NUPI Americas announces the completion of environmental product declaration (EPD) regarding the environmental sustainability of its NIRON product range.

In order to respond more effectively to the demand for products that comply with the most rigorous environmental standards, NUPI has obtained its first Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for the NIRON piping system. This is an important achievement for NUPI Americas, as it increases the number of certifications related to its products and makes the corporate brands increasingly competitive in the global market while certifying the quality of NUPI products.

Obtaining the EPD Declaration is only the last step in a long journey that over time has seen investments grow to reinforce the green profile in an increasingly authoritative way, starting from the achievement of the important EN ISO 14001 certification. Thanks to the high competence of our Research and Development team, the careful and scrupulous environmental management and the meticulous search for the best quality in the management of the system and of the products, it was possible to reach total control of the product processing phases and the production process.

NUPI has therefore been able to qualify its products at the highest level in different markets and for all final consumers, retailers, designers and professionals.

What is EPD?

EPD, also known as a Type III environmental declaration, in accordance with EN ISO 14125, is a declaration verified by an independent body, which communicates in an objective and transparent way what are the environmental performances of the products throughout their life cycle. Having an EPD allows professionals to choose products that meet specific sustainability criteria, necessary for the design of buildings from a Smart and Green Building point of view.

Benefits of EPD:

• The producer can declare the environmental sustainability of its product
• The designer can evaluate the environmental sustainability of the building according to LCA methodology
• The consumer can receive verified information about the environmental performance of a building product, that are extracted and elaborated starting from EPD.

The contents of an EPD

In NUPI Niron EPD, the environmental impacts were assessed also according to American standard. In US, United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA has developed TRACI, the Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other environmental Impacts, to assist in impact assessment for Sustainability Metrics, Life Cycle Assessment, Industrial Ecology, Process Design, and Pollution Prevention. Methodologies were developed specifically for the United States using input parameters consistent with U.S. locations for the following impact categories:

• climate change – global warming air
• ozone depletion air
• acidification air
• eutrophication
• smog formation air

NUPI NIRON EPD also includes the use of environmental resource and waste production, assessed according to EN 15804:

• consumption of fossil resources
• consumption of renewable resources
• use of secondary raw materials (recycling)
• use of secondary renewable and non-renewable fuels
• consumption of water resources
• waste production (hazardous and non-hazardous)

Its contents are mainly aimed at commercial, institutional and governmental users of the product and allow to improve environmental communication between producers on the one hand (business to business), and distributors and consumers on the other (business to consumers).

Through a careful analysis and interpretation of the results obtained on its products, NUPI can:

• increase/optimize:

end-of-life management, product recyclability, use of materials and processes with low environmental impact, optimizing packaging and distribution of the finished product, optimizing production processes by implementing technological solutions aimed at energy efficiency;

• reduce/minimize:

use of toxic materials and/or substances, use of energy-intensive raw materials, waste production, consumption of energy carriers (water, fuel gas, electricity).

Advantages of a specific EPD – from the Cradle to the Grave

Obtaining a specific product EPD, such as the one obtained for NIRON, rather than a category/sector EPD, allows obtaining the maximum score/credit in environmental sustainability protocols (such as LEED, BREEAM, DNGB, etc...) today very common in the construction sector. Since the market interested in receiving the EPD of NUPI products is international, the EPDs obtained comply and will comply with EN 15804 and, in addition, will contain the TRACI indicators, required by the American market.

The EPD for Niron, is the first specific product EPD of the “From the Cradle to the Grave” type for plastic pipes. The environmental impacts are therefore calculated from the extraction of the raw materials up to the end of the life of the product itself, passing through the use and maintenance phase and including the possible scenarios of reuse, recovery and recycling. The representative functional unit is the Niron pipes and fittings for the distribution of hot and cold water in a specific apartment of 100 square meters with a precise number of rooms and of utilities/services;

The current standard, EN 15804, is undergoing a major revolution following the objectives set by the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the implementation of a circular economy vision in all sectors (design, production, services). This strong change will soon make it mandatory to release EPDs including all life cycle related modules, thus providing a cradle to grave scenario. NUPI was a forerunner of this scheme and the Niron EPD will therefore always be valid.

International visibility

The EPD of Niron, analyzed and validated by ICMQ, is now published on EpdItaly website and on Eco Platform. Furthermore, as proof of its international value and thanks to the mutual recognition among Program Operators, it has also been recognized, approved and published by Aenor and UL Environment.

The UL EPD certification mark indicates that UL has independently reviewed and certified the NUPI’s environmental impact disclosure that constitutes the EPD.

Download NUPI Niron EPD on SPOT.

What is SPOT?

SPOT is a free online product database that contains more than 100,000 products. It can help design professionals identify sustainable products for green buildings during the design and speci­fication phases. Furthermore, UL’s SPOT add-in for Revit, SketchUp, and AutoCAD is available for download.