HPDs & EPDs: Same Data, Different Payoff
Still confusing Health Product Declarations with Environmental Product Declarations? You are not alone. They serve different audiences, yet most of the raw process data you gathered for an LCA or EPD can power an HPD too, turning one transparency project into two and unlocking more rating-system points (LEED, BREEAM, WELL) with near-zero extra headache.
HPD vs. EPD: apples, oranges, and the same fruit bowl
An EPD reports cradle-to-grave environmental impacts like global-warming potential. An HPD, by contrast, lists every ingredient above a set threshold and screens them against hazard lists. One answers climate questions, the other health questions. Both sit in the same fruit bowl of material transparency, and specification teams increasingly ask for the pair.
Your existing LCA data does half the HPD work
Bill of materials, mass flows, supplier contacts, collecting these eats calendar months. Good news: the files you created for an LCA already cover roughly 60 % of the fields in the HPD Open Standard (HPDC, 2025). A competent service provider can map those inputs into the HPD Builder in days rather than weeks.
LEED v5: ten material points on the line
The new MR Credit “Optimized Building Products” pools single-attribute disclosures under a ten-point cap. A third-party-verified HPD counts the same as a product-specific EPD (USGBC, 2025) so manufacturers who offer both give project teams more leeway to reach the cap without hunting for extra SKUs.
WELL v2 feature X13: a quick win
WELL assigns one Optimization point when at least 25 % of interior finishes, furniture, and assemblies carry an HPD published in the public repository (IWBI, 2025). That single point frequently nudges projects from Silver to Gold tier—an eyebrow-raising jump for such a modest deliverable.
BREEAM USA Hea 02: indoor-air quality boost
The 2024 manual lists HPDs among accepted evidence for low-emitting product selection. They support up to two credits aimed at lowering VOC exposure (BRE, 2024). On projects chasing an Excellent score every fractional credit matters, especially once energy modeling maxes out.
Picking a service provider without headaches
- Demand a firm that can read your LCA models natively and export HPDs straight from that database.
- Ask whether they handle supplier NDA paperwork; ingredient data often stalls on legal desks.
- Confirm they publish to the HPD Public Repository so the document is instantly credit-eligible.
Miss any of these and you risk a glossy PDF that fails the rating-system pre-check. its a painful lesson.
Double dip, fewer dips in your calendar
Securing an HPD once your EPD work is in flight lets you check human-health boxes while the carbon math is still fresh. One coordinated data pull, two declarations, three rating systems covered—good luck finding a cleaner return on a week’s paperwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an HPD mandatory for LEED v5 projects?
No. LEED v5 allows various single-attribute documents (HPD, EPD, Declare, etc.). Supplying an HPD simply gives project teams another Lego brick toward the ten-point MR Credit cap.
Does a manufacturer need VOC emission testing to publish an HPD?
Emission testing is optional for an HPD but becomes essential if you want the same product to contribute to low-emitting credits in LEED and BREEAM.
How long is an HPD valid before it must be updated?
An HPD is current for three years under HPD Open Standard v2.3. After that, you need to review the formulation and hazard lists and, if nothing changed, re-publish a renewal (HPDC, 2025).
Can I publish an HPD without disclosing proprietary ingredients?
Yes. The standard lets you mask trade-secret substances behind a generic name, as long as you still report hazards and concentration ranges. Over-masking can reduce LEED point eligibility, so strike a balance.
Do digital Product Passport laws in the EU replace HPDs?
Not yet. The upcoming ESPR passport may borrow data fields from HPDs, but no regulation has named it as a substitute. US projects will still request HPDs for the foreseeable future.
About the Author
Walker Ryan is a climate-tech entrepreneur focused on driving industrial decarbonization through better data. As the founder and CEO of Parq, he helps manufacturers generate high-quality, third-party–verified carbon disclosures at scale—accelerating a traditionally slow and expensive process. Before starting Parq, Walker led over $200 million in sustainability-focused investments as VP of Strategy & Growth at ReStream Solutions, following earlier experience in investment banking at Deutsche Bank. He brings a rare mix of capital markets expertise and hands-on sustainability knowledge to tackling the infrastructure of industrial emissions.
