1 s2.0 S0927024809003225 Main

WBCSD-CSI tool for EPDs of concrete
and cement (v1.5)

Offline user manual, U.S. version
Prepared for:
Portland Cement Association
and
WBCSD-CSI
Prepared by: Quantis

Arnaud Dauriat, Managing Director
Christophe Porté, Software Architect
Clémentine Delerce-Mauris, Software Engineer
Amanda Pike, Senior Sustainability Consultant
April 20, 2018
LAUSANNE – PARIS – ZURICH - BERLIN - BOSTON | www.quantis-intl.com

Quantis is a leading life cycle assessment consulting firm that specializes in supporting companies to
measure, understand and manage the environmental impacts of their products, services and operations.
Quantis is a global company with offices in the United States, Germany, Switzerland and France and
employs close to 50 people, including several internationally renowned experts in the LCA field.
Quantis offers cutting-edge services in environmental footprinting (multiple indicators including carbon
and water), eco design, sustainable supply chains and environmental communication. Quantis also
provides innovative LCA software, Quantis SUITE 2.0, which enables organizations to evaluate, analyze
and manage their environmental footprint with ease. Fuelled by its close ties with the scientific
community and its strategic research collaborations, Quantis has a strong track record in applying its
knowledge and expertise to accompany clients in transforming LCA results into decisions and action
plans. More information can be found at www.quantis-intl.com.
This report has been prepared by Quantis’ Swiss office. Please direct all questions regarding this report
to Quantis Suisse.
Quantis Suisse
EPFL Innovation Park, Bât. D
CH – 1015 Lausanne
Switzerland
Tel: +41 21 353 5910

E-mail: info@quantis-intl.com
Web: www.quantis-intl.com
WBCSD-CSI tool for EPDs of concrete and cement: Offline user manual, U.S. version Page 2
PROJECT INFORMATION
Project title WBCSD-CSI tool for EPDs of concrete and cement
Tool version Version 1.5
Document name Offline user manual, U.S. version
Document date 20 April 2018
Contracting WBCSD Cement Sustainability Initiative and Portland Cement Association
organization
Liability statement Information contained in this report has been compiled from and/or
computed from sources believed to be credible. Application of the data is
strictly at the discretion and the responsibility of the reader. Quantis is not
liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of the information in this
document.
Project team Arnaud Dauriat, Managing Director, Project Manager,
arnaud.dauriat@quantis-intl.com
Christophe Porté, Software Architect, christophe.porte@quantis-intl.com
Clémentine Delerce-Mauris, Software Engineer,
clementine.delerce@quantis-intl.com
Amanda Pike, Senior Sustainability Consultant,
amanda.pike@quantis-intl.com
Client contact (PCA) David Shepherd, PCA Director, Sustainable Development,
dshepherd@cement.org
Client contact (CSI) CSI Secretariat, cement@wbcsd.org
Reviewer Jamie Meil, Research Principal, Athena Sustainable Materials Institute,
jamie.meil@athenasmi.org
Associated files WBCSD-CSI_EPD-Tool_Project-Database-US-v1.5_2018-04-20.xlsx
Comment -
Executive summary
The Portland Cement Association (PCA) and the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) recently developed
Product Category Rules (PCR) for cement and concrete, respectively. The cement and concrete PCRs are
registered at ASTM1 and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association2 (NRMCA), respectively.
In order to support its members and the cement industry in communicating on environmental impacts,
the Portland Cement Association (PCA) showed a strong interest in developing a web-based EPD tool for
cement and ready-mixed concrete specific to the U.S. context (thereafter referred to as “the tool”),
based on the existing EPD Tool of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), developed by Quantis and
officially released in May 2014.
The tool produces two major outputs:
• A self-declaration in PCA-CSI format that can be used for communication or sales purposes.
The self- declaration is not a “validated” official EPD, but can serve as a user-friendly document
that contains the main general/background information and the environmental performance
(LCA results) of the specific product for all indicators.
• A background report with the complete set of input data and results of the specific product.
This document is in the form of an Excel file that contains all the information required to
produce an EPD and also for a verifier to validate it.
The present document aims at providing the users of the tool with an offline manual to guide them
through the various steps and sections, from login to the actual reports.
1
PCR from the Portland Cement Association (PCA), registered at ASTM, titled "Portland, blended hydraulic,
masonry, mortar, and plastic (stucco) cements (UN CPC 3744)”, dated 2 September 2014.
2
PCR from the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF), registered at NRMCA, titled "Concrete", revised version 1.1,
dated 4 December 2013 (including Clarifications #1-3).
Table of contents
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 11
1.1 Context and background ............................................................................................................. 11
1.2 Purpose of the present document .............................................................................................. 12
1.3 Address of the tool...................................................................................................................... 12
1.4 Definitions ................................................................................................................................... 13
1.4.1 Tool ..................................................................................................................................... 13
1.4.2 PCRs..................................................................................................................................... 13
1.4.3 Product ................................................................................................................................ 13
1.4.4 EPD ...................................................................................................................................... 13
1.4.5 Self-declaration ................................................................................................................... 14
1.4.6 Background report .............................................................................................................. 14
1.4.7 Exchange ............................................................................................................................. 15
1.4.8 Project Database ................................................................................................................. 15
1.5 Key contacts ................................................................................................................................ 15
2 Login .................................................................................................................................................... 16
3 Welcome screen ................................................................................................................................. 18
3.1 Change passphrase ..................................................................................................................... 20
3.2 About........................................................................................................................................... 21
3.3 Logout ......................................................................................................................................... 21
3.4 U.S. version of the EPD tool ........................................................................................................ 21
4 EPD dashboard .................................................................................................................................... 22
4.1 Back to home page...................................................................................................................... 23
4.2 Help ............................................................................................................................................. 23
4.3 List of EPDs .................................................................................................................................. 23
4.3.1 Edit an EPD .......................................................................................................................... 24
4.3.2 Duplicate an EPD ................................................................................................................. 24
4.3.3 Export the background report of an EPD as an................................................................... 25
4.3.4 Export the self-declaration of an EPD as a pdf file.............................................................. 25
4.3.5 Delete an EPD...................................................................................................................... 26
4.4 EPD management buttons .......................................................................................................... 27
4.4.1 Create a new empty EPD .................................................................................................... 27
4.4.2 Create a new default EPD ................................................................................................... 28
4.4.3 Create a new EPD from a self-declaration report ............................................................... 29
4.4.4 Export an EPD template ...................................................................................................... 30
4.4.5 Import an EPD ..................................................................................................................... 31
4.5 Multi EPD management buttons ................................................................................................ 34
4.5.1 Export multiple background reports ................................................................................... 34
4.5.2 Export multiple self declaration reports ............................................................................. 35
4.5.3 Delete multiple EPDs........................................................................................................... 36
4.6 Metadata of the selected EPD .................................................................................................... 37
5 EPD edition .......................................................................................................................................... 38
5.1 Workspace .................................................................................................................................. 39
5.2 Control ........................................................................................................................................ 39
5.3 Help ............................................................................................................................................. 41
5.4 Workflow..................................................................................................................................... 41
5.5 Description .................................................................................................................................. 42
5.6 Materials ..................................................................................................................................... 45
5.7 Manufacturing ............................................................................................................................ 47
5.8 Waste management .................................................................................................................... 49
5.9 Products ...................................................................................................................................... 50
5.10 Global analysis ............................................................................................................................ 52
5.11 LCA analysis ................................................................................................................................. 57
5.12 Export .......................................................................................................................................... 58
6 Self-declaration ................................................................................................................................... 59
7 Background report .............................................................................................................................. 62
7.1 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Description ....................................................................................................... 63
7.2 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Materials .......................................................................................................... 63
7.3 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Manufacturing ................................................................................................. 64
7.4 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Waste-management ........................................................................................ 65
7.5 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Products ........................................................................................................... 65
7.6 RESULTS....................................................................................................................................... 66
Abbreviations and acronyms
AP Acidification potential
ASCC Alaska Systems Coordinating Council
BTU British thermal unit
CBW Concrete batching water consumption
CED Cumulative Energy Demand
CFC 11 Chlorofluorocarbon 11
CHW Concrete hazardous waste
CNHW Concrete non-hazardous waste
CLF Carbon Leadership Forum
CO2 Carbon dioxide
CSI Cement Sustainability Initiative
CTUe Comparative toxic units, ecotoxicity

