Digital EPDs, demystified for manufacturers
If your team still treats an EPD as a static PDF, you are walking into today’s specs with yesterday’s toolkit. A digital EPD is the same verified declaration, only structured so software and buyers can actually use it at speed. Here is the landscape, what matters commercially, and how to get ready without drowning in files.
What a digital EPD actually is
A digital EPD is an EPD that is published in a machine‑readable structure, not only as a PDF. Think of it as the same verified claims, packaged as a tidy dataset that tools can read in seconds. The defintion most teams bump into is ILCD+EPD XML, with information modeled per EN 15804 or ISO 21930 and mapped for BIM through ISO 22057, published April 2022 (ISO 22057, 2022).
Why buyers and tools prefer them
Digital EPDs drop straight into whole‑building LCA software, which cuts retyping and eliminates copy‑paste errors. LEED v5, ratified on March 28, 2025, introduced updated calculators that lean on structured product data, a strong nudge toward machine‑readable declarations (USGBC, 2025). Faster data entry means fewer stalls in submittals and fewer last‑minute swaps when embodied carbon targets bite.
Where the data actually lives
Several hubs now serve digital EPD data. The International EPD System began publishing fully digital EPDs in 2025, reporting 62 digital EPDs live as of May 20, 2025 (EPD International, 2025). INIES in France shows the scale of digitization with a public tally of 5,326 FDES and 1,728 PEP as of November 16, 2025, and it offers a webservice for digitized datasets (INIES, 2025). Germany’s ÖKOBAUDAT released its current 2024‑I edition on October 2, 2024, and confirms annual refresh cycles plus continuous minor updates, all aligned to EN 15804 A2 and available as CSV or XML for tools (BBSR/ÖKOBAUDAT, 2024).
ECO Portal and the pan‑European bridge
ECO Platform’s ECO Portal aggregates digital EPD feeds from multiple program operators so a buyer or tool can pull a single, validated record. The organization announced phased improvements in 2025, including API access and validation routines, with user registration for the new portal beginning September 1, 2025 (ECO Platform, 2025). For manufacturers, that means one syndication path reaches many specifiers at once.
Standards you will meet, without the jargon
- EN 15804 A2, the rulebook for construction product LCAs in Europe, defines the indicators and modules your results must report.
- ISO 21930 mirrors that logic for global markets.
- ISO 22057 explains how to structure EPD data for BIM so your product can plug into models cleanly, published April 2022 (ISO 22057, 2022).
Will the EU Digital Product Passport replace EPDs
Short answer, no, but they will talk to each other. The EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation entered into force on July 18, 2024, allows product‑specific measures from July 19, 2025, and requires the EU to set up the DPP registry by July 19, 2026 (EUR‑Lex, 2024). Construction products will be addressed by future delegated acts, not all details exist yet. Plan for alignment on identifiers and facility metadata rather than a wholesale rewrite of your EPD process in 2025.
Anatomy of a digital‑ready EPD project
- Pick a reference year and lock data owners early, utilities, materials, transport, waste, and production volumes should be complete and traceable.
- Align on the correct PCR across your competitive set, check expiry and operator acceptance rules.
- Publish with an operator that supports machine‑readable exports, then list in the right hubs for your markets.
Program operators and their digital pipes
Several operators now ship digital feeds. IBU publishes machine‑readable XML for all its EPDs through IBU.data, designed on the InData concept and free for building LCA use, with direct platform linkage noted in 2025 FAQs (IBU, 2025). The International EPD System confirmed fully digital EPDs going live in May 2025, a directional signal for buyers who prefer API‑ready data (EPD International, 2025). In North America, Smart EPD positions itself as a digital‑first operator, reflected in public announcements since 2023 (Businesswire, 2023).
Why this matters for revenue, not just compliance
On projects where embodied‑carbon accounting is mandatory, a product without a product‑specific, verified EPD forces teams to model with conservative defaults that can penalize selection. A clean, digital EPD reduces friction in modeling and submittals, so your product stays in play and price is not the only lever. Often a single mid‑sized project can repay the EPD effort, teams just do not see the projects they never bid.
What to do this quarter
If your team wants to be visible in searches for “digital epd” or “machine‑readable EPD,” run a quick audit of target markets and data hubs, confirm operator pipelines to ECO Portal or national databases, and standardize IDs across plants and SKUs. Make future updates easy now, your next renewal will thank you.
[Sources used for numeric facts: USGBC LEED v5 timeline and ratification, March 28, 2025 (USGBC, 2025). INIES counts and webservice, November 16, 2025 (INIES, 2025). ÖKOBAUDAT 2024‑I release and update cadence, October 2, 2024 (BBSR/ÖKOBAUDAT, 2024). ISO 22057 publication, April 2022 (ISO 22057, 2022). ECO Portal upgrade schedule, 2025 (ECO Platform, 2025).]
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a digital EPD in practical terms?
A verified EPD published in a machine‑readable structure, typically ILCD+EPD XML aligned to EN 15804 or ISO 21930, often mapped to BIM via ISO 22057.
Do I need to wait for the EU Digital Product Passport before investing in digital EPDs?
No. ESPR sets the framework and DPP registry by July 19, 2026, but sector rules arrive via delegated acts later. Digital EPDs created today will still be the core dataset many DPP fields reference (EUR‑Lex, 2024).
Which databases matter for digital EPDs right now?
INIES offers a webservice and lists 5,326 FDES and 1,728 PEP as of Nov 16, 2025 (INIES, 2025). ÖKOBAUDAT 2024‑I went live Oct 2, 2024 with annual refresh cycles (BBSR/ÖKOBAUDAT, 2024). ECO Platform’s ECO Portal is rolling out stronger API access in 2025 (ECO Platform, 2025).
Will LEED v5 require digital EPDs?
LEED v5 does not mandate a single data format, but the rating system and calculators released in 2025 are built for structured inputs, which favors machine‑readable EPDs (USGBC, 2025).
About the Author
John brings a clear, research-driven perspective on the EPD, LCA and HPD space and keeps a close pulse on environmental trends and standards in North America, helping clients understand where the industry is heading and how to get there.
