CPI Daylighting: products and EPD readiness
CPI Daylighting, now operating within Kingspan Light + Air, is a go‑to in translucent polycarbonate walls, skylights, and canopies. The portfolio is broad and specification‑friendly. EPD coverage in North America appears thin, which can quietly block bids when owners prefer or require product‑specific declarations. Here is the fast, commercial read.
Who CPI Daylighting is today
CPI Daylighting sits inside Kingspan Light + Air in North America, alongside Solatube and other daylighting brands. The group publishes a steady drumbeat of sustainability updates under Planet Passionate, including measured progress on operational emissions and material circularity (Kingspan Annual Report, 2024).
If a sustainability overview is helpful for client decks, start here: Planet Passionate Resource Center.
What they sell
Architectural daylighting systems for walls, roofs, and entries. The headline products are unitized translucent wall systems such as UniQuad, polycarbonate cladding like PentaClad, long‑span skylight systems such as QuadSpan and GridSpan, plus canopies and walkway covers including U‑Lite. Dynamic shading and graphic options round out the offer.
Rough breadth of the line
Between wall systems, skylights, canopies, colors, thicknesses, spans, and thermal packages, the sellable configurations run into the dozens. For specifiers, that means workable choices across education, sports, civic, transit, and light‑industrial applications without redesigning the envelope each time.
EPD coverage today
As of December 18, 2025, we could not locate publicly listed, product‑specific EPDs for CPI Daylighting’s core North American systems. Within Kingspan Group there are many current EPDs for insulated panels and several daylighting products in Europe, but they do not clearly map to CPI’s U.S. translucent wall and roof assemblies. If CPI has in‑progress declarations, they are not widely posted yet.
Why that gap matters in bids
Owners and design teams increasingly ask for product‑specific EPDs to document embodied carbon and keep modeling penalties off the table. The buildings sector contributes about 34% of energy and process‑related CO₂ emissions globally, so transparency is not a nice‑to‑have, it is table stakes (UNEP, 2025). LEED v5 continues to preference product‑specific EPDs and lower‑carbon options, which can tilt shortlists quickly when time is tight.
Likely bestseller without an EPD vs a competitor that has one
UniQuad is frequently showcased as CPI’s signature translucent wall system in recent project write‑ups. If it lacks a published EPD at bid time, teams often pivot to Kalwall, which maintains UL‑verified product‑specific EPDs for translucent wall and roof systems. Recent postings list a Kalwall wall‑panel EPD current through March 31, 2029 and a wall‑system EPD through April 1, 2027 (NBS Source, 2025, NBS Source, 2025). That single document can be the difference between “in” and “out” on EPD‑driven specs. It’s a bit brutal, but true.
Where CPI Daylighting competes most
Primary head‑to‑heads include Kalwall on FRP translucent walls and skyroofs, VELUX on commercial skylights, and regional specialists like Major Industries and EXTECH on custom daylighting. In many program types, glass curtain wall with high‑performance infills can substitute for portions of a translucent scope, especially in arenas, natatoriums, and higher‑ed. The spec chessboard is dynamic, but it usually rewards whoever brings a clean, product‑specific EPD first.
What to do next if the EPD set is incomplete
- Prioritize one wall system and one skylight family that drive the bulk of quotes. One great EPD beats five half‑finished ones.
- Align the PCR with the competitor set your customers meet most often. A good LCA partner will map to the dominant PCR used by peers so reviewers can compare apples to apples.
- Make data collection painless for plant, procurement, and quality teams. That is the critical path to cycle‑time and a dependable declaration.
- Publish with a widely recognized program operator so estimators and sustainability managers can find the record fast.
A quick upside reminder
Kingspan reports its daylighting systems sold in 2024 generate about 3.8 billion lumens of natural light annually, underscoring the category’s energy‑savings potential when documented well (Kingspan Annual Report, 2024). Pairing that story with product‑specific EPDs lets sales teams defend value on embodied carbon and performance in the same breath. That’s how you stop value‑engineering from quietly erasing daylight. It’s definately worth it.
The take‑home
CPI Daylighting brings a versatile, spec‑ready portfolio across walls, skylights, and canopies. EPD visibility in North America looks limited right now, which hands competitors with published, product‑specific EPDs a real advantage on LEED‑or policy‑driven projects. Pick the hero SKUs, gather data with intent, and get the first declarations live. Once one wins, the rest follow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does CPI Daylighting have publicly listed product-specific EPDs for its U.S. translucent wall and roof systems?
As of December 18, 2025, we could not find publicly listed, product‑specific EPDs for CPI Daylighting’s core North American systems. The Kingspan Group does publish many EPDs for other divisions and regions, but these do not clearly map to CPI’s U.S. translucent assemblies.
Which competitor has current EPDs for similar translucent wall or roof systems?
Kalwall publishes UL‑verified product‑specific EPDs for translucent walls and skyroofs, with records showing validity into 2027 and 2029 (NBS Source, 2025).
Why should daylighting manufacturers invest in product-specific EPDs now?
Because EPDs reduce embodied‑carbon uncertainty for design teams and keep penalties off modeled totals. The buildings sector contributes roughly 34% of energy and process‑related CO₂ emissions, so buyers prefer products with verified data to meet policies and ratings frameworks (UNEP, 2025).
Is there a sustainability page to reference for Kingspan Light + Air?
Yes. See the Planet Passionate hub and annual report for group‑level targets and progress, including circularity and daylighting metrics (Kingspan Annual Report, 2024).
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.