CTUh Comparative toxic units, human toxicity
CWW Concrete washing water consumption
eGRID Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database
EP Eutrophication potential
EPD Environmental Product Declaration
ETP Ecotoxicity potential
FRCC Florida Reliability Coordinating Council
gal Gallon
GWP Global warming potential
HHV Higher heating value
HICC Hawaiian Islands Coordinating Council
HTPC Human toxicity potential, carcinogenics
HTPNC Human toxicity potential, non-carcinogenics
HTPRE Human toxicity potential, respiratory effects
HWG Hazardous waste generated
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
ISO International Organization for Standardization
kg Kilogram
KPI Key performance indicator
kWh Kilowatt hour
L Liter
lb Pound
LCA Life cycle assessment
LCI Life cycle inventory
LCIA Life cycle impact assessment
3
m Cubic meter
MJ Megajoule
MRO Midwest Reliability Organization
N Nitrogen
NERC North American Electric Reliability Corporation
NFW Net fresh water
NHWG Non-hazardous waste generated
NMVOC Non-methane volatile organic compounds
NPCC Northeast Power Coordinating Council
NRE Non-renewable energy resources (depletion of)
NRF Non-renewable fossil primary energy consumption
NRM Non-renewable material resources (depletion of)
NRMCA National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
NRMR Non-renewable material resources
NRN Non-renewable nuclear primary energy consumption
O3 Ozone
ODP Ozone depletion potential
PCA Portland Cement Association
PCR Product Category Rules
PEC Primary energy consumption
PM2.5 Particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less
POCP Photochemical ozone creation potential (also often referred to as “smog” or smog
creation potential)
RB Renewable (biomass) primary energy consumption
RE Renewable primary energy (use of)
RFC Reliability First Corporation
RM Renewable material resources (use of)
RMR Renewable material resources
RSWHG Renewable (solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal) primary energy consumption
SERC SERC Reliability Corporation
SO2 Sulfur dioxide
SPP Southwest Power Pool
TRACI Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other environmental Impacts
TRE Texas Regional Entity
TW Total water consumption
U.S. United States
USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency
WBCSD World Business Council for Sustainable Development
WECC Western Electricity Coordinating Council
3
yd Cubic yard
1 Introduction
1.1 Context and background

Headquartered in Skokie, Illinois with offices in Washington, DC, the Portland Cement Association (PCA)
represents America's cement manufacturers and has been a widely-recognized authority on the
technology, economics, and applications of cement and concrete for nearly 100 years. PCA is a vocal
advocate for sustainability, economic growth, sound infrastructure investment, and overall innovation
and excellence in construction.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) is a
global effort by 24 leading cement producers, with operations in more than 100 countries. Collectively,
these companies account for around 30% of the world's cement production and range in size from large
multinationals to smaller local producers.
Over its 10-year history, the CSI has focused on understanding, managing and minimizing the impacts of
cement production and use by addressing a range of issues, including: climate change, fuel use,
employee health and safety, airborne emissions, concrete recycling and quarry management. The
purpose of the CSI is to:
• Explore what sustainable development means for the cement industry
• Identify actions and facilitate steps cement companies can take, individually and as a group, to
accelerate progress toward sustainable development
• Provide a framework for other cement companies to become involved
• Create the content and context for further stakeholder engagement
The Portland Cement Association (PCA) and the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) recently developed
Product Category Rules (PCR) for cement and concrete, respectively. The cement and concrete PCRs are
registered at ASTM3 and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association4 (NRMCA), respectively.
3
4
In order to support its members and the cement industry in communicating on environmental impacts,
the Portland Cement Association (PCA) showed a strong interest in developing a web-based EPD tool for
cement and ready-mixed concrete specific to the U.S. context (thereafter referred to as “the tool”),
based on the existing EPD Tool of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), developed by Quantis and
officially released in May 2014.
In partnership with the CSI, PCA has funded the modification of the CSI’s EPD Tool to address regional
variations for the U.S. and Canadian markets.
The tool produces two major outputs:
• A self-declaration in PCA-CSI format that can be used for communication or sales purposes.
The self- declaration is not a “validated” official EPD, but can serve as a user-friendly document
that contains the main general/background information and the environmental performance
(LCA results) of the specific product for all indicators.
• A background report with the complete set of input data and results of the specific product.
This document is in the form of an Excel file that contains all the information required to
produce an EPD and also for the reviewer to validate it.
1.2 Purpose of the present document

The present document provides the users of the tool with an offline manual to guide them through the
various steps and sections of the tool, from login to the actual reports.
Note It should be noted that some of the figures and screenshots in this report may
refer to the International version of the EPD Tool. The text, however, always
refers to the U.S. version and the understanding of the present user manual
should not be hindered as the general structure and architecture of the tool
remains the same.
1.3 Address of the tool

The U.S. version of WBCSD-CSI’s tool for EPDs of concrete and cement (thereafter simply referred to as
“the tool”) may be accessed at the following address:
https://concrete-epd-tool.org/
1.4 Definitions
The following paragraphs provide a number of key definitions in the specific context of the present
document and tool.
1.4.1 Tool
Unless specified otherwise, the term “tool” shall refer to the CSI’s tool for EPDs of concrete and cement.
1.4.2 PCRs
Unless specified otherwise, the term “PCRs” shall refer to ASTM’s Product Category Rules for Portland,
Blended Hydraulic, Masonry, Mortar, and Plastic (Stucco) Cements (UN CPC 3744), officially published on
2 September 2014 and the Carbon Leadership Forum’s Product Category Rules for ISO 14025 Type III
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for Concrete, adopted on 30 November 2012, Revised
Version 1.1 December 4, 2013 (including Clarification #1 dated 10 April 2014, Clarification #2 dated 17
July 2014, Clarification #3 dated 1 June 2015).
1.4.3 Product
In the present document and for the purposes of the tool, a “product” shall refer to clinker or cement or
concrete.
1.4.4 EPD
An Environmental Product Declaration or EPD is a particular type of LCA that has been developed to
communicate environmental information from LCA studies in a common format. EPDs have been used
for construction products since the first environmental assessment schemes were developed in the
1990s, and an ISO standard for EPD (ISO 14025:2006) sets out the standards they should meet.
For the specific purposes of the tool and throughout the present document, the term “EPD” does not
refer to the actual Environmental Product Declaration. For reasons of simplicity and convenience, the
term “EPD” is used here to characterize a record in the tool. An EPD will hence refer to a unique
product, i.e. either clinker or cement or concrete. It can be assimilated to a file in a piece of software.
1.4.5 Self-declaration
A self-declaration is a one-pager US-letter document, specific to a given product, providing the following
information:
• Brief description and main characteristics of the product
• Impact scores of the product for all indicators as per the PCR
• Impact scores of the product for 4 extra toxicity indicators
It is one of the main outputs of the tool and is in the form of a pdf document in PCA-CSI format. It can
be used for communication or sales purposes. The self-declaration is not a “validated” official EPD, but
can serve as a user-friendly document that contains the main general/background information and the
environmental performance (LCA results) of the product for all indicators as per the PCR.
1.4.6 Background report

A background report is a spreadsheet document, specific to a given product, containing the following
information:
• The complete set of input data of the product (incl. description, materials, manufacturing,
transport, waste management, and possible co-products)
• The complete set of results of the product for all indicators as per the PCR
• The complete set of results of the product for 4 extra indicators
This document is in the form of an Excel file that contains all the information required to produce an
EPD and for verification purposes. As it contains confidential data and information, this spreadsheet is
expected to be used for internal purposes. In particular, it may be used for LCA results analysis and
interpretation, or for producing graphs out of the results.
1.4.7 Exchange
The term “exchange” shall be used to characterize any type of input to or output from the system.
Examples may include materials, fuels, utilities, wastes, or direct emissions.
1.4.8 Project Database

