It is becoming increasingly important for manufacturers to provide sound and quantitative information on the environmental impacts of individual products. This information plays an ever-growing role in communication with business partners, investors and consumers.

The so-called Environmental Product Declaration provides a basis for assessing the sustainability of products and the associated sustainable use of natural resources.

With this declaration, all relevant environmental impacts of a product are presented transparently, independently and comprehensibly on the basis of life cycle analyses. Ideally, the entire life cycle of a product is taken into account, from raw material extraction to production, transport and installation to the end of the use phase with disposal or recycling options. Statements are also made on energy and resource use as well as waste generation.

The environmental product declaration is intended to provide information on the extent to which a product contributes , for example, to the greenhouse effect, acidification, over-fertilization, destruction of the ozone layer and smog formation.     The long-term effect on ecosystems should thus become calculable.