By the Climetrics team
Short answer: A life cycle assessment (LCA) is the study that measures a product’s environmental impact across its whole life. An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a standardized, independently verified document that reports those LCA results in a format buyers can compare. You cannot have an EPD without first doing an LCA. If you need to understand your product’s impact, you need an LCA. If a customer, tender, or regulation asks you to prove and publish it, you need an EPD.
What an LCA actually is
A life cycle assessment quantifies the environmental impact of a product across defined stages of its life: raw material extraction, manufacturing, transport, use, and end of life. It is governed by two ISO standards that work as a pair. ISO 14040 sets out the principles and framework. ISO 14044 sets out the detailed requirements. An LCA measures more than carbon: a full study reports global warming potential, acidification, eutrophication, and ozone depletion, among others. That breadth makes it useful for product design decisions, not just reporting.
What an EPD actually is
An Environmental Product Declaration is a Type III eco-label defined by ISO 14025. It takes the results of an LCA and reports them in a fixed, comparable structure, then has them checked by an independent third party before publication through a recognized program operator. An EPD follows a Product Category Rule (PCR), a common recipe for a given product type, so that two EPDs for similar products can be read side by side. For construction products sold in Europe, the relevant standard on top of ISO 14025 is EN 15804.
So which one do you need?
You need an LCA if you want to understand and reduce your product’s footprint, feed an ISO 14067 product carbon footprint, answer a one-off buyer question, or support internal eco-design decisions. You need an EPD, which includes doing an LCA, if a customer, a public tender, a green building rating, or an export market requires a verified, published declaration. Common triggers in 2026 include LEED, BREEAM, GRIHA, and IGBC credits, and pressure from the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Why this is urgent for Indian exporters right now
The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism entered its definitive period on 1 January 2026. From that date, EU importers must account for the embedded emissions in covered goods, including steel, aluminium, and cement. Where an exporter cannot supply verified product-level emissions data, EU default values apply, and those defaults can sit well above a producer’s actual emissions. The absence of a credible LCA or EPD can become a direct cost.
What it costs and how long it takes
Timelines vary with data readiness. At Climetrics, most EPDs take 8 to 12 weeks once your data is ready. Cost depends on product complexity, how ready your data is, and verification fees. The largest savings come from getting the LCA model right the first time and reusing it across a product family.
How Climetrics helps
Climetrics delivers ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 compliant LCA studies and EN 15804 and ISO 14025 compliant EPDs for manufacturers in India and export markets. If you are not sure whether your situation calls for an LCA, a full EPD, or a product carbon footprint, that is the first conversation to have before spending anything. Explore our EPD services, LCA services, or talk to us.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get an EPD without an LCA?
No. The LCA produces the data that the EPD reports and verifies. The two are sequential.
Is an EPD just a carbon number?
No. An EPD reports several impact categories under a Product Category Rule, not carbon alone. A single-number carbon result is closer to a product carbon footprint under ISO 14067.
How long is an EPD valid?
EPDs are typically valid for five years, after which they are updated or reverified, provided the product and its data have not materially changed.
Sources: European Commission, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism; Circular Ecology, EPDs vs LCAs.