System verification ensures that your Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are generated consistently, traceably, and at scale. Instead of verifying each EPD individually, your entire data handling pipeline is audited against international standards. Once the process itself is verified, you can create large volumes of EPDs with confidence in their accuracy — reducing human error, lowering long-term costs, and meeting strict 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 from the factory floor to the final report (e.g., Bill of Materials workflows, API transfer methods). This must demonstrate how data is traced, safeguarded against tampering, and handled consistently across your system.
2. Consistent Parameters (You)
To maintain repeatable and compliant 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: Automated data transfer routines.
Controlled data lists: Keep environmental impact categories consistent. While your internal naming conventions (e.g., internal material codes) do not need to match external standards, they must be consistently MAPPED to the correct standard environmental impact categories in the database.
3. Initial audit (Independent Verifier & you)
For your first batch of EPDs, a full manual audit will be conducted by an independent, approved verifier. This review stress-tests your system to ensure controls minimize risks such as:
Inconsistent inputs,
Manual entry errors,
Discrepancies between software inputs and raw factory evidence.
The audit checks that your procedures comply with strict regulatory frameworks including ISO 14025, ISO 14071, and EN 15804+A2 requirements.
4. Ongoing controls and re-audits (Independent Verifier & You)
Validity: System verification is valid for three years, subject to annual surveillance.
Annual maintenance:An annual maintenance audit is required to ensure continued compliance. This involves:
Submitting a list of internally verified EPDs generated since the last audit.
Providing selected EPDs and their underlying raw data for random spot-checks 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 manual verification of every EPD.
Ensures quality: Maintains consistent, auditable 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.