National Gypsum: products and their EPD coverage
National Gypsum sits in the center of the gypsum universe with familiar badges on jobsite pallets. If you spec walls or roofs, you know Gold Bond, DEXcell, PermaBASE and ProForm. The question buyers keep asking is simple. How well are these ranges covered by Environmental Product Declarations and where are the quick wins to lift specability without a six month slog.
Who they are and what they sell
National Gypsum Company owns several cornerstone brands in North American interiors and envelopes. The portfolio spans gypsum wallboard and specialty boards under Gold Bond, glass mat sheathing and shaftliner under eXP, roofing cover boards under DEXcell, cement board under PermaBASE, and finishing systems under ProForm.
Across those families, the catalog stretches into the hundreds of SKUs once you factor thicknesses, cores, edges, facers and dimensions. It is a broad, multi‑category play rather than a single‑product pure play.
Product lines in one glance
Gold Bond covers standard and Fire‑Shield Type X boards plus XP mold and moisture resistant boards for healthcare and education interiors. eXP delivers fiberglass‑faced sheathing for exterior walls and soffits. DEXcell targets commercial roofs with glass mat and cement cover boards. PermaBASE addresses wet zones and tile backers. ProForm carries joint compounds, setting compounds, textures and tape.
EPD coverage today
Wallboard and sheathing are well represented with program‑operator verified, plant‑specific Type III EPDs. NSF’s public listings show Fire‑Shield and EVOLVE X Fire‑Shield EPDs for multiple plants, each valid from May 23, 2025 through May 23, 2030, signaling fresh declarations that will ride through most project cycles (NSF Listings, 2025) (NSF Listings, 2025). Roofing boards and key specialty boards also appear with current EPDs on the same platform (NSF Listings, 2025).
Finishing compounds are covered, but mostly at industry level
National Gypsum links an industry‑wide joint compound EPD that ProForm participates in. It is useful for many projects and provides credible benchmarks, yet it is not product‑specific to a single ProForm SKU. The DWFC industry joint compound EPD was issued May 10, 2024 and is valid to May 10, 2029, which keeps it serviceable for today’s submittals (DWFC, 2024) (DWFC, 2024).
Why this gap matters on bids
LEED v4.1 rewards verified EPD disclosures and often assigns more weight to product‑specific Type III EPDs compared with generic or industry‑wide documents. Many owners and GCs mirror that preference in spec language, so a product‑specific EPD can be the tie‑breaker that keeps you from being swapped late in procurement. No magic, just easier compliance math for the project team.
A likely best seller that could punch harder
ProForm All Purpose and Lite formulations are staples in drywall finishing. The public resources signal industry‑wide coverage today, not product‑specific EPDs for those exact SKUs. Competitors like USG list product pages for flagship joint compounds with an EPD among the sustainability documents, which can satisfy stricter submittal checklists when a specific product is named.
Other potential gaps to watch
Textures, setting compounds and accessories rarely have product‑specific EPDs across the market. If those lines represent meaningful revenue, a phased EPD plan that starts with top‑volume SKUs can unlock more consistent spec acceptance across healthcare, higher‑ed and office programs where documentation screens are tight.
Where National Gypsum is strong
Plant‑specific EPDs for wallboard, sheathing and roofing cover boards are current and easy to cite. That makes assemblies using Gold Bond eXP sheathing plus DEXcell cover boards straightforward to document. Specifiers like clean paperwork, and this is clean.
Competitive set on most projects
Expect to meet USG, CertainTeed Saint‑Gobain, Georgia‑Pacific and American Gypsum in wallboard and finishing. In cement and tile backer applications, watch James Hardie and USG Durock. On roofing cover boards, bids often cross‑shop with USG, Georgia‑Pacific and cover boards from membrane brands’ catalogs. The field is familiar, the documentation arms race is very real.
The commercial upside of closing the finishing gap
A product‑specific EPD on the top one or two ProForm SKUs would amplify win rate on projects that flag industry‑wide EPDs as acceptable but prefer product‑specific when available. Sales teams feel this as fewer clarifications and fewer last‑minute substitutions. The work to collect data is real, yet the payback often lands with a single mid‑sized project. That is not marketing fluff, it’s how submittals move through gatekeepers.
If you prioritize next steps
Start with a quick portfolio screen. Pick the highest‑volume ProForm SKU, confirm manufacturing boundaries and reference year, then align on the common PCR other joint compounds are using. Keep the same playbook for one texture product if it carries meaningful spec risk. The simpler the scope, the faster the EPD hits your website and the easier it is for reps to put into the hands of estimators.
Wrap up
National Gypsum’s boards are documented and spec‑ready. Finishing compounds are covered at the industry level, which works in many cases but leaves some spec preference on the table. Convert one or two best sellers to product‑specific EPDs and you tighten the system so your wall assemblies read like a greatest hits album, not a mixtape. That small shift turns submittal headaches into fewer change‑outs adn steadier margin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does National Gypsum have plant-specific EPDs for core gypsum boards?
Yes. NSF’s public listings show multiple Fire‑Shield and EVOLVE X Fire‑Shield EPDs per plant with validity from May 23, 2025 to May 23, 2030, which simplifies submittals on multi‑state programs (NSF Listings, 2025) (NSF Listings, 2025).
Are ProForm joint compounds covered by an EPD today?
They are covered by an industry‑wide EPD that ProForm participates in. It was issued May 10, 2024 and is valid to May 10, 2029. Many projects accept it, though some prefer product‑specific Type III EPDs for exact SKUs (DWFC, 2024) (DWFC, 2024).
Which competitors most often show up against National Gypsum in specs?
USG, CertainTeed Saint‑Gobain, Georgia‑Pacific and American Gypsum on board and finishing lines, with James Hardie and USG Durock in cement board, and several cover‑board options in roofing.
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.
