Glob-el builds in-house EPD capability with a single sustainability manager

Glob-el customers increasingly requested products with EPDs, as environmental data became a growing requirement in procurement processes. However, the company had no established process or internal capacity to produce EPDs.

That's when Kathy Yan Ju — who works at Glob-el as both a Key Account Manager across Norway, Sweden, and Finland and a Sustainability Manager — began exploring potential solutions.. Initially, Glob-el considered outsourcing. Early discussions with consultants quickly proved to be impractical, with one consulting firm quoting approximately €12,000 for just one EPD, excluding publication fees. For a company with over 3,000 products across multiple categories, external consulting was simply not viable.

After evaluating several providers, Glob-el chose One Click LCA and implemented the EPD Generator as its primary tool for creating and publishing EPDs.

The decision was based on these key benefits, which supported the company in developing internal know-how:

• Structured product templates and life cycle guidance, which simplified EPD creation by guiding users through relevant life cycle stages and documentation. This was especially valuable for a first-time EPD producer navigating complex requirements.
• Grouping similar products under a single EPD. Using scaling tables for product families, products with shared raw materials and design that differ only in size could be grouped.This significantly reduced time and cost across product categories with many SKU variants.
• Faster, integrated EPD Hub submission.. Completed EPDs could be shared directly to third-party verifier EPD Hub within the same platform, eliminating a separate step.
• Smooth on-boarding and self-guided learning resources enabled Kathy to quickly gain expertise and to become fully self-sufficient.

Since adopting One Click LCA two years ago, Glob-el has published six extensive EPDs covering 417 products, including wall boxes, sockets, switches, and plugs. Working as the sole EPD manager, Kathy has fulfilled EPD requests from 8 different wholesalers, retailers, and brands, demonstrating that a well-equipped in-house resource can meet broad market demand.

A very significant outcome is the improved competitive position: Glob-el now stands apart from most of its manufacturing peers. In a market where, according to Ju, many Chinese manufacturers have never heard of EPDs and lack even basic ISO 14001 certification, Glob-el's ability to name a dedicated EPD specialist — and produce declarations on request — is a meaningful differentiator.