2022 ACLCA PCR Open Standard – Process and Methods Toolkit
Creating Standardized, Consistent, and Reliable PCRs & EPDs for Transparency, Procurement, and Supply Chain Data
New Addendum! Quantifying Renewable Electricity Instruments in Environmental Product Declarations
The Quantifying Renewable Electricity Instruments in EPDs provides a methodology for allocation of contractual instruments (e.g. Renewable Energy Certificates and Power Purchasing Agreements) in LCA, reporting their use in EPDs, and requirements for ongoing verification. Download>
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ACLCA PCR Open Standard
Published in 2022, the ACLCA PCR Open Standard supports the harmonization of PCR development across Program Operators for the delivery of standardized, consistent, and reliable PCRs and EPDs by providing technical frameworks that support industry wide protocols for developing high quality product category rules (PCRs).
With the increasing demand for using ISO Type III environmental declarations (EPDs) to communicate the potential environmental impacts of products and processes, EPDs are also being used to inform design and procurement decisions (The White House 2021, Buy Clean California 2021, Buy Clean Colorado 2021).
This presents the critical need to create EPDs that are ISO standards-conformant, consistent with life cycle assessment (LCA) best practices and that enable digital communication with construction, accounting, and other reporting tools.
This 2022 version reflects the progress in the use of EPDs and program operators’ experience over the past 9 years. The work to develop this update has been in progress since 2018 and incorporates the outcomes of many stakeholder workshops and formal reviews including the ACLCA PCR committee reviews in 2020-21, and a formal public review in 2022.
A cornerstone of using EPDs successfully in procurement is the quality of the underlying PCR, and conformance to the processes established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The ACLCA PCR Open Standard has been the leading reference for program operators’ PCR development process in North America since its publication in 2013. This 2022 version reflects the progress in the use of EPDs and program operators’ experience creating them over the past 9 years. Key to this new version was incorporating results from Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) funded research to assess the quality of PCRs.
The ACLCA PCR Open Standard is intended to be used for the creation of new PCRs and to determine if updates are needed to existing PCRs for materials impacted by state and federal procurement legislation and policies. The ACLCA PCR Open Standard provides process checklists for each of the key roles in the product category rule creation process for easy implementation by the Program Operator.
2022 ACLCA PCR Open Standard - Process and Methods Toolkit
2-Part Tool: Process (Checklists) + Methods & Methodologies (Addenda) Download >
Process checklists (.xls) Download >
PCR Open Standard | Methods & Methodologies
The following PCR Open Standard Addenda have been developed to further aid in harmonizing PCRs and EPDs.
Published
Allocating Burdens and Benefits of Materials Shared Across Product Systems
The method of allocation of burdens for materials which cross product system boundaries (i.e recycled or reused materials) can vary based on subjective value choices. The addendum reduces the variance by creating a standard approach. It is important to avoid double counted or uncounted environmental burdens and benefits such as recycled materials. A harmonized method of allocation will: enhance comparability of EPDs; improve consistency across value chains; and avoid twice counted or uncounted environmental burdens. Download >
Assessing Data Quality of Background Life Cycle Inventory Datasets
The Assessing Data Quality of Background Life Cycle Inventory Dataset addendum strengthens the standard for usage of Life Cycle Inventory data. Using different background data can lead to drastically different outcomes making EPDs for similar PCRs incomparable. Even with the same foreground data, a choice of different background inventories can create significant differences in the final LCA results. The updated addendum provides standards for the use of Enhanced Pedigree Matrix as well as to ensure consistent data quality assessments. Download >
NEW! Quantifying Renewable Electricity Instruments in Environmental Product Declarations
The Quantifying Renewable Electricity Instruments in EPDs provides a methodology for inclusion and allocation of contractual instruments for renewable electricity procurement (e.g. renewable energy certificate and power purchasing agreements) in LCA and EPDs. The addendum details requirements for modeling, reporting, and ongoing verification for inclusion of contractual instruments in EPD results. This is the first known consensus-based methodology for integration of renewable energy into EPDs in North America.Download>
Undergoing Development
The PCR committee has multiple addenda in development to further aid in harmonizing PCRs and EPDs. The following grid has been designed to give a description of each, the working group chair, and where the addendum stands in the developmental process.
| Addendum | Description | WG Chairs | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biogenic Carbon Accounting. | Standards for calculating the carbon flows and carbon storage in organic/biological based products. | Amlan Mukherjee | Under development |
|
Digital EPDs / openEPD |
Addresses the need for an open data format for reporting and exchanging EPD information. |
Anna Lasso | Under development |
|
Data Specificity in EPDs |
Provides a taxonomy for EPDs related to product specificity, manufacturing specificity, and supply chain specificity. |
Anna Lasso, Danny Macri | Under development |
Get Engaged!
There are multiple ways to get involved in the progression of the PCR Open Standard addenda that are undergoing the developmental process as well as getting involved with ACLCA.
- Become an ACLCA Member and join the PCR Committee
- Join the User Group here (Launching August 2023)
- Stay up to date. Sign up for updates, news and events here.
- Interested in participating in an addendum working group or suggesting a topic? Contact ACLCA at info@aclca.org