When procurement professionals in the construction sector select materials, their choices are shaped by several immediate considerations. Price is always a primary factor, but other aspects such as material availability, delivery timelines, the distance between the manufacturing unit and project site, and even the aesthetics of the product play a role.

While parameters like price, availability, delivery timelines, project site, etc., remain essential, they do not capture the full environmental consequences of the material choices. LCA data helps bridge this gap by translating environmental impacts into clear, measurable numbers that can be assessed alongside cost and performance (Butt et al., 2015). For procurement teams, this means going beyond the conventional criteria and integrating environmental data into their decision-making processes. To do this effectively, they need to know which documents to use and how to apply them.

Should a Procurement Person Ask for an LCA or an EPD?

In practice, both LCAs and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) can support procurement decisions. Buyers should request for an EPD as their first preference as they are publicly available. EPDs are also third party verified, ensuring transparency  and reliability. On portals like the EPD Library of the International EPD System, EPDs can be easily accessed and explored. Accessing these libraires allows buyers to find published declarations for a wide range of construction materials such as cement, steel, and others. Enabling easier benchmarking and comparison across suppliers without repeatedly requesting data.

However, obtaining an EPD involves significant costs for the manufacturers, and not all products in the Indian market have one. In such cases, one can always use LCA as an alternative, especially for new or niche products. However, when doing so, it’s important to check the quality and reliability of the data carefully. To ensure, that  the results are credible and comparable across products (Olanrewaju et al., 2025).

How to Ensure Credibility of an LCA

To make sure the LCA/EPD data used in procurement is trustworthy and comparable, buyers can follow a simple checklist:

• Check standards compliance: Ensure the LCA/EPD follows EN 15804:A2 protocols for construction products (CEN, 2019)
• Confirm validity period: The publication date of the LCA/EPD should be within the last five years.
• Review product and location details: The EPD should clearly mention the product specifications and manufacturing site. Additionally, the users should further check if the product specifications are matching their requirements.
• Check the Functional Unit: When using LCA/EPD data, note the functional (or declared) unit on which the environmental impacts are based (e.g., per kg, per ton, per m²). This ensures fair and accurate comparisons between products. For example, cement EPDs often use per ton, while plywood EPDs may use per kg or per m³.
• Assess emission factors: Source relevant Global Warming Potential (GWP) values, typically GWP-Total and/or GWP-GHG for the A1–A3 stages from the LCA/EPD and use these values in the material comparison to enable accurate carbon footprint assessments.