December 2025 EPD News by Region

Global snapshot

The International EPD System said it surpassed 18,000 valid EPDs this year and reminded publishers that registrations submitted on or after December 29 would be recorded as January entries. That matters if you want your 2025 tally on the board (EPD International, 2025). citeturn0search1turn0search0

European Union

The European Commission published a delegated regulation that makes life‑cycle GWP disclosure part of energy performance certificates for new buildings larger than 1,000 m² from 2028, with all new buildings captured from 2030. Expect more tenders to ask for product‑specific, third‑party verified EPDs so project LCAs pass muster without conservative defaults (European Commission, 2025) (European Commission, 2025). citeturn0search3turn0search9

France

INIES continued its rapid growth. As of December 26, the homepage listed 5,517 FDES and 1,813 PEP, representing 323,812 commercial references that modelers can pull directly into RE2020 tools (INIES, 2025) (INIES, 2025). From January 1, 2026, only EN 15804+A2 FDES remain active in INIES, bringing the A1 era to a close earlier than nominal expiries for some files (Cerema, 2025). citeturn3search2turn14search0

United Kingdom and Ireland

The UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard team reported that 205 projects took part in the 2025 pilot, with a December pre‑launch update confirming changes shaped by that feedback. For manufacturers, that is a clear signal that upfront carbon limits are moving from whitepaper to spreadsheet checks in design reviews (Construction Industry Council, 2025). citeturn5search0

United States

Two new industry‑wide Smart EPDs show the embodied carbon of domestically produced structural steel is down by more than 10 percent compared to the 2021 baseline. If steel is part of your assembly, those numbers can tip a spec in tight WBLCA comparisons, provided your downstream processes are equally well documented in EPDs (AISC, 2025). citeturn1search0turn1search2

Canada

Ottawa’s updated Standard on Embodied Carbon in Construction now requires whole‑building LCAs on major projects and adds structural and reinforcement steel alongside concrete. The original 10 percent GWP reduction target for ready‑mix concrete remains the first rung on the ladder, and December analysis urged provinces to align procurement to accelerate uptake (Treasury Board Secretariat, 2025) (Pembina Institute, 2025). citeturn2search2turn2search0turn2search1

Australia and New Zealand

NABERS awarded Australia’s first Embodied Carbon rating on December 10. That is a practical proof point that verified product data translates into public ratings for assets, not just paperwork in a drawer (NABERS, 2025) (NABERS, 2025). A few days later, GBCA confirmed product‑specific EPDs published with EPD Australasia now earn 7 Responsible Products Value points under Green Star, up from 5, which nudges teams toward specific declarations over generics (EPD Australasia, 2025). citeturn7search0turn7search4

East Asia

Beijing hosted the Sino–Swedish Sustainable Low‑Carbon Value Chain Forum on December 8, spotlighting life‑cycle data exchange and verification as trade enablers. For exporters into China and Sweden, the thread is simple. Comparable, third‑party verified EPD data speeds due diligence (EPD International, 2025). citeturn6search3

Middle East and North Africa

While no December regulation materially changed EPD workflows, one late‑November development continued to ripple this month. EPD Saudi Arabia joined the International EPD System as a new licensee, giving manufacturers a local pathway to publish recognized declarations across MENA (EPD International, 2025). citeturn9search3

Latin America

On December 11, the Climate Bonds Standard approved Minergie as a proxy for low‑carbon buildings in Mexico. Finance follows measurement, and lenders will increasingly expect product impacts to be verifiable and machine‑readable, which is where product‑specific EPDs shine in project LCAs (Climate Bonds Initiative, 2025). citeturn10search0

Africa

South Africa hit its final stretch toward the December 7 Energy Performance Certificate display deadline for large public and private buildings, with government reporting thousands of registrations and issued certificates in the weeks prior. Building‑level compliance is not an EPD mandate, yet it trains the market to quantify and disclose, which tends to raise the floor on product data quality too (Government of South Africa, 2025). citeturn12search5turn12search0

What manufacturers should do next

Mark your calendars for the EN 15804+A2 switchovers, then validate that your declarations appear in the registries project teams actually query. Where rating tools have upgraded the value of product‑specific EPDs, make sure your highest‑volume SKUs are covered first. Finally, tighten your data collection so verification is fast and repeatable. It sounds obvious and it’s definately worth it when the next tender wants numbers, not promises.