Part A 2018

Part A 2018 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.

One common set of LCA rules and reporting requirements means:

  • Streamlined, standardized and consistent methods for creating new and updating expiring PCRs
  • More cost and time-efficient verification processes
  • Manufacturers now have a 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 2018 >

Download Part A Compatibility appendices >

Part A: Compatibility appendices – create SM Transparency Reports using any existing PCR.

There are many PCRs already in existence. Now manufacturers have a choice of ISO 14025 Type III environmental declarations – SM Transparency Reports or traditional EPDs.

The Part A compatibility appendices are designed to easily enable the use of an existing PCR to create an SM Transparency Report AND to optionally be compliant with other international standards. They ensure that all manufacturers are using the same LCA calculation rules and reporting the same content; just the format is different.

If you are a Program Operator or stakeholder interested in creating a compatibility appendix using an existing standard or PCR, download the compatibility evaluation form >

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.

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.

About Part A

This document is based on several public standards and LCA best practices. It complies with the ISO 14040:2006, 14044:2006 and ISO 14025:2006 as well as ISO 14020:2000 and builds on a vast experience and expertise in life cycle assessment and Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) programs around the world, particularly EN15804:2012+A1:2013 and ISO 21930:2017. 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 SM 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 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 EPDs and product benchmarks).

There are other 2-part PCR processes based on EN 15804 with general LCA rules in Part A and specific rules in Part B. The difference is the SM 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 >