Part A

Part A 2023 provides a number of significant advances in response to ongoing developments in the PCR/EPD requirements landscape and in support of Sustainable Minds’ goal to standardize and simplify the PCR/LCA/EPD creation and delivery process.

Updates to the SM Transparency Report™ / EPD Framework include:

  • Technical additions and operational changes allowing for new and updated PCRs to be conformant to v1 of the 2022 ACLCA PCR Open Standard Guidance
  • Full conformance to ISO 21930:2017 to reflect rising demand for LCAs of building products and services
  • Integration of Page 4 into every Transparency Report, allowing compatibility with all PCRs while keeping the manufacturers' choice of report format and delivery method

We are excited to reach this milestone and as always, invite your comments.

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Download Part A 2023 >

ACLCA PCR Open Standard Guidance >

Part A + Part B = PCR

A verified SM Transparency Report is an ISO 14025:2006 conformant Type III environmental declaration which communicates verifiable, accurate and non-misleading environmental information for products and their applications.

Check the North American PCR Catalog for available PCRs, to determine whether to create a new Part B or renew an expiring PCR using the SM Transparency Report/EPD Framework.

About Part A

This document is based on several public standards and LCA best practices. It complies with the ISO 14040:2006, 14044:2006, ISO 21930:2017, and ISO 14025:2006 and builds on a vast experience and expertise in life cycle assessment and Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) programs around the world. This is a living document with the intention of continuous improvement.

The intended application is to provide a common structural set of general rules, requirements, and guidelines applicable to any product in order to ensure that all Type III environmental declarations based on the SM TR Framework are derived, verified and presented in a harmonized and consistent manner.

A Sustainble Minds Transparency Report presents the summary of the LCA background report that includes quantified environmental information on the life cycle of a product in information modules. Modularity allows for an easy organization and expression of data packages throughout the life cycle of the product using consistent, reproducible, and comparable underlying data (in compliance with ISO 14025:2006 Clause 5.3).

How Part A works with Part B

A Transparency Report for a product, or products, is created by applying the general rules of Part A together with the product-specific rules of Part B. A product group consists of products that compete for/deliver the same function or purpose. The aim is to enhance and better enable standardized, consistent, and meaningful results for products of the same product group (this also paves the way for industry-wide EPDs and product benchmarks).

There are other 2-part PCR programs based on the same standards with general LCA rules in Part A and specific rules in Part B. The difference is the Sustainable Minds Part B. It encourages manufacturers to create a functional unit and rules for comparability for product groups vs. broad product categories.

Get started on Transparency Reports for your products! Download the Part B request form >