Verification and publication
From background report to a published EPD.
A self-declaration is not an EPD. Independent verification and registration by a programme operator are what make it one, and the GCCA route makes that step faster and cheaper.
Why it costs less here
The model is already verified. Only your data is checked.
The GCCA EPD Tool's LCA model is independently verified: the International version by Studio Fieschi and listed by the International EPD® System as a pre-verified tool on the EPD Portal; the North American version by the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute. When you create your EPD on the portal and set Pre-verified tool to the GCCA Tool, version 6.0, the verifier must use the Simplified Verification Report for products calculated with the GCCA EPD-tool. Every methodological item the tool fixes is already ticked; the verifier checks only your company-specific data, its plausibility and the presentation of results. That is where the saving of up to half the usual verification cost comes from.
Who does what
Four parties, four responsibilities
The GCCA route
Labeling Sustainability
GCCA works with Labeling Sustainability, an approved programme operator, to give tool users a defined path from background report to published EPD. You export the background report from the tool, Labeling Sustainability arranges independent verification against the relevant PCR, and the verified declaration is registered and published.
You are free to use any other accredited verifier and programme operator. The tool's outputs are not tied to one route.
The route, step by step
Seven steps and how long each takes
01Finish and freeze the EPD in the tool. Check the balance indicators, write your assumptions into the comment fields, and export the background report, self-declaration and ILCD+EPD file. 1 to 3 days per product.
02Choose the programme and confirm the PCR edition your customers recognise in your market.
03Write the EPD document in the programme operator's template. The background report gives you almost everything. 2 to 5 days.
04Set the EPD up on the programme operator's portal. On the EPD Portal: register your organisation as EPD owner, create the EPD, and in EPD Definition set Pre-verified tool to the GCCA Tool and Tool version to 6.0. Upload the EPD document and the ILCD+EPD file.
05Commission an independent verifier. Give them the background report, your evidence pack, the Simplified Verification Report template and a named contact. They sign the report and approve the EPD in the portal. 2 to 6 weeks.
06Publish. Submit in the portal; the programme operator issues a registration number and publishes the declaration with its machine-readable file. 1 to 3 weeks.
07Maintain it. An EPD is typically valid for five years, and sooner if your product or supply chain changes materially.
Plan on two to three months for a first published EPD, and considerably less for the ones that follow. The full walkthrough, with portal screenshots, is in Guide 6.
Standards and PCRs
What your verifier checks against
| Version | EPD standard | Product Category Rules | Verified by |
|---|---|---|---|
| International | EN 15804:2012+A2:2019, ISO 21930 | PCR 2019:14 Construction products, with c-PCR-001 Cement and building limes (EN 16908) and c-PCR-003 Concrete and concrete elements (EN 16757) | Studio Fieschi |
| North American | ISO 21930 | NSF PCRs for cements, concrete and precast concrete, latest editions | Athena Sustainable Materials Institute |
LCA to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. Independent verification to ISO 14025. The second edition, ISO 14025:2026, sets explicit requirements for EPD tools and their verification.
Be ready
Before you request verification
01Every mandatory field complete, balance indicators make sense
02Electricity mix is specific or residual, with evidence; the regional default is gone
03Other defaults replaced with primary data, or justified in a comment
04Data period stated and consistent across energy, materials and production
05Evidence for every claimed figure, especially electricity and fuels
06Declared unit, scope and indicator set match the PCR for your product category
07Pre-verified tool and version set on the portal, so the simplified report applies
08One named person owns the response to verifier questions
Ready to start?
Book a demonstration to see the workflow end to end, or contact the team about the verification route for your products.
General enquiries
epdtool@gccassociation.org
T +44 (0) 2038160328