The Project Database contains all the background data in relation with the tool. It refers to the Excel file
named: “WBCSD-CSI_EPD-Tool_Project-Database-US-v1.5_2018-04-20.xlsx”.
1.5 Key contacts

Arnaud Dauriat David Shepherd
Quantis Portland Cement Association (PCA)
EPFL Innovation Park, Bâtiment D 5420 Old Orchard Road
CH-1015 Lausanne Skokie, Illinois 60077
Switzerland United States
Tel. +41 21 353 5910 Tel. +1 847 972 9070
arnaud.dauriat@quantis-intl.com dshepherd@cement.org
2 Login
When accessing the tool from any web browser, the user is prompted to enter its username and
password (Figure 2.1). Usernames and passwords have been communicated by Quantis. Additional
usernames may be requested by sending an e-mail to software-support@quantis-intl.com.
Figure 2.1 - Login screen
Upon entering its username and password and clicking the “connect” button, the welcome screen (see
Chapter 3) will be displayed.
An automatic password recovery is available through the link “Forgot password?”. The procedure is as
follows. Upon clicking on the “Forgot password?” link, the user is requested to type in his e-mail
address.
When clicking on the “send” button, a validation code is then sent to the e-mail specified e-mail address.
The pop-up window extends to display new fields.
The user is requested to type in the validation code received by e-mail and to type in his new password
(twice). When clicking on the “Save” button, a message is displayed saying that the password was
updated.
The validation code is valid for a period of 15 min. After this timeout, the user will have to start the
procedure again to receive a new validation code.
3 Welcome screen
The welcome screen (Figure 3.1) features two tabs located just below the header. The first tab is for the
International version of the tool, while the second one is for the U.S. version of the tool. By default, the
active tab is the International version. In order to access the U.S. version, the user shall click on “U.S.
version”. The user can switch from one version of the tool to the other by clicking on the appropriate
tab.
The International version and the U.S. version are two distinct instances of the tool, with specific and
distinct EPDs, supporting documents, LCA models and reference PCRs. For instance, an EPD created in
the U.S. version will not be available in the International, and conversely, an EPD created in the
International version will not be available in the U.S. version.
Only the U.S. version is described in this report.
Figure 3.1 - Welcome screen
The welcome screen some provides some background information on PCA, on the cement PCR and on
Quantis. The user can download the latest version of the reference supporting documents describing the
use of the tool:
• Offline user manual: This is the present document. It aims at providing the users of the tool with
an offline manual to guide them through the various steps and sections, from login to the actual
reports.
• LCA core model and database report: This document describes the LCA model and database
behind the tool and contains all the information needed for a validation by a third party verifier,
including i) modelling hypotheses, ii) data sources and references, iii) background datasets and
database, and iv) the description of all indicators and the methods behind.
• Project Database: This spreadsheet contains all the background data used in the tool, including
default values and parameters, dataset associations, environmental factors and characterization
factors per impact assessment method, but also the structure of the life cycle inventory.
• Verification report: This report was prepared by an accredited independent verifier and is
registered at ASTM. It provides details on the verification process, the verification scope, as well
as the final evaluation and recommendations to the user. In particular, it guarantees the
compliance with the PCRs, including ASTM’s Product Category Rules for Portland, Blended
Hydraulic, Masonry, Mortar, and Plastic (Stucco) Cements (UN CPC 3744), officially published on
2 September 2014 and the Carbon Leadership Forum’s Product Category Rules for Concrete,
adopted on 30 November 2012, Revised Version 1.1 December 4, 2013).
The contact details of PCA are also provided.
In the top right corner, three icons are visible:

• Change passphrase
• About
• Logout
In addition to the three icons above, the “U.S. version of the EPD tool” button at the bottom will take
the user to the EPD dashboard. The function of each icon and button is described below.
3.1 Change passphrase
The “Change passphrase” icon allows the user to change his password and to specify his “Recovery e-
mail address”. This icon is visible on every screen of the tool. When clicking on the icon a pop-up
window will display with two tabs:
• Passphrase
• Recovery e-mail address
The “Passphrase” tab allows the user to change his password. The user is requested is type in his
current password and the new password (twice). Upon clicking on the “Save” button, the passphrase is
changed. The rules for the passphrase can be displayed by clicking on the “Show help” link. These are as
follows:
• at least 10 characters
• 3 of these 4 complexity characteristics:
o Digits (0 to 9)
o Lower case letters (a to z)
o Upper case letters (A to Z)
o Symbols (space or !"#$%&'()*+,-./:;<=>?@[\]^_`{|}}~)
The “Recovery email address” tab allows the user to specify/change his e-mail address for password
recovery purposes.
3.2 About
The “About” icon displays a pop-up window which provides additional background information on
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
(WBCSD), on the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) and on Quantis. This icon is visible on every screen
of the tool.
3.3 Logout
The “Logout” icon logs the user out and goes back to the login screen. This icon is visible on every screen
of the tool.
3.4 U.S. version of the EPD tool

The “U.S. version of the EPD tool” button takes the user to the EPD dashboard (see Chapter 4).
4 EPD dashboard
The EPD dashboard (Figure 4.1) corresponds to the central management page of the tool. It allows the
user to visualize his list of EPDs and manage his EPDs. The page is made of a number of key elements:
• The list of EPDs
• The EPD management buttons
• The metadata of the selected EPD
Figure 4.1 - EPD dashboard (screenshot from the International version)
In addition to the three key elements above, the EPD dashboard also features a “back to home page”
link and a help to provide key information on the specific screen or section of the tool.
4.1 Back to home page
The “Back to home page” link at the top-left of the screen will take the user back to the welcome screen
(see Chapter 3).
4.2 Help
The help provides the user with key information on the specific screen or section of the tool. It is
present on every screen or section of the tool (except the welcome screen) and specific to the very
screen or section.
The help can be hidden (by clicking on the “Hide help” link at the top-left of the help box) in order to
optimize the useful space of the tool. By default, the help is hidden. When hidden, the help can be
shown again by clicking on the “Show help” link.
4.3 List of EPDs
The list if EPDs is displayed in a table, with one EPD per line. The displayed parameters and fields
include:
• The type of product (i.e. clinker, cement or concrete)
• The product code
• The product name
• The state
Different colors are used to differentiate the EPDs per product at a glance: light green for clinker, light
blue for cement, and dark blue for concrete. In addition, EPD created from a self-declaration (see sub-
chapter 4.4.3) will be stated “(from self-decl.)” under “EDP type”.
A number of EPD management functionalities are accessible directly from the EPD list, by means of
icons. In particular, when selecting a specific EPD, a number of icons will be displayed allowing the user
to perform the following actions:
• Edit the selected EPD
• Duplicate the selected EPD
• Export the EPD as an Excel file for offline edition
• Export the corresponding self-declaration as a pdf file
• Delete the EPD
The two export functionalities are not available for EPD created from a self-declaration (see sub-chapter
4.4.3). In addition, an EPD cannot be deleted as long as it is used by another EPD (e.g. a clinker EPD in a
cement EPD).
4.3.1 Edit an EPD
In order to edit an existing EPD, the user will first have to select the EPD in question in the list of EPDs
and then click on the “pencil” icon. This action will open the selected EPD and display the “Description”
section of the EPD edition screen (see Chapter 5).
4.3.2 Duplicate an EPD
In order to duplicate an existing EPD, the user will first have to select the EPD in question in the list of
EPDs and then click on the “copy” icon. This action will display a pop-up where the user is prompted to
select the state.
Upon clicking on the “Duplicate” button, the duplicate is created and opened for further edition. The
“Description” section of the EPD edition screen (see Chapter 5) is displayed. Upon clicking on the
“Cancel” button, the action is cancelled.
The main reason for asking the state of the duplicate is that this is the only way to change the state of an
existing EPD. The choice of the state indeed has a number of consequences on the LCA model, including
the default electricity mix and the default transport parameters and performance. Once an EPD is
created, these choices cannot be changed. Duplicating an existing EPD is the way to change the state of
an existing EPD.
4.3.3 Export the background report of an EPD as an
In order to export the background report of an existing EPD, the user will first have to select the EPD in
question in the list of EPDs and then click on the “Excel file” icon. This action will display a pop-up where
the user is informed that the file is ready to be saved.
Upon clicking on the “Save” button, a pop-up window opens to let the user specify the filename and the
location where the will be saved. Upon clicking on the “Discard” button, the action is cancelled. The
structure of the background report is detailed in Chapter 7.
This option is not available for EPD created from a self-declaration (see sub-chapter 4.4.3).
4.3.4 Export the self-declaration of an EPD as a pdf file
In order to export the self-declaration of an existing EPD, the user will first have to select the EPD in
question in the list of EPDs and then click on the “Acrobat file” icon. This action will display a pop-up
where the user is informed that the file is ready to be saved.
location where the will be saved. Upon clicking on the “Discard” button, the action is cancelled. The
structure of the self-declaration is detailed in Chapter 6.
This option is not available for EPD created from a self-declaration (see sub-chapter 4.4.3).
4.3.5 Delete an EPD
In order to delete an existing EPD, the user will first have to select the EPD in question in the list of EPDs
and then click on the “delete” icon. This action will display a pop-up where the user is asked to confirm
the deletion.
Upon clicking on the “Yes” button, the EPD is deleted. Upon clicking on the “No” button, the action is
cancelled.
Please note that this functionality will not be available for an EPD which is used by another EPD.
4.4 EPD management buttons
The EPD management buttons are positioned on the right of the EPD list. They provide additional EPD
management functions. In particular, the user can:
• Create a new EPD (three buttons, one per product)
o Create a new empty EPD
o Create a new default EPD
o Create a new EPD from a self-declaration
• Export an EPD template
• Import an EPD
4.4.1 Create a new empty EPD

