System verification ensures that your Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are generated consistently, credibly, and at scale. Instead of verifying each EPD individually, your data handling system is audited against international standards. Once verified, you can create large volumes of EPDs with confidence in their accuracy — reducing errors, lowering long-term costs, and meeting compliance requirements.
Here's a breakdown of what's involved:
1. Preparation (You)
Before starting, you will need to provide:
Management system certification — a valid ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 certificate demonstrating robust quality management.
Data control documentation — a description of how your data is managed (e.g., Bill of Materials workflows, API transfer methods). This must show how data is safeguarded, transferred, and handled consistently across your system.
2. Consistent Parameters (You)
To maintain repeatable results, please ensure the following remain consistent — or notify the verifier if changes occur:
End-to-End (E2E) tools: Bill of Materials (BOM) generation and import processes.
API integrations: Data transfer routines.
Controlled data lists: Keep environmental impact categories consistent. Lists do not need to match a specific standard, but they must be applied uniformly across products.
3. Initial audit (verifier & you)
For your first batch of EPDs, a full manual audit will be conducted by an approved verifier. This review assesses whether your controls minimize risks such as:
Inconsistent inputs,
Manual entry errors,
Variance in material composition, product mass, or declared results.
The audit also checks that your procedures comply with ISO 14025, ISO 14071, and EN 15804+A2 requirements.
4. Ongoing controls and re-audits (verifier & you)
Validity: System verification is valid for three years.
Annual maintenance: An annual maintenance audit is required. This involves:
Submitting a list of internally verified EPDs generated since the last audit.
Providing selected EPDs for review on request.
Paying the annual maintenance fee.
Re-verification: Required if there are major changes to your BOM, data transfer process, or system setup.
5. Duration and costs
Typical timeframe: 2–3 months from preparation to approval.
Fees:
Annual maintenance fee applies for each year of validity.
New system verification: incurs the full annual fee.
Major system upgrade: incurs half the annual fee.
Significant changes outside of normal maintenance will require re-verification, billed separately.
Why system verification matters
Reduces cost: Eliminates the need for full verification of every EPD.
Ensures quality: Maintains consistent, repeatable data aligned with ISO/EN standards.
Supports compliance: System verification underpins requirements in the EU Construction Products Regulation* (CPR) and Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which make verified product-level carbon data mandatory from 2026. *CPR will require this for select product categories at first.
Enables scalability: Once verified, you can generate large volumes of EPDs with minimized verification workload.
Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.