How Brightworks Sustainability uses EPDs to scale decarbonization

How Brightworks Sustainability helps clients embed carbon transparency into procurement and design

Environmental product declarations (EPDs) are a critical tool for reducing embodied carbon across the built environment. Increasingly, project teams use EPDs not only to comply with disclosure requirements but also to inform material selection, procurement strategies, and early-stage design decisions.

In a session at the Summer Sustainability Summit 2025, experts from Brightworks Sustainability detailed how their clients have begun to rely on EPDs to transition away from generic emissions factors, improve Scope 3 reporting accuracy, and prioritize low-carbon materials in specifications. From data centers and commercial interiors to high-volume real estate portfolios, EPDs now shape how carbon is measured and how purchasing decisions are made.

The discussion offered practical insights into how EPDs support measurable carbon reduction, especially in high-intensity projects like data centers, and why companies that fail to provide EPDs may lose access to key markets.

Project teams increasingly use EPDs as design tools

Brightworks shared that clients have started integrating EPD data directly into design workflows and procurement systems. Rather than treating EPDs as documentation produced after design completion, some firms now use them to inform early-stage decisions.

 EPDs allow clients to differentiate between similar materials on both price and global warming potential and to validate whether lower-carbon options actually result in measurable reductions.

This shift reflects a growing recognition that early design choices have a disproportionate impact on embodied carbon. As more project teams adopt LCAs at concept and schematic design stages, access to high-quality product data becomes essential.

Whole-building LCAs, using product-specific EPDs, have shown that reductions are possible, even without changes in structural design, by simply selecting verified low-carbon materials.

Manufacturers risk exclusion without published EPDs

For manufacturers, the session delivered a clear warning: the absence of EPDs now results in missed revenue, even if their products meet performance and cost requirements.

Brightworks Sustainability has worked with clients that exclude vendors from consideration solely because they cannot provide EPDs. In many cases, this rule is now embedded in Requests for Proposal (RFPs), bid scoring systems, and catalog eligibility criteria.

In high-growth sectors such as mechanical systems, electrical infrastructure, and interior finishes, where EPD availability remains limited, the lack of published data represents both a compliance gap and a market disadvantage.

Data centers emerge as a priority for embodied carbon reduction

Brightworks has identified data centers as one of the most carbon-intensive typologies in the built environment in terms of both operational energy and embodied carbon. In particular, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems have proven to be the dominant contributor to embodied impacts over the building life-cycle.

“Data centers are among the most energy and carbon intensive building types and within that, the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems account for 80% of the carbon emissions.”

-Varusha Venkatraj, Senior Materials Specialist, Brightworks

This high-carbon profile reflects the replacement frequency of MEP systems over the lifespan of the facility. As systems such as HVAC units, switchgear, and piping are updated multiple times, and often on cycles shorter than the building’s shell and core, their cumulative embodied carbon exceeds that of structural components. In Brightworks' assessments, structure and enclosure account for only about 20% of total embodied emissions.

With developers setting net-zero targets for construction and operation, embodied carbon has become a procurement issue. To meet these expectations, clients now require EPDs from the supplier.

 “Data center owners, including hyper-scalers, are demanding greater transparency from their supply chains to meet stringent net zero carbon goals. They are really looking to decarbonize the supply chain even before robust data is available…EPDs are increasingly being built into procurement criteria, and if a supplier doesn’t have an EPD, sometimes they’re not even considered.”

-Varusha Venkatraj, Senior Materials Specialist, Brightworks Sustainability

Initiatives such as the iMasons Climate Accord are also driving industry alignment. By promoting standardized methods for quantifying and reporting embodied carbon in digital infrastructure, these efforts underscore the growing role of verified product data and the strategic importance of EPDs in project delivery and supplier qualification.

Using specific EPDs can reduce reported emissions

A common assumption in Scope 3 accounting is that more specific data might increase reported emissions. However, Brightworks Sustainability has observed the opposite. When project teams replace generic emissions factors with EPDs, total emissions often decrease because EPDs can reflect cleaner products that generic databases do not capture.

Abbott explained the issue in practical terms: companies often pay more for products with lower carbon footprints, for example, those using recycled content or bio-based materials, but cost-based accounting models penalize them for the higher upfront spend.

“We refer to this as the green premium,” says Kayleigh Abbott, Materials Specialist at Brightworks Sustainability. “If you’re just using spend-based accounting, paying for low-carbon products is adding to your carbon emissions … but if you actually get a life-cycle assessment done, you’ll see those emissions decrease in the way that we know they should.” 

Abbott noted that this applies across product categories, including concrete, steel, insulation, carpets, and even office supplies like printer paper.

What role can AEC professionals play in driving EPD creation?

AEC professionals play a critical role in accelerating the availability of environmental product declarations (EPDs) by both specifying products with EPDs and applying consistent pressure across the value chain. 

Industry coalitions such as the iMasons Climate Accord have demonstrated how collective action can accelerate transparency. In one example, major tech companies jointly issued an open letter to manufacturers requesting EPDs, and saw market response. Small coalitions of AEC professionals can also work together to provide education, technical guidance, and persistent demand for EPDs. 

“We know that advocacy works. If you're an architect and you know that there are other firms in your area that care about this, writing a joint letter to a manufacturer is a really effective way of letting them know there's interest and desire for environmental product declarations.” 

-Jessie Templeton, Embodied Carbon Lead, Brightworks Sustainability

For AEC professionals seeking verified carbon data, the most effective strategy may be to speak — and act — together.

Decarbonization at scale demands verified product data

The discussion with Brightworks Sustainability reinforced a broader industry truth: EPDs have become foundational infrastructure for scaled decarbonization. They support more accurate Scope 3 accounting, enable informed design choices, and meet procurement and regulatory requirements across geographies.

This reality creates an urgent need for alignment between manufacturers, architects, engineers, and sustainability consultants. Without verified, comparable, and accessible product data, large-scale decarbonization remains out of reach.

As the regulatory landscape tightens, product-level emissions data will not only influence purchasing decisions, but also market access. Firms that respond early by investing in scalable, verifiable EPD production stand to gain, while those that delay may find themselves disqualified from tomorrow’s projects.