When clicking on the “New product” button (clinker, cement or concrete), a menu with three choices
will appear. The first choice allows the user to create a new empty EPD.
Upon selection, a pop-up window will appear and the user will be prompted to characterize the new
product. Obligatory fields include “Product code” and “Product name” (identifiers of the product in the
list of EPDs), “Site production capacity”, “State”, and “Reference unit”.
The state will have an influence on a number of modelling parameters, including the default electricity
mix and default transport modes and performance. Once the new EPD is created ("Save" button), the
state cannot be changed anymore, therefore the latter should be selected carefully. Please refer to sub-
chapter 4.3.2 to see how to change the state of a given EPD.
The reference unit will define the unit to which all collected data will refer. The user may choose
between 1 metric ton or 1 short ton for clinker and cement, and between 1 cubic meter or 1 cubic yard
for concrete. Once the new EPD is created ("Save" button), the reference unit cannot be changed
anymore, therefore the latter should be selected carefully.
Please refer to sub-chapter 5.5 for further details on the various fields.
A new empty EPD is created, as a “blank page”, with no default inputs whatsoever. The user starts its
EPD from scratch and needs to provide a complete set of primary data.
4.4.2 Create a new default EPD

will appear. The second choice allows the user to create a new default EPD.
Upon selection, a pop-up window will appear and the user will be prompted to type in the description
data of the product (please refer to sub-chapter 5.1 for further details on the fields).
A new default EPD is created with a complete set of default data, as opposed to a new empty EPD. As
agreed with PCA, default datasets for clinker and cement are based on PCA’s cement industry average
EPD and survey while the default dataset for concrete is based on NRMCA member industry-wide EPD
for ready-mixed concrete. The user starts its EPD from default set of data for the selected product.
4.4.3 Create a new EPD from a self-declaration report

will appear. The third choice allows the user to create a new EPD from a self-declaration.
Upon selection, a pop-up window will appear and the user will be prompted to type in the most relevant
information as it is reported in the self-declaration, including: product code, product name, state, and
the impact scores per indicator as they appear on the self-declaration (please refer to Chapter 6 for
further details on the self-declaration).
Self-declaration
report
Upon clicking on the “Save” button, the EPD will be saved and the pop-up window will remain displayed
for further editing. Upon clicking on the “Save & close” button, the EPD will be saved and the pop-up
window will be closed. Upon clicking on the “Cancel” button, the action is cancelled.
This pop-up window allows the user to create a new product EPD from a self-declaration generated with
the same tool (e.g. provided by a supplier of the user). The user is asked to define the declared product
(product name, product code, state) as reported on the self-declaration, and to type in the impact
scores per indicator. Only A1-A3 data are required. The actual delivery distance will indeed be provided
in the actual EPD “consuming” the present one. The new product EPD will then appear in the user’s list
of EPDs on the EPD dashboard, with the statement “(from self-decl.)” (see sub-chapter 4.3).
4.4.4 Export an EPD template

The “Export EPD template” functionality is used to export an empty EPD template per product as an
Excel file. This empty EPD template can be used as an input data questionnaire by the users. Once
completed with description information and data, this Excel file can be imported back in the tool as an
actual EPD which will be saved in the list of EPDs.
When clicking on the “Export EPD template” button, a menu with six choices (two per product: one for
a single import, and one for a multi import) will appear.
Upon selection of the product, a pop-up window will appear to inform the user that the file is ready to
be saved.
location where the will be saved. Upon clicking on the “Discard” button, the action is cancelled.
The structure of the empty EPD template is identical to that of the background report, except that it
does not include a result tab. For further details about the structure of the EPD template or background
report, please refer to Chapter 7.
The structure of the multi EPD template is similar to the background report but with some specificities
to manage multiple EPDs import:
- Description tab: There are 400 columns as up to 400 EPDs can be imported with the template.
Excel equations are used to duplicate information deom the first EPD (column C) to other
columns. The user can replace any of the equation by his own value.
- Materials tab: There are 400 columns to fill the material quantity for each epd to import. Only
the first quantity column is displayed by default. The other quantity columns can be displayed by
clicking on the “+” at the top right corner of the column E. The EPD names are displayed in the
column headers to better identify which EPD is filled.
All the EPDs will have the same information concerning the transport and comments (columns
OP to PA).
- Other tabs: All the imported EPDs will have the same information concerning the
manufacturing, waste management and products so these tabs are the same as for the single
EPD import template.
4.4.5 Import an EPD

