Sika Offers Fully Disclosed Cradle-to-Grave EPD’s

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter. 

Sika is committed to transparency with their sustainable development practice. 

With phrases like “green” and “eco-friendly” being used to greenwash products, it can be difficult to distinguish which products are truly good for the environment. Sika strives to be transparent about their products from a full life circle “cradle to grave” point of view. 

Committed to sustainable development, Sika products are certified sustainable and designed to meet LEED standards in order to build a brighter future for our environment. 

What are EPD’s? 

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are third-party verified and registered documents that communicate the environmental impact of a product while completing a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA); this is a voluntary process. Manufacturers are able to choose between two options of analysis of their product’s lifecycle based on how much they would like to disclose: cradle to gate and cradle to grave. Cradle to grave discloses the full circle of a product’s life and is more comprehensive. 

What does an EPD contain? 

The EPD contains information about the product and its potential environmental impacts and benefits: 

• Technical information: Relevant product data and information 

• LCA information: Environmental impacts, e.g., Global Warming Potential, Cumulative Energy Demand, Acidification Potential, but also a description of the LCA process (data, methods, assumptions) 

• Other relevant environmental information (e.g., VOCs, hazardous materials, etc.) 

• Review and verification information: Information on the LCA consultant and the EPD program operator, and the external third party EPD verifier 

Sika’s EPD portfolio 

Sika has been publishing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its products since 2012 and its extensive EPD portfolio covers all of its construction target markets, from roof to basement. The only liquid-applied roofing and waterproofing systems that offer a fully disclosed cradle-to-grave EPD are Sikalastic RoofPro products. 

Sika has been developing third-party certified product-specific EPDs, covering sealing and flooring products, thermoplastic roofing/waterproofing membranes and liquid applied membranes for roof waterproofing solutions. Furthermore, Sika’s existing EPD reference database for its products and systems is constantly expanding.  

Conclusion 

Sika is looking to the future to build products that measure, improve, report and communicate sustainable value creation, and maximize solutions while reducing risks and resource consumption.  

Learn more about Sika in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit usa.sika.com.