Hohmann & Barnard: products and their EPD gap
Hohmann & Barnard sits on many masonry specs for anchors, reinforcement, flashings, and air barriers. The product range is broad and reliable, yet their environmental paperwork looks thinner than the catalog. Here is a fast, practical read on where they play, where EPD coverage is missing, and how that can affect bids chasing LEED v5 era goals.
Who Hohmann & Barnard is
Hohmann & Barnard (h-b.com) manufactures building‑envelope hardware and systems used by masonry contractors and façade teams. The portfolio spans anchors and ties, joint reinforcement, engineered and concealed lintel systems, moisture protection and flashings, restoration anchors, and multiple air and vapor barrier options like ENVIRO‑BARRIER and X‑BARRIER. Their site also points to sister brands for restoration and cleaning. See their About page and EcoInitiatives for context and intent around sustainability (EcoInitiatives).
Pure play or many lines
This is not a single‑product company. H‑B serves several product categories across Division 04 and Division 07. Counting sizes, gauges, finishes, and hardware variants, the offer likely runs into the hundreds of SKUs. That breadth wins shelf space with distributors and keeps them on shortlists for schools, healthcare, and commercial work.
What transparency exists today
Across many anchor pages we found LEED letters and HPDs for galvanized and stainless variants. That is useful for ingredient disclosure credits and submittal hygiene. What we did not find were product‑specific EPDs posted for their core masonry anchors, flashings, or air barrier membranes. If they exist, they are hard to find on the public site. The market, meanwhile, keeps publishing HPDs at scale, now well over 14,000 reports in the HPD Public Repository (HPDC, 2025).
The biggest opportunity: air and vapor barriers
Air barrier membranes are often covered by program‑operator EPDs. Two examples frequently specified alongside H‑B in wall assemblies list current declarations: GCP’s PERM‑A‑BARRIER family shows NSF‑verified EPDs valid through 2027 (GCP, 2022). Henry lists EPDs for Barritech VP and related systems directly on product pages (Henry, 2025). When an H‑B option like ENVIRO‑BARRIER lacks an easily accessible EPD, teams chasing carbon‑aware specs will default to a brand with a ready file. Submittals get messy fast without it.
A concrete example
Pick a probable volume driver: ENVIRO‑BARRIER fluid‑applied AWB. It is widely used and front‑and‑center in H‑B’s marketing, yet no public EPD is evident on the product page. Competing fluid‑applied or sheet systems with published EPDs can slide into the spec without changing the wall design, which is exactly how substitutions happen when time is tight. That is preventable.
Competitive set you will see on bids
- Masonry anchors and reinforcement: Wire‑Bond, Heckmann, Blok‑Lok, FERO. Coverage with HPDs and LEED letters is common, EPDs are still rare for metal anchors.
- Flashings and moisture protection: York, Henry, Carlisle CCW, GCP. EPDs are increasingly available on these membranes.
- Air and vapor barriers: Henry, GCP, Tremco, Prosoco, Carlisle CCW. Multiple product‑specific EPDs exist in this cluster.
Why this matters in the LEED v5 era
LEED v5 was ratified by USGBC members on March 28, 2025. It keeps disclosure while placing stronger emphasis on embodied‑carbon performance across the enclosure. Product‑specific EPDs remain a recognized path and help teams avoid conservative default factors that can penalize a submittal (USGBC, 2025). For owners with internal sustainability policies, an EPD can be the entry ticket to even be considered.
A fast path to close the gap
If a category lacks an existing PCR tailored to the product, pick the most widely used construction product PCR and align with how competitors publish. Prioritize high‑runner SKUs first, especially membranes and any thermally efficient hardware, then expand to anchors and reinforcement. The heavy lift is data wrangling, not modeling. A good LCA partner will drive supplier outreach, collect a clean year of utilities and scrap data, and handle versioning so renewals do not become fire drills. Do not forget the HPD alongside the EPD, since spec teams often look for both on the same screen and want them in the HPD Public Repository. Done right, this is the paperwork that opens doors, not busywork.
Bottom line for specability
H‑B sells into many categories with dozens of go‑to items. Today the public EPD footprint looks light compared to peers in membranes, which is where project teams often start their sustainability review. Closing that gap on a few high‑volume lines will pay back quickly in retained specs, fewer RFI detours, and calmer submittals. It’s the kind of move that feels small on day one and looks obvious a quarter later. Also, let’s be honest, leaving this for later is definately the risky choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Hohmann & Barnard product families are most likely to benefit first from EPD coverage?
Start with air and vapor barriers, then flashings, then anchors and reinforcement. Membranes are frequently compared against competitors that already publish EPDs, so EPDs there prevent easy substitutions (GCP, 2022, Henry, 2025).
Does LEED v5 still recognize product‑specific EPDs?
Yes. LEED v5 keeps disclosure in scope and elevates embodied‑carbon outcomes. Product‑specific EPDs remain a recognized path and reduce the need to fall back on conservative defaults during accounting (USGBC, 2025).
Is publishing HPDs still worthwhile if we focus on EPDs?
Yes. Project teams frequently check for both. The HPD Public Repository now lists 14,000 plus HPDs from nearly 1,000 manufacturers, which signals strong demand among specifiers (HPDC, 2025).
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.