The “import EPD” functionality is used to import an EPD from a background report or a completed EPD
template (as Excel files). Please refer to sub-chapter 4.4.4 for further details about the EPD template.
Please refer to Chapter 7 for further details about the background report.
When clicking on the “Import EPD” button, a window will open to select the Excel file (background
report or EPD template) to be imported. Upon opening the file, the corresponding EPD(s) will be added
to the list of EPDs.
A number of unexpected situations will lead to an “ERROR” message, making the import fail (i.e. no
import), including:
• The selected file is not a “xls” or “xlsx” file
• The “Description” tab in the Excel file does not exist (see Chapter 7)
• The “Materials” tab in the Excel file does not exist (see Chapter 7)
• The “Manufacturing” tab in the Excel file does not exist (see Chapter 7)
• The “Waste-management” tab in the Excel file does not exist (see Chapter 7)
• The “Product” tab in the Excel file does not exist (see Chapter 7)
• The state code in the "Description tab" cannot be found in the list of default state codes
• Missing product code in the description tab
• Missing product name in the description tab
• Missing production capacity in the description tab
• Template modified by adding empty lines
• Numerical input or formula where a text input is expected
• Text input where a numerical input is expected
• Excessive length of a text input
• Missing section in the Excel file
• Unknown exchange name/label
• Two lines with the same custom air emissions
• Invalid quantity (e.g. negative value)
• Two lines with the same electricity source
• Unknown electricity source
• Total of electricity mix not equal to 100%
• Non-existing dependent EPD (a “dependent EPD” refers e.g. to a clinker EPD used as input
material in a cement EPD or to a cement EPD used as input material in a concrete EPD)
• Ambiguous dependent EPD (e.g. there exists more than one EPD with the same product code
and product name as the one “called” in the background report or EPD template)
• Missing biogenic carbon content for a secondary fuel
• Biogenic carbon content not between 0 and 1
• Excessive length of a comment
• Invalid value for a transport (e.g. negative value)
• Transport value without a valid unit
• Missing or unknown/invalid unit for a given exchange
• Missing infrastructure inclusion choice in the description tab
• Missing toxicity indicator inclusion choice in the description tab
• Production capacity is 0 and infrastructure is included in the description tab
• Invalid NERC region in the description tab
• Invalid state in the description tab
• invalid reference unit in the description tab
• Invalid density in the description tab
The “ERROR” message will specify what the error is and where it’s located in the background report.
In addition to the “ERROR” messages above, a “WARNING” message will be displayed if an EPD with the
same “Product name” already exists in the list of EPDs. In such a situation, in order to avoid overwriting
an existing EPD accidentally, the “Product name” of the newly created EPD is adapted and the user is
informed in the message. This situation results in a successful import of the EPD.
The user is therefore strongly advised to use explicit product codes and names and make the best use
of the comment field to keep track of changes as well as of imports and exports.
In case the import is performed successfully with no warning, the following message will pop up.
Upon import, a new EPD is created and is displayed in the list of EPDs. If a multi EPDs template was
used, multiple EPDs are created and displayed in the list of EPDs.
4.5 Multi EPD management buttons
The multi EPD management buttons are positioned on the right of the EPD list and replace the “single”
EPD management buttons if at least one EPD is checked in the list. They provide additional EPD
management functions. In particular, the user can:
● Export multiple background reports
● Export multiple self-declaration reports
● Delete multiple EPDs in a single click
Some buttons are also available to ease the EPD selection:

● Select all the EPDs
● Deselect all (to display back the “single” EPD management buttons)
● Invert selection
4.5.1 Export multiple background reports

The user can export multiple background reports by clicking on the “Export reports” button with the
“Excel file” icon.
The waiting time is based on the number of selected EPDs. If more than 10 EPDs are selected, a pop-up
window will be displayed to request the user to wait until the file is generated.
When the file is ready, a pop-up window will appear to inform the user that the file is ready to be saved.
location where the file will be saved. Upon clicking on the “Discard” button, the action is cancelled.
The generated file is an archived (.ZIP) file.
This archive contains one background report for each selected EPD (Excel file). The background report
file names follows this rule: backgroundReport_[EPD_NAME]_[EPD_ID].xlsx with:
[EPD_NAME]: EPD name, spaces and specific characters were replaced by underscores. If the name is
long, only the 200 first characters are used in the file name.
[EPD_ID]: internal digital identifier of the EPD
In addition, the archive contains another Excel file with a summary. This Excel file name follows this rule:
summary_[XXX].xlsx with:
[XXX]: “US_NonConcrete” for clinkers and cements, “US_Concrete” for concrete. If selected EPDs are a
mix of concrete and non concrete EPDs, the results will be dispatched in 2 summary files.
In addition, the archive contains another Excel file with a summary. This Excel file name follows this rule:
summary_[USED_METHOD].xlsx.
This file is a summary of the EPDs results. In the “RESULTS” tab, there is one row per exported EPD. The
EPD total impact for each indicator is filled in the corresponding column.
4.5.2 Export multiple self declaration reports

The user can export multiple self declaration reports by clicking on the “Export reports” button with the
“Acrobat file” icon.
When clicking on the button, a menu with two choices will appear to select the unit: metric or imperial.
The waiting time is based on the number of selected EPDs. If more than 10 EPDs are selected, a pop-up
window will be displayed to request the user to wait until the file is generated.
When the file is ready, a pop-up window will appear to inform the user that the file is ready to be saved.
location where the file will be saved. Upon clicking on the “Discard” button, the action is cancelled.
The generated file is an archived (.ZIP) file.
This archive contains one self declaration report for each selected EPD (Excel file). The self declaration
report file names follows this rule: selfDeclaration_[EPD_NAME]_[EPD_ID].pdf with:
[EPD_NAME]: EPD name, spaces and specific characters were replaced by underscores. If the name is
long, only the 200 first characters are used in the file name.
[EPD_ID]: internal digital identifier of the EPD
4.5.3 Delete multiple EPDs

The user can delete multiple EPDs by clicking on the “Delete selected” button.
This action will display a pop-up where the user is asked to confirm the deletion.
Upon clicking on the “Yes” button, the EPDs are deleted. Upon clicking on the “No” button, the action is
cancelled.
Please note that this functionality will not be available if one of the selected EPDs is used by another
EPD.
4.6 Metadata of the selected EPD
The bottom space of the EPD dashboard is used to display the metadata of the selected EPD in the list.
The data is displayed only for information purposes when going through the list of EPD.
5 EPD edition
The EPD edition (Figure 5.1 and Figure 5.2) corresponds to the data collection environment of the tool.
This is where the data of a given EPD is typed in by the user. The page is made of a three key elements:
• Workflow
• Control
• Help
• Workspace
Figure 5.1 - EPD edition (“Description” section, screenshot from the International version)
In addition to the three key elements above, the EPD dashboard also features a “Back to EPDs list” link
and a “Working EPD” space where the type of product, product code and product name are stated.
Figure 5.2 - EPD edition (“Manufacturing” section, screenshot from the International version)
5.1 Workspace
The workspace is the working area for data input, results presentation, and export functionalities. In
order to optimize the workspace and improve user-friendliness, the user is advised to hide the help.
5.2 Control
The control box is in the form of a horizontal banner where key information is displayed. Control
information includes key messages regarding the use of primary data and cut-off rules, the reference
unit, as well as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) about mass and energy balance. The mass balance KPI
is displayed in the “Materials” section, whereas the energy balance KPIs (electricity and fuels balance)
are displayed in the “Manufacturing” section.
The message about the use of primary data and cut-off rules is as follows:
“In order to improve the quality and representativeness of the EPD, it is strongly recommended to use
primary data whenever possible. The data for materials, manufacturing, waste management and
products should be annual values, preferably from the previous twelve-month period or calendar year.
This will also facilitate the verification process and improve the chances of success when filing for a
verified EPD. The criteria for the exclusion of inputs and outputs or cut-off rules as per the PCR (see
Cement PCR §7.2 or Concrete PCR §3.3) shall also be observed.”
The message above aims at encouraging the user to use primary data when compiling an EPD. The
message also reminds the user about the criteria for the exclusion of inputs and outputs and provides
the appropriate reference in the PCRs (see Cement PCR §7.2 or Concrete PCR §3.3). The compliance with
cut-off rules in agreement with the PCRs is the responsibility of the user and is not inherent to the tool.
The KPIs reported in the control box are defined in Table 5.1 below.
Table 5.1 – KPIs reported in the control box
KPI Unit Definition

