1-Sep-2015, International Green Building Conference, Singapore – Armacell has been recognised for its pioneering initiative on environmental certification in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The recognition came from UL Environment, who presented Armacell with an EPD Certification during a workshop on Indoor Air Quality and Environmental Product Declarations.
The presentation was made by Ms Lisa Meier, UL Vice President and UL Environment Global General Manager, and acknowledged Armacell for being the first company to receive Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) from UL Environment in the ASEAN region. In receiving the presentation on behalf of Armacell, Dr. Stephen Hodson – General Manager Marketing APAC, stated that “the EPDs were highly important for providing product information to designers of green buildings in Asia”.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are internationally-accepted type III ecolabels that disclose the environmental performance of products based on the science of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Unlike other environmental labels that signify “green” performance, an EPD discloses the full story of a product’s direct and indirect environmental impact, and may disclose health, and corporate/social impacts .
Armacell’s latest EPDs cover seven premium products that are sold across the Asia Pacific region. This initiative, headed up by Dr. Peter Cheng, Armacell’s Technical Manager for APAC, makes Armacell the first insulation company to receive EPDs from UL Environment in APAC.
Demand for EPDs is growing in response to change in green building guidelines and design practices. The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® green building program is now placing emphasis on life cycle based environmental reporting and transparency, rewarding points for use of products with EPDs and LCAs as part of the Material and Resources (MR) Credits. Outside of the USA, 4 of the top 10 countries for LEED-certified buildings are in the APAC region – India, China, Korea and Taiwan .
The release of EPDs builds on Armacell’s existing initiatives in Europe. On 1-June-2015, Armacell announced it was the first manufacturer of flexible technical insulation materials (globally) to present EPDs.