January 2026 EPD News, Region by Region
Carbon accounting moved from whisper to workflow this month. Europe flipped the switch on new construction product rules, the Nordics tightened limits, and North America kept ratcheting procurement and rating systems toward embodied‑carbon results. If you make building products, January’s headlines read like a checklist for what data you will be asked to show in bids, submittals, and portals next.
Europe
The EU’s recast Construction Products Regulation reached its application date on January 8, which brings environmental performance into the same system as CE marking and sets up Digital Product Passports to carry verified data that aligns with EN 15804. Project teams should expect a phased rollout through updated harmonised standards, yet the direction is locked in (DG GROW, 2025).
A delegated regulation establishing a common EU method to calculate life‑cycle global warming potential for buildings was adopted in December and surfaced widely on January 14, which means Member States now have a union framework to align their national rules (BUILD UP, 2026) (European Commission, 2025).
Nordics
Finland’s carbon footprint limits for new buildings entered into force for permits filed on or after January 9. Limits vary by use type, for example 16.0 kgCO2e per square metre for smaller apartment buildings until 2028, tightening in 2029, with climate reports required in permitting. This accelerates demand for product‑specific data like EPDs to feed whole‑building calculations (Uusiouutiset, 2026) (Sweco, 2026).
United Kingdom and Ireland
Ireland lowered the threshold for mandatory whole‑life greenhouse gas assessments in exchequer‑funded infrastructure to projects above 10 million euro starting January 1, expanding demand for verified product data at tender stage (gov.ie, 2026).
In the UK, exporters into the EU face full CBAM reporting admin from January, which makes high‑quality embodied‑carbon documentation a defensive play for materials headed to EU projects (The Guardian, 2025). EPDs help make those declarations reliable and comparable when buyers check paperwork.
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United States
State policy kept the spotlight. Colorado’s Office of the State Architect is required to review maximum acceptable GWP limits by January 1, 2026 and at least every four years, with current submittals anchored in product‑specific Type III EPDs across seven material families (Colorado OSA, 2025). Washington’s Buy Clean and Buy Fair program continued its database build, which will capture EPDs and supplier details for large state projects, shifting reporting from slide decks to a state portal (Washington Commerce, 2025).
On the market side, LEED v5 stayed in motion. USGBC set the beta exam timeline, with GA on April 28 and AP specialties on June 30, reinforcing that embodied‑carbon quantification is now table stakes in mainstream green building workflows (USGBC, 2026).
Canada
The federal Standard on Embodied Carbon in Construction, updated July 2025, now calls for whole‑building LCAs and extends requirements to structural and reinforcing steel alongside concrete. Departments were instructed to integrate the new scope into procurement frameworks, which signals more consistent EPD usage in federal work (Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, 2025). Industry guidance from CAGBC continued to nudge owners toward embodied‑carbon reporting in January notices (CAGBC, 2026).
Australia and New Zealand
Australia closed 2025 with the first NABERS Embodied Carbon rating, a clear market signal that verified product data matters at certification time (NABERS, 2025). Green Star Buildings v1.1 arrives May 1, 2026, with updated Climate Positive benchmarks that keep upfront carbon squarely in scope (GBCA, 2025). New Zealand’s national embodied‑carbon data repository continued accepting EPDs and LCAs, giving specifiers a central source to reference in consents and tenders (BRANZ and CIL, 2025).
Middle East
The ecosystem kept maturing rather than shifting policy. EPD Saudi Arabia highlighted publishing pathways for verified declarations that are recognized internationally, useful for regional projects that track embodied impacts alongside rating tools like LEED and BREEAM (EPD Saudi Arabia, 2026). In the UAE, prior‑year guidance on TM65 UAE remained a practical route for services equipment carbon accounting that complements materials EPDs when clients ask for full‑system numbers (CIBSE, 2025).
Latin America
No new January mandates tied directly to construction EPDs surfaced. Mexico’s parliamentary notes did flag fiscal tools prioritising environmental preservation, which could evolve into procurement criteria that privilege lower‑impact materials with verifiable disclosures later in the year (Gaceta Parlamentaria, 2026). Where numbers are missing, teams should assume buyer expectations will still track EU and North American templates.
What this means for manufacturers this quarter
Buyers are moving from narratives to numbers. The fastest wins come from product‑specific, third‑party verified EPDs that cleanly plug into building‑level rules and rating tools. Keep data collection simple for plants, document A1 to A3 precisely, and line up program operators your customers accept. It is not easy, yet it is definately doable and pays back once bids stop stalling over carbon documentation.
A quick two‑week play:
- Map your top three EU or state‑level sales targets to the exact rule that will be cited in specs. Note if the project is subject to EPBD life‑cycle GWP disclosure, Colorado GWP limits, or a LEED v5 pursuit (European Commission, 2025) (Colorado OSA, 2025) (USGBC, 2026).
- Pick one product per target and confirm the governing PCR and the program operator preferred by the buyer. Start the EPD data pull now, then set a renewal calendar that avoids bunching with your busiest production months.
Speed and clarity win the spec. The regions may differ, yet they all reward clean, current EPDs that let procurement tick the box without a second email.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the EU’s CPR make EPDs mandatory for every construction product on January 8, 2026?
Not universally. The CPR’s application date arrived on January 8, 2026, but requirements phase in through updated harmonised standards and delegated acts. Environmental performance data is entering the CE system, and EPDs remain the most accepted way to supply it in EN 15804 format (DG GROW, 2025) (BUILD UP, 2026).
What changed in Finland that affects EPD demand?
From January 9, 2026, carbon footprint limits by building type apply at permitting, with climate reports required. Whole‑building calculations benefit from product‑specific EPDs to avoid generic penalties and to prove reductions over time (Uusiouutiset, 2026).
Where in the US will EPDs most affect bids in early 2026?
Colorado reviews GWP limits from January 1, 2026, and Washington is building a state portal that will collect EPDs for covered materials. Agencies are requiring Type III EPDs that match ISO and PCR references (Colorado OSA, 2025) (Washington Commerce, 2025).
About the Author
With a passion for sustainability and a love for complex data, Toby helps manufacturers efficiently collect data from across their organization and get their EPDs done right. He’s especially interested in how AI can support human expertise, helping R&D and factory teams work faster, smarter, and with less friction.