Mass balance kg (or lb) per reference unit Sum of all materials reported in the “Materials” section
(including clinker, cement, primary raw materials,
secondary materials, water, additives, admixtures,
chemicals, and other materials, and non-renewable primary
energy resources used as materials, but excluding
packaging)
Electricity kWh per reference unit Amount of electricity purchased from the grid
Fuels balance MJ per reference unit Sum of all fuels reported in the “Manufacturing” section
(including primary kiln fuels, secondary kiln fuels, non-kiln
fuels, but excluding transportation fuels for on-site
transport)
These KPIs are meant to provide the user with a quick check about the materials, electricity and fuels
data collection, thereby facilitating the identification of possible errors.
The control box is present in all sections of the workflow except the “Description” and “Export” sections.
As opposed to the help box, the control box is always displayed.
5.3 Help
The help box provides the user with key information on the specific screen or section of the tool and for
the specific product. It is present on every screen of the workflow and specific to the very screen.
The help can be hidden (by clicking on the “Hide help” link at the top-left of the box) in order to
optimize the useful space of the tool. By default, the help is hidden. When hidden, the help can be
shown again by clicking on the “Show help” link.
5.4 Workflow
The workflow provides a structure and flow to the data collection, results and export functionalities. It
includes the following sections:
• Description
• Materials
• Manufacturing
• Waste management
• Products
• Global analysis
• LCA analysis
• Export
Each section is displayed by clicking on the corresponding button. All of them are described below.
5.5 Description
This section aims at characterizing the exact product to be described. The following information shall be
provided. Some fields are common to all products, namely product code, product name, site name and
location (incl. state), site production capacity, NERC region reference unit, comments. The other fields
are specific to the type of product and purely qualitative (i.e. not used by any means in the LCA
calculations).
Figure 5.3 - The “Description” section (screenshot from the International version)
The product code and product name are used to identify the EPD in the list of available EPDs on the
dashboard (see Chapter 4). The product name must be unique. A product name already used in the list
of EPDs will not be accepted. A warning message will be displayed and the user will be asked to change
the product name.
The site production capacity is used to calculate the impacts associated with the infrastructure and
equipment (i.e. the production and supply of materials required for the manufacturing plant and the
actual construction of the plant). The user can choose whether to include or not the infrastructure in the
calculations (checkbox “Include infrastructure”).
If infrastructure is included, the site production capacity must be provided (a zero value is not accepted)
and should refer to the production capacity of the whole site for the given type of product declared in
the EPD (i.e. clinker, cement or concrete), even though the site in question produces many more
products of the same type in addition to the declared product. The reason for indicating the whole
production capacity, as opposed to the production capacity of only the declared product, is to take into
consideration the economy of scale when the infrastructure is included in the calculations. It is worth
noting however that, according to the PCRs, the infrastructure should not be included.
The state was selected at the creation of the present EPD and cannot be changed any longer. It has an
influence on a number of modelling parameters, including the default electricity mix and the default
transport modes and performance.
In addition to the reference indicators as per the PCR, extra toxicity indicators are available to the user
as an option. The user can choose whether to include or not the extra toxicity indicators (checkbox
“Include toxicity indicators”).
This choice can be changed at any time. For a detailed definition of the extra indicators, please refer to
the “LCA core model and database report”.
The NERC region is used to characterize the default electricity mix applied in the EPD. This choice can be
changed at any time. A link to the latest official NERC region map from USEPA eGRID2012 (see Figure
5.4) is provided in the tool. This choice can be changed at any time. In case the user does not know the
actual NERC region, he can select “State default” and the tool will consider the major NERC region in the
selected state. Obviously, the user also has the possibility to define its own custom electricity mix in the
“Manufacturing” section. For a detailed definition of the NERC regions, please refer to the “LCA core
model and database report”.
In addition to the NERC regions, two pre-defined electricity mixes are available, based on the survey to
PCA members, including i) clinker industry average and ii) cement industry average. These two electricity
mixes are applied in the industry-average clinker and cement datasets.
Figure 5.4 – U.S. map of NERC regions (source: USEPA eGRID2012, release: 8 October 2015)
The reference unit was selected at the creation of the EPD and cannot be changed any longer. It defines
the unit to which all collected data will refer. It is either 1 metric ton or 1 short ton for clinker and
cement, or 1 cubic meter or 1 cubic yard for concrete.
The “comments” field can be used to provide any additional descriptive content.
The user is strongly advised to use explicit product codes and names and make the best use of the
comment field to keep track of changes as well as of imports and exports.
5.6 Materials
This section aims at characterizing the complete list of materials involved in the manufacturing of the
product and the associated transport activities. Available material categories and sub-categories per
type of product are presented in Table 5.2.
Table 5.2 - Available material categories and sub-categories per type of product
Clinker Cement Concrete

Raw materials Raw materials Raw materials
Specific clinker (from EPD list) Specific clinker (from EPD list) Specific cement (from EPD list)
Default clinker Specific cement (from EPD list) Default cement
Primary raw materials Default clinker Primary raw materials
Secondary materials Default cement Secondary materials
Water Primary raw materials Water
Chemicals Secondary materials Admixtures
Water Other
Additives
Packaging
Packaging
Figure 5.5 - The “Materials” section (screenshot from the International version)
In order to add a new material, the user shall click on the “+ Add exchange” button in the desired sub-
category and select the desired material in the drop-down list.
For each input material, the delivery distance(s) should be specified together with the corresponding
transport mode(s). In case a specific material is supplied from two (or more) distinct locations, the two
lots should be typed in as separate exchanges in order to consider transport correctly.
In order to add a new transport for a given material, the user shall click on the “+ Add transport” button
and select the desired transport mode in the drop-down list.
Comments can be included for any exchange or transport by placing the mouse pointer on the exchange
or transport in question and clicking on little pencil which appears just below; a text box will pop up
where the user can type any relevant information about the selected exchange or transport. The
comment will be displayed just below the designation of the exchange of transport.
A statement is included in the control box (see sub-chapter 5.2) to encourage users to use primary data
whenever possible. A reference to the cut-off criteria as per the PCR is also included.
The mass balance indicator (see sub-chapter 5.2) is reported in the control box as a quick check for the
consistency of the reported materials, thereby facilitating the identification of possible errors.
The reference unit for both data collection and reporting purposes is selected when creating an EPD
(see sub-chapter 4.4.1). The available reference units per type of product are:
• 1 metric ton or 1 short ton of clinker/cement
• 1 m3 or 1 yd3 of concrete
5.7 Manufacturing
This section aims at characterizing the product manufacturing process. Available manufacturing
categories and sub-categories per type of product are presented in Table 5.3.
Table 5.3 - Possible manufacturing categories and sub-categories per type of product
Clinker Cement Concrete

Electricity, purchased from the grid Electricity, purchased from the grid Electricity, purchased from the grid
Electricity Electricity Electricity
Electricity, produced on-site Electricity, produced on-site Electricity, produced on-site
Electricity Electricity Electricity
Fuels, kiln
Primary fuels
Secondary fuels
Emissions, kiln
Process emissions (calcination)
Fuel emissions
Emissions to air, custom
Fuels, non-kiln Fuels Fuels
Primary fuels Primary fuels Primary fuels
On-site transport On-site transport On-site transport
Transportation fuels Transportation fuels Transportation fuels
Water Water Water
Water Water Water
Emissions, water Emissions, water
Emissions to water, custom Emissions to water, custom
Figure 5.6 - The “Manufacturing” section (screenshot from the International version)
For each input fuel (excl. electricity), the delivery distance(s) should be specified together with the
corresponding transport mode(s). The default electricity mix is based on the selected NERC region and
can be overwritten to match the specific electricity mix of the manufacturing site(s). In order to facilitate
the data collection for the electricity mix and avoid confusion, a tolerance of 0.1% on the total mix is
accepted. A total of percentages per source of electricity between 99.9% and 100.1% will be accepted.
In such a situation, the percentages will be anyway normalized to 100%.
If the option was selected (see sub-chapter 4.4.1), the infrastructure and equipment is taken into
consideration in the background (no user input), based on the production capacity specified in the
“Description” section.
A statement is included to encourage users to use primary data whenever possible. A reference to the
cut-off criteria as per the PCRs is also included.
The electricity and fuels balance indicators (see sub-chapter 5.2) are reported in the control box as a
quick check for the consistency of the reported electricity and fuels consumption, thereby facilitating
the identification of possible errors.
5.8 Waste management

