Green building certification systems — BREEAM, LEED, and DGNB — all award credits for using materials with verified environmental data. EPDs are the primary mechanism through which manufacturers demonstrate compliance with these requirements, and their importance in certification is growing with each new version of these frameworks.
BREEAM and EPDs
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) awards credits under its Mat category for materials with EPDs. In BREEAM New Construction 2018 and later, Mat 01 (Life Cycle Impacts) requires that key building elements — structure, external walls, windows, roof, and internal finishes — have EPDs covering at least A1–A3 modules.
BREEAM uses the Green Guide to Specification as its default data source, but EPDs from manufacturers provide more accurate, product-specific data and typically score better than generic Green Guide ratings. Assessors increasingly prefer EPD-backed data over generic values.
LEED v4.1 and EPDs
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the US Green Building Council awards up to two MR credits for EPDs under its Building Product Disclosure and Optimization — Environmental Product Declarations credit:
1 point for using 20 or more products with EPDs from at least 5 manufacturers, where the EPD covers A1–A3 modules
1 additional point for using products where the manufacturer has an EPD and has optimised toward lower impact (verified improvement)
For Polish manufacturers supplying materials to international LEED projects, EPD certification through EPD Polska satisfies LEED requirements, as EPD Polska aligns with ISO 14025 and EN 15804+A2:2019.
DGNB and EPDs
DGNB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen) from Germany takes the most rigorous quantitative approach. Its ENV1.1 criterion (Life Cycle Assessment) requires a whole-building LCA using EPD data for all major material quantities. Without EPDs for key materials, assessors must fall back on generic database values, which typically result in lower scores.
DGNB projects in Poland and Central Europe increasingly specify that concrete, steel, and insulation suppliers must provide EN 15804+A2:2019 compliant EPDs. This makes EPD certification directly commercially relevant for manufacturers in these supply chains.
EU Taxonomy and beyond
From 2025, the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance requires that construction projects demonstrate alignment with substantial contribution criteria for climate change mitigation. Life-cycle carbon data — which EPDs provide — is a key input. Large infrastructure developers and real estate funds are beginning to require EPDs from their supply chains as standard practice, not just for green certifications but for investor reporting.
For Polish manufacturers, investing in EPD certification now positions them ahead of regulatory requirements and preferred supplier lists for EU-funded construction projects.