Aluminum Extruders to Develop EPDs

The Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC; Wauconda, IL) has launched a program to develop a set of industry-sanctioned Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) that will document the environmental performance of aluminum extrusions produced in the U.S. and Canada.

An EPD is an independently verified document that communicates information about the lifecycle environmental impact of the subject product(s). Created and verified in accordance with International Standard ISO 14025, EPDs include information on the impact of raw material acquisition, energy use, emissions, waste generation, etc. In North America, EPDs are increasingly being requested, both to meet the requirements of the upcoming v4 of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Program and to meet the needs of other consuming industries that seek to document, and reduce their own environmental impact.

“We expect these EPDs to be the most comprehensive assessment of North American produced extrusions to date,” noted Jeff Henderson, the director of operations for AEC.  “We currently have 11 members providing information on 33 separate production locations and over 100 extrusion presses in the U.S. and Canada. In addition to the breadth of this study, we will also be providing previously unavailable detail, as we will produce separate EPDs for both conventional extrusions and thermally-improved extrusions – often preferred for building applications. In both cases, data will be provided for both mill-finish extrusions and for product that has been painted or anodized.”

Data collection for the project is well underway, and the two EPDs – for thermally-improved and conventional extrusions – are expected to be released later this year, likely in advance of the October 31, 2016 date, after which LEED projects can no longer be registered under LEED 2009, but must use LEED v4.

“This is an important step forward for the extrusion industry and for the AEC,” stated Guy Charpentier, the marketing manager for AEC member Bonnell Aluminum and the chairman of the council’s industrial promotion steering committee. “We’re pleased to be taking the lead in providing the environmental information that is increasingly being sought – not only by architects working on LEED projects, but also by leading companies in automotive, consumer durables, electronics and other industries. It is essential to add these EPDs to the resources the AEC has developed for our customers. Providing transparency regarding our environmental performance with extensive, third-party verified data is a key element of aluminum extrusions’ great sustainability story.”

Established in 1950, AEC is an international association dedicated to advancing the effective use of aluminum extrusion in North America. They are committed to bringing comprehensive information about extrusion’s characteristics, applications, environmental benefits, design and technology to users, product designers, engineers and the academic community. Further, the council is focused on enhancing the ability of its members to meet the emerging demands of the market through sharing knowledge and best practices. More than 120 member companies represent primary aluminum producers and other industry suppliers in addition to aluminum extruders operating hundreds of extrusion presses in hundreds of plants worldwide. For more information please click here.

www.aec.org