This section aims at characterizing the management of wastes associated with the manufacturing
process of the product. A distinction is made between non-hazardous wastes (incl. wastewater, non-
hazardous wastes to landfill, non-hazardous wastes to incineration and non-hazardous wastes to
recycling) and hazardous wastes (incl. hazardous wastes to incineration and hazardous wastes to
underground deposit).
Figure 5.7 - The “Waste management” section (screenshot from the International version)
cut-off criteria as per the PCR is also included.
5.9 Products
This section aims at characterizing the typical transport distance of the product to the downstream
activity (i.e. transport of clinker to the cement plant, transport of cement to the concrete plant, or
transport of concrete to the construction site) and the possible co-products. Co-products include:
• excess heat to district heating
• excess electricity exported to the grid
• cement kiln dust, sold off-site (clinker only)
• cement kiln dust, used on-site (clinker only)
Figure 5.8 - The “Products” section (screenshot from the International version)
It is worth noting that no credit of impact is considered and no allocation is applied for co-products. The
reporting of this information does not affect the results. A “D module” should be implemented in order
to consider such credits.
cut-off criteria as per the PCR is also included.
An extra category is included for concrete: “Transport (A4), mixing trucks only”. In this category, the user
is asked to inform the fuel consumption of mixing trucks per unit volume of concrete (if applicable),
including both diesel and compressed natural gas. The latter serves as a basis to calculate the energy
needed for mixing purposes which is eventually allocated to stage A3.
5.10 Global analysis
This section presents the aggregated results per indicator, as per the PCRs.
The full set of reference indicators as per the Cement PCR5 is presented in Table 5.4.
Table 5.4 - Complete set of reference indicators, as per the reference Cement PCR
Indicator Units
Environmental impact categories
1 Global warming potential GWP kg CO2-eq
2 Acidification potential AP kg SO2-eq
3 Eutrophication potential EP kg N-eq
4 Smog creation potential POCP kg O3-eq
5 Ozone depletion potential ODP kg CFC 11-eq
Total primary energy consumption
6 Non-renewable fossil NRF MJ (HHV)
7 Non-renewable nuclear NRN MJ (HHV)
8 Renewable (solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal) RSWHG MJ (HHV)
9 Renewable (biomass) RB MJ (HHV)
Material resources consumption
10 Non-renewable material resources NRMR kg
11 Renewable material resources RMR kg
12 Net fresh water (inputs minus outputs) NFW L
Waste generation
13 Non-hazardous waste generated NHWG kg
14 Hazardous waste generated HWG kg
Note: Please see the list of acronyms and abbreviations for definitions
The indicators referring to the environmental impact categories (indicators 1-5) are calculated using the
latest TRACI indicators (i.e. TRACI v2.16).
The indicators referring to the total primary energy consumption (indicators 6-9) are based on the
Cumulative Energy Demand7,8 (CED) methodology in order to capture the entire scope (from cradle to
gate), including upstream processes.
5
6
Bare J. (2014). Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts (TRACI),
TRACI version 2.1 User’s Guide. US EPA Office of Research and Development, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-
12/554, 2014.
7
VDI (1997). Cumulative Energy Demand - Terms, Definitions, Methods of Calculation. In: VDI-Richtlinien 4600.
Verein Deutscher Ingenieure, Düsseldorf.
8
Hischier R., Weidema B., Althaus H.-J., Bauer C., Doka G., Dones R., Frischknecht R., Hellweg S., Humbert S.,
Jungbluth N., Köllner T., Loerincik Y., Margni M. and Nemecek T. (2010) Implementation of Life Cycle Impact
Assessment Methods. ecoinvent report No. 3, v2.2. Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories, Dübendorf.
The method for assessing the use of material resources (indicators 10-11) is based on elementary flows
from the background LCI database(s), considering a distinction between renewable and non-renewable
material resources (expert judgment by Quantis). For further details about the mapping of elementary
flows, please refer to the Project Database, “EFs-CFs (all)” tab.
The “Net fresh water” (indicator 12) is covering the entire scope from cradle to gate (including upstream
processes) according to the IMPACT 2002+ method. It is worth noting that the indicator should be
interpreted as water withdrawal (as opposed to net freshwater consumption).
The indicators referring to waste generation (indicators 13-14) shall be considered as inventory level
indicators and refer only to solid wastes. For cement, only solid wastes generated within the clinker-
cement plant boundaries shall be considered, based on user inputs.
The full set of reference indicators as per the Concrete PCR9 is presented in Table 5.5.
Table 5.5 - Complete set of reference indicators, as per the reference Concrete PCR
Indicator Units
Life cycle impact assessment categories
1 Global Warming Potential (climate change) GWP kg CO2-eq
2 Acidification Potential AP kg SO2-eq
3 Eutrophication Potential EP kg N-eq
4 Photochemical Ozone Creation/Smog Potential POCP kg O3-eq
5 Ozone Depletion Potential ODP kg CFC 11-eq
Life cycle inventory data
6 Total primary energy consumption PEC MJ (HHV)
7 Depletion of non-renewable energy resources NRE MJ (HHV)
8 Use of renewable primary energy RE MJ (HHV)
9 Depletion of non-renewable material resources NRM kg
10 Use of renewable material resources RM kg
11 Concrete batching water consumption CBW m3
12 Concrete washing water consumption CWW m3
13 Total water consumption TW m3
14 Concrete hazardous waste CHW kg
15 Concrete non-hazardous waste CNHW kg
The indicators referring to the Life cycle impact assessment categories (indicators 1-5) are calculated
using the latest TRACI indicators (i.e. TRACI v2.1).
9
The indicators referring to the total primary energy consumption (indicators 6-8) are based on the
Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) methodology in order to capture the entire scope (from cradle to
gate), including upstream processes.
The method for assessing the use of material resources (indicators 9-10) is based on elementary flows
from the background LCI database(s), considering a distinction between renewable and non-renewable
material resources (expert judgment by Quantis). For further details about the mapping of elementary
flows, please refer to the Project Database, “EFs-CFs (all)” tab.
The concrete batching water consumption (i.e. water used as material, indicator 11) and concrete
washing water consumption (i.e. process water, indicator 12) indicators from the Concrete PCR are
considered as inventory level indicators, with a limitation to the boundaries of the concrete plant.
The “Total water consumption” (indicator 13), however, is covering the entire scope from cradle to gate
(including upstream processes) according to the IMPACT 2002+ and should be interpreted as water
withdrawal (as opposed to net freshwater consumption). It is NOT the sum of concrete batching water
consumption and concrete washing water consumption.
The indicators referring to waste generation (indicators 14-15) shall be considered as inventory level
indicators and refer only to solid wastes. For concrete, only solid wastes generated within the concrete
plant boundaries are considered, based on user inputs. For instance, wastes generated at the clinker-
cement manufacturing site shall not be included in the calculation, meaning that concrete will NOT
inherit the generation of wastes from the upstream cement or clinker activities.
In agreement with NRMCA’s concrete industry average EPD10, the additional inventory indicator and the
waste generation indicators as per the PCR are excluded. The main reasons are as follows:
• These indicators are not addressed in NRMCA’s concrete industry average EPD
• These indicators are optional
• The methods to address these indicators are not defined in the concrete PCR and therefore
one cannot ensure any consistency among EPDs
• Given the available and applicable life cycle inventory (LCI) databases, the robustness of these
optional indicators is considered to be limited and would therefore not bring added value to
the EPD.
10
NRMCA (2014). NRMCA member industry-wide EPD for ready-mixed concrete, dated 10 October 2014.
Figure 5.9 - The “Global analysis” section (screenshot from the International version)
In addition to the reference indicators as per the PCRs, 4 extra toxicity indicators are available to the
user. The full set of toxicity indicators is presented in Table 5.6. Just like the other life cycle impact
assessment (LCIA) indicators, these extra indicators are calculated using the latest TRACI indicators (i.e.
TRACI v2.1).
Table 5.6 - Complete set of extra indicators
Indicator Units
Environmental impact categories
20 Human toxicity potential, carcinogenics HTPC CTUh
21 Human toxicity potential, non-carcinogenics HTPNC CTUh
22 Human toxicity potential, respiratory effects HTPRE kg PM2.5-eq
23 Ecotoxicity potential ETP CTUe
Toxicity indicators are available as an option, regardless of the type of product (clinker, cement or
concrete). The choice of including toxicity indicators is made in the “Description” section, by means of a
check box:
This choice can be changed at any time. If included, toxicity indicators are reported together with other
LCIA indicators (i.e. indicators 1-5 according to both the Cement and Concrete PCRs). For a detailed
definition of the extra indicators, please refer to the “LCA core model and database report”.
5.11 LCA analysis
This section presents the detailed results for the 5 environmental impact indicators, as per the PCR. In
agreement with the PCR, the reference environmental impact indicators are calculated using the latest
TRACI indicators, i.e. TRACI v2.1 (see sub-chapter 5.10).
Figure 5.10 - The “LCA analysis” section (screenshot from the International version)
The structure of the results is identical to that in the background report (see Chapter 7).
The following abbreviations are used for the LCIA indicators:
• GWP: Global warming potential
• AP: Acidification potential
• EP: Eutrophication potential
• ODP: Ozone depletion potential
• POCP: Photochemical ozone creation potential
If selected in the "Description" section (checkbox "Include toxicity indicators"), 4 extra toxicity indicators
may also be reported by using the radio button "Extra toxicity indicators".
The following abbreviations are used for the LCIA indicators:

