Homasote: products and the EPD opportunity
Homasote is a century‑old name in cellulose fiberboard. They sell into common specs like acoustic control, tackable walls, roof boards, and expansion joints. If enviromental paperwork is your bottleneck to show up on shortlists, here’s a fast read on what they make and where Environmental Product Declarations could lift win rates.
Who Homasote is, in plain terms
Homasote Company manufactures cellulose‑based structural fiberboard in New Jersey and sells into commercial and residential building markets. The brand is best known for sound control boards and roof deck panels. Their site also highlights a long recycling story and water loop system, plus a dedicated Environment section you can scan for claims and policies (Homasote Environment).
What they actually sell
Homasote is not a one‑product shop. They cover several categories with dozens of SKUs across thicknesses and treatments.
- Sound control boards for walls and floors, including tackable surfaces
- Roof deck and cover board alternatives for low‑slope assemblies
- Concrete forming and expansion joint board
- Fire‑retardant structural panels like NCFR
- Industrial packaging sheets under the PAK‑LINE banner
This mix puts them in specs that often weigh acoustic performance, durability, and ease of installation.
EPD coverage today
We could not find product‑specific Homasote EPDs on major North American registries or on their product pages as of February 7, 2026. If one exists but is hard to access, specfiers still treat it as missing. Public, third‑party verified, and easily downloadable is the bar in most project submittals.
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Why the gap matters in bids
Project teams in LEED workflows earn credit when they can count enough qualifying EPDs. Under LEED v4.1, a common path is 20 permanently installed products from 5 manufacturers, with a reduced 10 from 3 for certain project types like Core and Shell or Warehouses (USGBC, 2024) (USGBC, 2024). LEED v5 was ratified on March 28, 2025 and keeps materials disclosure as a core lever within Arc‑delivered calculators, so EPDs remain a practical spec advantage in that ecosystem (USGBC, 2025) (USGBC, 2025).
Who they run into on projects
Alternates in the same rooms and roofs often show up with EPDs in hand.
- Acoustical ceilings and wall panels from Armstrong publish multiple EPDs, including for Ultima ceiling panels, verified through recognized operators (ASTM, 2025) (ASTM, 2025).
- Roof cover boards competing for the same assembly slot list product EPDs, such as USG Securock glass‑mat roof boards in 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch thicknesses (ASTM, 2025) (ASTM, 2025) (ASTM, 2025). Georgia‑Pacific’s DensDeck roof boards list EPDs across multiple thicknesses on the product portal as well (GP, 2025) (GP, 2025).
- For tackable and acoustic wall finishes, PET felt makers compete frequently in education and office interiors. EzoBord, for example, publishes a Type III EPD available from SCS with a 2025 update (SCS, 2025) (SCS, 2025).
In short, many like‑kind or substitutable materials already clear the documentation hurdle, which makes it simpler for teams to reach their product counts.
Likely best‑seller targets for a first EPD
If we were prioritizing, we would start with two families.
- The 440‑series sound control and tackable boards used in classrooms, offices, and multi‑family. These show up early in design and get value‑engineered later, so a product‑specific Type III EPD helps them stay sticky in alternates.
- Roof deck or cover board applications where gypsum and high‑density polyiso boards come with EPDs. Without one, cellulose boards can be swapped late in the game when the assembly lead chases documentation.
Pick the PCR that competitors use so results land apples to apples. That is how reviewers compare global warming potential and other impact categories with confidence.
Data work that speeds this up
The longest pole is plant data. A smooth runbook collects utility, volumes, inbound transport, and waste for a clear reference year, then aligns it with the chosen PCR and operator templates. Great LCA partners reduce request fatigue for operations and QA teams, keep cross‑plant interviews tight, and turn around submittal‑ready EPDs quickly. That saves time in R&D and product management while raising the hit rate in submittals.
What this means for product teams
Homasote plays in categories with steady spec volume and strong competition. The portfolio is focused enough that one or two product‑specific EPDs would cover a meaningful share of revenue and unlock more bids where documentation is a gate. The sooner those PDFs are public, the sooner they count toward project EPD tallies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Homasote product families are strongest candidates for a first product-specific EPD?
Start with 440-series sound control and tackable boards, then address roof deck or cover board applications. These appear most often in education, office, and multi-family specs where teams actively count EPDs.
Does LEED v5 still reward EPDs the way v4.1 did?
Yes. LEED v5 keeps materials disclosure as a core pathway in Arc-based calculators. LEED v4.1’s common path uses 20 products from 5 manufacturers, or 10 from 3 for certain project types, which signals the ongoing importance of public, third-party verified EPDs (USGBC, 2024) (USGBC, 2024) (USGBC, 2025) (USGBC, 2025).
If competitors already have EPDs, what is the practical risk of waiting?
You may be excluded from shortlists where teams must reach EPD counts fast. Competing roof boards and acoustic panels publish EPDs through ASTM, UL, or SCS programs, which simplifies LEED tracking and reduces friction in submittals (ASTM, 2025) (ASTM, 2025) (ASTM, 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.
