Harman in projects: great sound, missing EPDs
Harman shows up on drawings anywhere sound or show lighting matters. Think classrooms, arenas, hospitality, retail, houses of worship, and corporate spaces. The portfolio is deep, yet environmental declarations for those products are hard to spot. If teams want low‑friction specification under modern green frameworks, that gap can slow the music.
Who Harman is on a jobsite
Harman International sits at the crossroads of professional audio, architectural lighting, and connected solutions. Brands like JBL, Crown, BSS, Soundcraft, AMX, and Martin Lighting cover loudspeakers, amplifiers, DSP and control, and entertainment or architectural luminaires. In construction terms, that touches Division 26, 27 and 28 scopes.
What they actually sell into buildings
Across installed audio, there are ceiling and surface loudspeakers, line arrays, commercial amps, DSP, and control processors. Martin adds theatrical and architectural LED fixtures. Catalog breadth spans many categories with dozens to hundreds of SKUs, depending on region and voltage options. This is not a pure play in one niche, it is a platform play that rides along with AV, electrical, and interiors packages.
The state of EPD coverage today
We could not find product‑specific EPDs publicly listed for core Harman brands as of December 19, 2025. That includes installed loudspeakers, amps, and common architectural fixtures. Harman publishes a sustainability report and policies that speak to packaging, energy, and circularity, which is a useful starting point for specifiers who ask for hard data on enviromental impact (Harman Sustainability).
Why this matters in 2025 specifications
Project teams still earn materials credit by counting EPDs, with product‑specific Type III, externally verified EPDs counting as 1.5 products toward the 20‑product threshold in the current credit structure (USGBC Credit Library, 2024) (USGBC Credit Library, 2024). LEED v5, ratified in 2025, increases attention on embodied carbon tracking in materials workflows, which keeps the pressure on manufacturers to provide verified declarations (USGBC, 2025).
Where competitors are already visible
Lighting peers have pushed hard. Signify states more than 2,000 EPDs covering about 70,000 product variations globally, which dramatically simplifies credit counting on big jobs (Signify, 2024). LEDVANCE publicly targets EPD coverage for at least 80% of its professional luminaire portfolio in Europe by the end of 2026 (LEDVANCE, 2025). In acoustic finishes, many ceiling and wall absorber lines publish EPDs, which means part of the “better sound” budget can shift to those items when AV hardware lacks documentation.
A likely friction point on bids
Take an installed speaker line that appears in education and corporate interiors. If the spec calls for EPD‑counted products and the audio package lacks them, teams may prefer a lighting or acoustic finish alternative that helps hit the scorecard. That does not make the audio optional, it means substitution conversations can start earlier than you want, and price pressure follows. In LEED jobs, project teams avoid defaulting to conservative generic assumptions by choosing products with verified EPDs, which protects the schedule and the score (USGBC Credit Library, 2024).
Harman’s competitive set in construction
On like‑kind AV, they meet Biamp, QSC, Bose Professional, Yamaha, Shure, and L‑Acoustics depending on venue type. On the lighting side, the Martin brand runs into Signify, Fagerhult Group, iGuzzini, XAL, BEGA, and others. In spaces where acoustic performance can be achieved through materials, Saint‑Gobain Ecophon and similar ceiling systems are frequent alternatives. The practical takeaway is that many of these rivals already show up with EPDs for portions of their ranges.
What strong EPD coverage would look like for Harman
Start with high‑volume, permanently installed SKUs across ceiling and surface speakers, commercial amps, and a focused Martin luminaire family. Choose the dominant PCR route used by competitors in each category, then publish product‑specific, third‑party verified EPDs. For electronics, PEP‑style rulesets are common in electrical sectors. For luminaires, widely accepted EN 15804 or PEP pathways exist. Make the data package easy for channel partners to download by SKU, and keep renewal timing visible so teams trust the declarations. The heavy lift is data wrangling across plants, BOMs, and utilities, not the math itself.
What to watch next
Harman’s sustainability site signals intent and progress on packaging, materials, and energy. The moment the first wave of product‑specific EPDs lands for installed audio or Martin’s architectural lines, spec friction drops and bid math gets simpler. Given how many projects now ask for verifiable product‑level impacts, being early in installed AV would be a real edge rather than a checkbox.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does LEED still reward product-specific EPDs, or did that change in 2025?
Yes. Teams continue to count EPDs, and product‑specific Type III with external verification still carries extra weight toward the product tally in the current credit structure (USGBC Credit Library, 2024). LEED v5 raises embodied‑carbon expectations across materials workflows, so declarations stay commercially relevant in 2025 (USGBC, 2025).
Roughly how broad is Harman’s building-facing catalog?
Across installed speakers, amps, DSP, control, and architectural lighting, expect dozens to hundreds of SKUs across regions and voltage options. Exact counts vary by market and model lifecycle.
Is there a quick win if Harman starts publishing EPDs?
Focus on high‑runner installed speakers and a single Martin luminaire family. Publishing product‑specific, externally verified EPDs for those lines would immediately help projects hit the EPD credit and reduce substitution pressure.
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.
