Across Middle East countries, clay bricks remain a cornerstone of modern construction, valued for their durability and thermal efficiency. As sustainability requirements intensify in regional building standards and procurement policies, manufacturers are increasingly adopting Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to communicate the environmental footprint of their products. This article highlights a company’s commitment to transparent and responsible production.

El Khayyat Red Bricks, a part of the El Khayyat Group, manufactures clay brick variants, the 29-hole shield brick and the 9-hole brick at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.​ Monk Spaces conducted the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and developed EPD for El Khayyat Bricks.  

The assessment involves the following steps:

1. PCR Identification for El Khayyat’s Brick – The first step starts with the identification of Product Category Rules, PCR 2019:14 – Construction Products under the International EPD System (IES) framework. The PCR follows the General Program Instructions (GPI) of the IES. It mandates the declaration of impact indicators (such as global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP)) while specifying the mandatory life cycle modules to be included.
2. Functional Unit and System Boundary – The LCA was conducted on a product-specific functional unit (1kg) as defined by the PCR. The system boundary for El Khayyat Bricks covered A1-A3 stages – raw material extraction & processing, ancillary materials, packaging, transport & energy consumption. It also includes end-of-life stages (C1–C4) and the module D benefits, per EN 15804+A2
3. Primary Data Collection for Brick Manufacturing – A comprehensive data collection template was developed for the manufacturer’s convenience in line with PCR requirements. The data includes details on raw materials such as clay, red silica sand, crushed fired brick, electricity, diesel and heavy fuel oil consumption, manufacturing processes, and packaging materials.
4. Secondary Data Collection and Data Quality – For processes occurring outside the factory, such as fuel production, electricity generation, data were sourced from the Ecoinvent environmental database, which follows EN 15941 data quality rules. These datasets were carefully selected to match the geographical location, production methods, and time period as required by the IES.
5. Product LCA Modelling – Once the data was collected, Monk Spaces conducted the LCA assessment in compliance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 international standards. The evaluation was done using Karbonwise software across core environmental impact categories (as per EN15804+A2), natural resource use parameters, waste categories parameters, and output flows.​
6. EPD Compilation using LCA Results – Following the analysis, the next step involves developing the EPD. Once the LCA results were finalised, EPD was created for El Khayyat Bricks per the ISO 14025 The LCA results and other information are compiled for the EPD.​
7. Third-Party Verification by IES Accredited Verifier – The EPDs were verified by an accredited third-party verifier associated with the International EPD System. Modifications were made wherever required in response to the verifier’s feedback. Effective coordination with the verifier ensured comprehensive responses to all queries and the timely provision of clarifications.​
8. Publication of EPD-IES-0026629:001 on IES Portal – After approval from the verifier, the EPDs are uploaded onto the EPD portal of the International EPD system. This contains product information, result templates, the LCA report, and the verification statement. After approval from the EPD secretariat, the EPDs were published.​

The resulting EPD (EPD-IES-0026629:001) enables El Khayyat Bricks to participate in sustainability-driven procurement, green building certifications, and carbon transparency initiatives in the construction sector. It also provides verified environmental data that can be used by architects, developers, and consultants in building-level LCAs and embodied carbon assessments.

References

CEN. (2019). Sustainability of construction works – Environmental product declarations – Core rules for the product category of construction products (EN 15804:2012+A2:2019+AC:2021). https://www.en-standard.eu/csn-en-15804-a2-sustainability-of-construction-works-environmental-product-declarations-core-rules-for-the-product-category-of-construction-products

CEN. (2024). EN 15941:2024 – Sustainability of construction works – Data quality for environmental assessment of products and construction work – Selection and use of data. https://cdn.standards.iteh.ai/samples/72391/76bd2ea8513c43ce9b6dbdc897f54208/SIST-EN-15941-2024.pdf

ISO. (2006a). Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Principles and framework (ISO 14040:2006). https://www.iso.org/standard/37456.html

ISO. (2006b). Environmental management- Life cycle assessment – Requirements and guidelines (ISO 14044:2006). https://www.iso.org/standard/38498.html

Manteco. (2022). Environmental Product Declaration In accordance with ISO 14025. https://api.environdec.com/api/v1/EPDLibrary/Files/dec8cd5d-1106-4490-9280-08da3f2d2648/Data