Overview

Principles, requirements and guidance for environmental product declaration (EPD) programmes and their EPDs; second edition published June 2026, replacing ISO 14025:2006

ISO 14025:2026 specifies principles and requirements and gives guidance on environmental product declaration (EPD) programmes and their associated EPDs. The second edition was published in June 2026 by ISO/TC 207/SC 3 and replaces ISO 14025:2006, which stood for two decades. It specifies the use of ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 on life cycle assessment in the development of EPDs.

The most visible change in the second edition is terminology. The 2006 edition spoke of Type III environmental declarations, positioned against Type I ecolabels (ISO 14024) and Type II self-declared claims (ISO 14021). The 2026 edition adopts the term that the market actually uses — environmental product declaration (EPD) — and modernises the framework around it, including recognition of digital EPD formats, stronger harmonization between programmes, and clearer treatment of governance, verification and the communication of sustainability information.

An EPD is a quantified, LCA-based declaration of a product's environmental performance across defined indicators. Critically, an EPD does not set pass/fail thresholds and does not certify that a product is environmentally preferable. It reports numbers under agreed rules, so that informed comparison becomes possible where the rules are the same. That is the core discipline the standard exists to enforce.

Two mechanisms make it work. The first is the programme: an EPD programme is run by a programme operator that publishes general programme instructions, manages the development and review of product category rules, operates the verification process, registers and publishes EPDs, and maintains their period of validity. The second is product category rules (PCR): rules for a defined product category specifying the functional unit, system boundary, data requirements, allocation, indicators to be reported and the content and format of the declaration. PCR are themselves subject to review by qualified independent parties and to open consultation.

Verification is mandatory. The underlying LCA data and the declaration must be independently verified against the applicable PCR and the programme's instructions before an EPD may be published; the standard distinguishes between verification carried out by an independent external party and internal verification where permitted, with stricter requirements applying to declarations aimed at consumers. Verifier competence and independence requirements are specified.

Comparability is treated carefully because it is so easily abused. Comparison of EPDs is only valid when the declarations are based on the same PCR, cover equivalent functional units and system boundaries, use comparable data quality and vintage, and are read in the context of the full product application — for construction products, comparison is meaningful at building level rather than product level.

EPDs are heavily used in construction, where EN 15804 provides the core PCR for construction products in Europe and ISO 21930 provides core rules internationally, and where EPDs feed green building schemes such as LEED and BREEAM and, increasingly, regulatory requirements on embodied carbon. They are also used in manufacturing, packaging, electronics and public procurement.

ISO 14025 is not an organizational certification standard: an organization is not "ISO 14025 certified". Products have verified EPDs, published by a programme operator, valid for a stated period. Related standards include ISO 14020 (environmental labels and declarations, general principles), ISO 14021 (self-declared claims), ISO 14024 (ecolabelling), ISO 14040/14044 (LCA), ISO 14067 (product carbon footprint) and ISO 14026 (footprint communication).

Purpose

To set the principles, requirements and procedures for EPD programmes, product category rules, LCA-based data, independent verification and publication, so that environmental product declarations are consistent, credible and — where the rules match — comparable.

Key Benefits

• Provides internationally agreed rules for LCA-based environmental product declarations
• Requires independent verification before publication, which distinguishes EPDs from self-declared claims
• Establishes product category rules so that products in a category are assessed on the same basis
• Supports credible, quantified environmental communication in an era of greenwashing scrutiny
• Widely required in construction procurement and green building schemes such as LEED and BREEAM
• Second edition adopts the term EPD and recognises digital EPD formats
• Improves harmonization between EPD programmes operating in different regions
• Provides customers and specifiers with structured, comparable data rather than marketing claims
• Builds on the same LCA methodology as ISO 14067 and ISO 14046, allowing shared underlying data
• Applicable to any product category, not just construction products

Key Requirements

• Operate EPDs through an EPD programme with a defined programme operator and published general programme instructions
• Develop product category rules (PCR) for the product category, subject to independent review and open consultation
• Base the declaration on LCA data developed in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044
• Define the functional or declared unit, system boundary and data requirements in accordance with the PCR
• Report the environmental indicators specified by the PCR, without setting pass/fail thresholds
• Ensure data quality, representativeness and vintage requirements set by the PCR are met
• Have the LCA data and the declaration independently verified before publication
• Apply stricter verification requirements for declarations intended for consumers
• Ensure verifiers meet competence and independence requirements
• Publish and register the EPD through the programme operator and state its period of validity
• State the conditions under which EPDs may be compared, including use of the same PCR
• Include the information required by the PCR and the programme, including scope, methodology and limitations
• Update or withdraw the EPD when the product, its data or the applicable PCR change materially
• Do not present an EPD as certification that a product is environmentally preferable

Who Needs This Standard?

Manufacturers publishing verified environmental data — especially construction product, building material, furniture, packaging and electronics manufacturers — plus EPD programme operators, LCA consultants and verifiers, specifiers and architects using EPDs in green building assessment, and public procurement teams setting environmental criteria.

Related Standards