Most procurement professionals don’t need a lecture on what an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is. They’ve seen hundreds. The challenge isn’t in what an EPD says but in understanding what it means for your organisation, your supply chain, and your strategy.
Too often, EPDs are treated as checkboxes in tender documents: “Tick, verified, compliant.” But if we stop there, we miss their real value. Used properly, EPDs are not just compliance tools; they’re strategic indicators that can reveal inefficiencies, hidden risks, and opportunities for genuine differentiation.
Let’s explore how procurement professionals can move beyond reading EPDs at face value – and start using them as decision-making instruments that advance sustainability and corporate value simultaneously.
Stop Looking for “Good” or “Bad” EPDs
An EPD isn’t a scorecard. It doesn’t tell you whether a product is “green” or “unsustainable.” It simply presents quantified environmental data, verified against standardised methods.
The insight lies in comparison and context, not in the numbers alone. Two products might have similar carbon footprints on paper but differ drastically in durability, supply chain transparency, or recyclability. A responsible procurement decision weighs those nuances.
The best professionals don’t treat EPDs as labels – they treat them as starting points for dialogue with suppliers.
Read Between the Metrics
The common mistake is to skim straight to “Global Warming Potential” (GWP) and stop there. But that’s only one piece of the puzzle.
A sophisticated reading considers:
Lifecycle boundaries: Does the EPD measure cradle-to-gate, cradle-to-grave, or cradle-to-grave? Excluding use-phase or end-of-life data can radically distort comparisons.
Functional lifespan: A low-impact product that needs to be replaced twice as often isn’t sustainable procurement. Durability matters.
Assumptions and data quality: Are the inputs regional, primary, or modelled? Transparent EPDs explain these details; vague ones don’t.
Procurement professionals who grasp these distinctions can challenge suppliers intelligently – and avoid falling for surface-level sustainability claims.
Connect EPD Insights to Commercial Reality
The purpose of reading an EPD isn’t academic curiosity; it’s to guide purchasing decisions that balance cost, performance, and sustainability.
When interpreted correctly, EPDs can reveal:
- Hidden lifecycle costs that undermine short-term savings (like high energy use or frequent replacements).
- Opportunities for supplier innovation, such as recycled inputs or renewable energy adoption.
- Early warning signs include inconsistent data, missing lifecycle phases, or outdated verification dates – that signal risk.
By integrating EPD interpretation into supplier evaluations, procurement teams strengthen their ability to quantify environmental value alongside financial value.
Ask Better Questions for Your Understanding
Too many procurement processes now demand EPDs without understanding what to do with them. The question shouldn’t be “Can you provide an EPD?” but rather “What does your EPD tell us about your design decisions, energy use, and material sourcing?”
In other words – interrogate intent, not just documentation.
Suppliers who can interpret their own EPDs and explain improvements over time are more valuable partners than those who simply produce paperwork for compliance.
This is where ISO 20400 comes in: it frames these discussions as part of a continuous improvement relationship, not a one-off tender requirement.
Turn EPD Data into Measurable Procurement KPIs
One of the most underused aspects of EPDs is their potential to feed directly into measurable performance indicators.
For example:
- Tracking average GWP per procurement category can quantify progress toward organisational carbon targets.
- Mapping EPD data against supplier tiers can reveal where sustainability performance is strongest or weakest.
- Comparing EPD updates year-on-year helps identify genuine innovation versus stagnant performance.
This is how mature procurement functions translate environmental declarations into business intelligence.
EPDs become evidence – not marketing.
Recognise When the EPD Isn’t Enough
Even a robust EPD doesn’t tell the whole story. It measures environmental performance, but not social or governance factors, which are equally important under ESG frameworks.
That’s why the smartest organisations pair EPD analysis with other sustainability lenses: human rights due diligence, diversity metrics, or supplier ethics assessments.
ISO 20400 explicitly encourages this integrated approach. It recognises that sustainability isn’t achieved through one document or standard but through a connected system of information and accountability.
So while an EPD is invaluable, it’s one input among many in a truly strategic procurement decision.
Make Interpretation a Shared Skill
Expecting procurement professionals to interpret every scientific nuance of an EPD is unrealistic and unnecessary.
Instead, cross-functional collaboration is the key. Procurement should partner with sustainability specialists who can interpret environmental data, while procurement teams translate those insights into contractual, commercial, and supplier engagement strategies.
This partnership model prevents sustainability from becoming siloed and ensures that environmental data actually informs buying behaviour.
As ISO20400.org often emphasises, sustainable procurement is most effective when it’s a shared language across departments, not a technical burden placed on one.
Don’t Forget to Use EPDs to Shape Market Behaviour
One of the most powerful and least discussed uses of EPDs is their market influence.
When procurement teams consistently reward transparency and verified improvement, the market responds. Suppliers that invest in accurate, credible EPDs gain competitive advantage; those that don’t fall behind.
This creates a ripple effect: better data, cleaner processes, and higher accountability across entire industries. In this sense, procurement doesn’t just read EPDs but also shapes the future of them.
That’s the real power of informed procurement: driving change through demand. Final Takeaway
Reading an EPD is easy. Interpreting it strategically is what sets modern procurement professionals apart.
By looking beyond the numbers, asking better questions, and linking data back to organisational goals, procurement teams can turn static declarations into living intelligence, driving better supplier choices, stronger ESG reporting, and measurable value for both business and society.
And when those principles are anchored in ISO 20400’s framework of continuous improvement and collaboration, sustainability stops being a target, but the very core of how business is done.
