF are everywhere, but what do they mean, and why do they matter? We’re using a familiar analogy, making soup, to explain three key sustainability tools— Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), and Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) to help you better understand how these tools are essential for measuring, communicating, and improving environmental performance.
Optimizing Energy Efficiency: A Practical Approach for Business
Energy efficiency is a crucial component of cost savings and sustainability for businesses. The first step in optimizing energy use is tracking consumption. Understanding how much energy your facility uses, whether you operate a single site or multiple locations, provides a baseline for comparison and improvement.
Life Cycle Assessment vs Carbon Accounting: What’s the Difference and Why it Matters
Understanding the difference between Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Carbon Accounting is crucial for organizations looking to make data-driven decisions, reduce emissions, and improve financial performance. By leveraging these tools, businesses can stay ahead of evolving regulations while enhancing operational efficiency and brand reputation.
Deep Dive into LCA, EPD, and PCF with LCA Experts Nicole Meyer and Marquis Miller from Sustainable Solutions Corporation
Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), and Product Carbon Footprints (PCF) are essential to reducing your company’s carbon footprint, but many companies have unanswered questions about the process for completing them. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with LCA experts Nicole Meyer and Marquis Miller from Sustainable Solutions Corporation to answer some of the most frequently asked questions they receive about LCA, EPD, and PCF. They discuss the data collection process, timelines, what to include in your LCA, relevant standards and frameworks, Product Category Rules, functional units, how LCA, EPD, and PCF relate to carbon footprint, and more.
Incorporating the Circular Economy Mindset into Product Packaging with Kelly McBee from As You Sow
Optimizing product packaging is essential for reducing waste and driving the circular economy. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Kelly McBee, Circular Economy Sr. Coordinator at As You Sow, to discuss the mission of As You Sow, the Corporate Plastic Pollution Scorecard they developed to rank companies on their progress toward plastic goals, how companies can get better scores in the future, why third-party certifications are so important to the achievement of corporate plastic reduction goals, and what’s next for As You Sow.
Infinitely Recyclable: How Aluminum is Contributing to the Circular Economy with Suzanne Lindsay-Walker from Novelis
Aluminum is an infinitely recyclable material and an important part of the circular economy. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Suzanne Lindsay-Walker Vice President, Sustainability, for Novelis Inc., to discuss the type of products that Novelis’s aluminum ends up in, the life cycle benefits of aluminum versus other materials, how aluminum is contributing to the circular economy, Novelis’s closed loop system with Ford Motor Company and Ball, the key focus areas in Novelis’s sustainability strategy, the value of their GreenCircle Recycled Content certifications, and how Novelis empowers their employees to embrace sustainability.
How to Revolutionize Your New Product Development Process with Sustainable Product Innovation
Sustainable Product Innovation (SPI) is the key to driving new product development teams toward developing more sustainable products. In this episode, Tad and Julianna discuss an overview of the new product development process that most companies go through, explain how SPI works, the steps companies need to take to integrate SPI into their new product development process, and examples of companies that have had success with SPI.
Using Life Cycle Assessment to Achieve Carbon Drawdown in Agriculture with Mark Izzo from Bright Future Foods
25% of the global carbon emissions come from the food industry. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a great tool that can be used to help reduce the carbon footprint of the food we produce. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Mark Izzo, Co-founder and CEO of Bright Future Foods, to discuss Bright Future Foods and Airly Foods, how significant the food industry’s carbon emissions are, how Airly is using food to reduce climate change, carbon-converting farms, the use of LCA to reduce the carbon footprint of Airly crackers, regenerative agriculture, and what’s next for Airly Foods.
Life Cycle Assessment: The Key to Reducing Carbon Footprint
Reversing Global Warming and Creating Carbon Negative Products with Lisa Conway from Interface
Climate change is a significant issue for everyone on the planet. Reducing embodied and operational carbon is critical to reversing global warming. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Lisa Conway VP of Sustainability, Americas for Interface, to discuss Interface’s commitment to sustainability, why carbon is so important in the building industry, Interface’s carbon neutral and negative products for carpet and Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT), Interface’s GreenCircle certifications, and what’s next for embodied carbon in products.
Everything You Need to Know About Reverse Vending Machines with Mike Noel from TOMRA
Reverse vending machines help contribute to the circular economy. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Mike Noel, Governmental Affairs Manager at TOMRA, to discuss how reverse vending machines work and how they contribute to the circular economy, how regulatory trends are creating risks and opportunities for businesses, the core pillars of TOMRA’s business, and how TOMRA’s sensor-based sorters are reducing carbon emissions related to mining.
Driving Sustainable Innovation in the Footwear Industry with Andy Polk from the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA)
The global footwear market is a multi-billion dollar industry that has a huge carbon footprint. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Andy Polk, Senior Vice President at the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), to discuss FDRA’s sustainability and innovation working groups, how FDRA is working with members to drive product innovation in footwear, how you can access FDRA’s Digital Shoe Sustainability Summit, and more.
Designing Recyclable Packaging with Steve Alexander from the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR)
Designing recyclable packaging is essential for achieving a circular economy. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Steve Alexander, President and CEO of the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), to discuss the importance of the APR PCR Certification program, APR’s Design Guides for plastics recyclability, APR’s mission, the benefits of being an APR member, the necessity for recovering plastics, and the growing trend of polypropylene collection.
Using Embodied Carbon to Select More Sustainable Products with Diana Smiciklas from Perkins&Will
Architects and designers are prioritizing embodied carbon reductions in buildings. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Diana Smiciklas, a Sustainability Advisor at Perkins&Will, to discuss why embodied carbon reduction is so important to Perkins&Will, how Perkins&Will is implementing embodied carbon reductions into interiors and architectural projects, whether or not their clients are embracing these initiatives, how manufacturers can help the A&D community find the products they are looking for, and the importance of third-party certifications in achieving embodied carbon reductions.