Specify MEP products with real carbon data: 100,000+ Schneider Electric datasets now in One Click LCA

Helsinki, Finland (September 15,  2026) — Following a major new data release, Schneider Electric now provides more than 100,000 commercial references through One Click LCA, the largest volume of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) product data any single manufacturer has published on the platform. Engineers who previously referred to generic assumptions for UPS systems, switchgear and circuit breakers, transformers, distribution systems and busway systems can now pull figures tied to specific Schneider Electric products.

The release in numbers

• A new total of +100,000 Schneider Electric commercial references, covering UPS systems, switchgear and circuit breakers, transformers, distribution systems, and busway systems, among other categories.

• Up to 27% of a building's product stage embodied carbon comes from MEP systems, rising to roughly 50% of total embodied carbon across all life cycle stages.

• 90% of AEC professionals prefer products backed by an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), and 65% request them on most or all projects.

• All data is derived from Schneider Electric's verified EPDs and extended to product variants in line with PEP Ecopassport and ISO 14040/14044.

MEP systems carry half a building's embodied carbon with almost none of the data

Concrete and steel have been measured, benchmarked, and regulated for years, while the equipment that heats, cools, powers, and connects a building has stayed largely undocumented. The MEP 2040 initiative states that most manufacturers of MEP products have yet to produce verified data, and that mechanical equipment, refrigerants, and refrigerant leakage are commonly excluded from assessments altogether.

That means that current carbon calculations are vastly incomplete. Carbon Leadership Forum research signals MEP systems add up to 27% of product stage embodied carbon and 52% of a building's total embodied carbon once all life cycle stages are counted. An assessment treating building services as a rounding error can understate a project's footprint by a wide margin.

Demand has meanwhile moved well ahead of MEP data supply. One Click LCA's 2026 Carbon Experts Report found that 90% of Architects, Engineers, and Consultants (AEC) professionals prefer products backed by an EPD, 65% request them on most or all projects, and 97% expect that demand to keep growing. MEP was identified as the weakest-covered category in the survey.

According to the report, the resources required for upstream data collection, modeling, and alignment with Product Category Rules are longstanding bottlenecks to decarbonize MEP products. As a sustainability leader, Schneider Electric is committed to making that information accessible and actionable.

“The challenge is no longer awareness, but access to high-quality environmental data. Through our partnership with One Click LCA, we help AEC professionals assess impacts and make informed decisions earlier. This is only the beginning: together with the AEC industry, we aim to co-create the next generation of carbon-informed design and construction.”

- Coralie Vergez, Partnering for Sustainability Director at Schneider Electric

Specifiers can stop estimating equipment weights from unrelated building types

When product specifics are missing, teams rely on assumptions and generic data. Consultants have estimated generator requirements from apartment building benchmarks, derived building management system figures from hospital data, and converted domestic water systems by floor area, validating each assumption internally before it entered the model. Every one of those workarounds costs hours per project and still produces an approximation.

Schneider Electric's release removes that step across a large share of electrical scope. Teams working on UPS systems, switchgear, distribution systems, and transformers can model with product-specific figures, which makes option appraisals viable in categories where generic data had made any comparison meaningless.

"For MEP equipment, we've often had to rely on generic data because manufacturer-specific EPDs weren't available — having that data, like Schneider Electric's, in One Click LCA makes a real difference."

- Muhammad Yahya Qadri, Whole Life Carbon Manager at Laing O'Rourke

According to the 2026 Carbon Experts Report, with reliable product data, both manufacturers and the AEC sector believe embodied carbon can be reduced up to 30%.

Manufacturers who publish their data get specified by default

Data coverage now functions as a commercial position rather than only as a compliance obligation. If a consultant needs product-level, verified data and only one manufacturer has published them, that manufacturer's products go into the model, and its name appears in the assessment delivered to the client.

Contractors with procurement influence have begun using data availability directly in supplier negotiations, telling manufacturers without published declarations that the specification will go elsewhere. In a category as poorly documented as MEP, the manufacturers leading on available data set the reference point that everyone else gets compared against.

Frequently asked questions

Why is MEP embodied carbon data so hard to find?

Most MEP manufacturers have not published Environmental Product Declarations, according to the MEP 2040 initiative. Products are complex, supply chains are global, and third-party verification is costly. Engineers using One Click LCA have therefore relied on generic data for building services far more than for structural materials.

What has Schneider Electric added to One Click LCA?

Schneider Electric has released more than 100,000 commercial references covering UPS systems, switchgear and circuit breakers, transformers, distribution systems, busway systems, and more. The data is available in One Click LCA's calculation tools and Materials Compass, derived from Schneider Electric's verified Environmental Product Declarations and product variants following PEP Ecopassport and ISO 14040/14044.

How much of a building's carbon comes from MEP systems?

MEP systems account for up to 27% of product stage embodied carbon and around 52% of total embodied carbon across all life cycle stages, according to Carbon Leadership Forum research. The share runs highest in data centers and other equipment-intensive buildings, where services dominate the material profile.

What does publishing product data do for a manufacturer?

Published verified data gets products specified. One Click LCA users report that where only one manufacturer has published figures for a category, its products are used by default and its name appears in the client's assessment. Data availability now influences procurement decisions directly.