System for Environmental Product Declarations for the Habitat

In order to identify and reduce the negative impacts coming from the production activities of the habitat value chain, it is important to study the products and services environmental performance in this value chain. The environmental declaration of type III are based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies, which aim to identify the potential environmental impacts of products/services. Therefore, the Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) appear as a communication tool of environmental information of products/services ensuring its scientific validity, once it is a document verified by a third part independent prior to publication.

The DAPHabitat System appeared in order to cooperate in the preparation and publication of this type of documents in Portugal, being a national registration programme of Environmental Declaration of type III for products for the habitat.

The DAPHabitat System was built within the scope of a SIAC project “approved within the framework of a Collective Efficiency Strategy of the Sustainable Habitat Cluster (QREN POFC 01/SIAC/2011 nº18653)”, and aimed to develop a verification and registration system, with national and international visibility, for Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) specific for products of the habitat, based on objective and independent criteria, allowing for the realization and availability of PCR (Product Category Rules) that substantiate the creation of EPDs that are accurately validated on a database with public access.