• HTPC: Human toxicity potential, carcinogenics
• HTPNC: Human toxicity potential, non-carcinogenics
• HTPRE: Human toxicity potential, respiratory effects
• ETP: Ecotoxicity potential
5.12 Export
This section allows the user to export the three product-specific reports, i.e. the self-declaration (see
Chapter 6) and the background report (see Chapter 7). The background report may be used also for
offline data collection. For further details about offline data collection, please refer to Chapter 7.
6 Self-declaration
As mentioned in sub-chapter 1.4.5, a self-declaration is a one-pager US-letter document, specific to a
given product, providing the following information:
• Brief description and main characteristics of the product
• Impact scores of the product for all indicators as per the PCR
• Impact scores of the product for 4 extra toxicity indicators
It is one of the main outputs of the tool and is in the form of a pdf document in PCA-CSI format. It can
be used for communication or sales purposes. A self-declaration is not a “verified” official EPD, but can
serve as a user-friendly document that contains the main general/background information and the
environmental performance (LCA results) of the product for all indicators as per the PCR.
A self-declaration is structured as follows (from top to bottom):

• PCA and WBCSD-CSI logo
• Title: “Environmental Data Sheet”
• Sub-title: “Self-Declaration based on PCA/ASTM PCR UN CPC 3744 Cement (v1.0)” or “Self-
Declaration based on CLF/NRMCA PCR UN CPC 375 Concrete (v1.1)” depending on the product
• Product name
• General information about the product, including:
o Manufacturer
o Declared unit
o Product identification
o Production site(s)
o Scope
o Methodology
o Date of issue
o Comment
• Results for all indicators as per the PCRs (plus 4 extra toxicity indicators)
Figure 6.1 – Example of self-declaration for a cement
The results are structured as:
• sub-total A1-A311 (manufacturing process including upstream processes, i.e. cradle-to-gate)
• A4 (transport from the manufacturing site to the downstream activity
• grand total A1-A4
In addition, the impacts from wastes used as alternative fuels (i.e. the combustion of secondary fuels)
are provided in brackets for all 5 environmental impact indicators (plus 4 toxicity indicators), in order to
comply with the requirements of some jurisdictions.
In case the downstream transport in the “Product” section has been removed, the scope on the self-
declaration will state “cradle to gate”. This is the case for instance for clinker as the latter does not have
any downstream transport by definition. In all other cases (also when the transport was set to zero), the
scope on the self-declaration will state “cradle to site” (in case of a cement) or “cradle to construction”
(in case of a concrete).
11
Please refer to Figure 1 (section 6.2, pp. 9) of the Cement PCR or Figure 2.1 (section 2.2, pp. 15) of the Concrete
PCR for further details about the designation of the life cycle stages.
7 Background report
As mentioned in sub-chapter 1.4.5, a background report is a spreadsheet document, specific to a given
product, containing the following information:
• The complete set of input data of the product (incl. description, materials, manufacturing,
transport, waste management, and possible co-products)
• The complete set of results of the product for all indicators as per the PCRs
This document is in the form of an Excel file that contains all the information required to produce an
EPD and also for a third party verifier to validate it. As it contains confidential data and information, this
spreadsheet is expected to be used for internal purposes. In particular, it may be used for LCA results
analysis and interpretation, or for producing graphs out of the results. The background report may also
be used also for offline data collection (to be subsequently imported back into the tool).
The background report is structured into 7 tabs, including:

• Introduction
• LCI-<PRODUCT>-Description
• LCI-<PRODUCT>-Materials
• LCI-<PRODUCT>-Manufacturing
• LCI-<PRODUCT>-Waste-management
• LCI-<PRODUCT>-Products
• RESULTS
The “Introduction” tab provides details about the structure of the background report. It also contains
the contact details of the Quantis team, as well and PCA and the CSI. The following 5 tabs in the
background report correspond to the first 5 sections in the workflow of the tool (see sub-chapters 5.5 to
5.9). The “RESULTS” tab contains the detailed results of the EPD for all indicators as per the PCR. The
“LCI-…” and “RESULTS” tabs are detailed in the following sub-chapters.
It is worth noting that the “RESULTS” tab is only available for cement and concrete, not for clinker.
7.1 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Description
This tab of the background report corresponds to the “Description” section of the workflow (see sub-
chapter 5.5). The same fields as in the tool are found in the Excel sheet (column B). The information is to
be provided in Column C.
A B C
Description
Field Designation (what)
Product code Q-Cement
Product name Default cement for reporting
Production site(s) Lausanne
Site production capacity (t/yr) 340'000
Include infrastructure Yes
Manufacturer Quantis
Address EPFL Innovation Park, Bâtiment D
Postal code 1015
City Lausanne
Country CH
Used method CML
Include toxicity indicators Yes
Comments Last edited by A. Dauriat on 28.04.2014
Appearance and smell …
Colour …
Solubility in water …
pH in water …
Compressive strength class …
Specific gravity (g/cm³) …
Initial setting time (min) …
7.2 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Materials
This tab of the background report corresponds to the “Materials” section of the workflow (see sub-
chapter 5.6). Here again, the same fields as in the tool can be found in the Excel sheet. Quantities of
materials should be provided in Column E. Transport data per material should be provided in columns G
to P. Transport distances per transport mode must be typed in with the unit, e.g. “5 km” or “12.5 km”.
The omission of the unit will result in an error message upon import in the tool (see sub-chapter 4.4.5)
and the import will fail. In case two transport distances should need to be associated with a given
material, the two distances should be either separated by “ // “ (i.e. “5 km // 12.5 km”) or should be
summed up (i.e. “17.5 km”).
A B C D E F G H I J
Materials
Category Designation (what) Unit Quantity Truck Comments Rail …
Raw materials
Specific clinker Default clinker for reporting - Default clinker for reporting
kg 806 5.000 km
Specific cement Cement, unspecified kg
Default clinker Default clinker kg
Default cement Default cement kg
Primary raw materials Anhydrites kg
Bentonite kg
Gypsum kg
Lime kg
Raw limestone kg
Crushed limestone kg
Natural pozzolans kg
Sand kg
Silica sand kg
Secondary materials Ash, fly ash kg 90 50.000 km
WBCSD-CSI tool for EPDs of concrete andAsh,
cement: Offline
incinerator ash user manual, U.S.kgversion Page 63
Ash, furnace bottom ash kg
…
7.3 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Manufacturing
This tab of the background report corresponds to the “Manufacturing” section of the workflow (see sub-
chapter 5.7). The same exact rules as described in sub-chapter 7.2 apply.
A B C D E F G H I J
Manufacturing
Electricity, purchased from the grid
Electricity Electricity kWh 29.2
Coal and peat %
Oil %
Gas %
Biofuels %
Waste %
Nuclear %
Hydro %
Geothermal %
Solar PV %
Wind %
Fuels
Primary fuels Wood pellets, from residual wood m³
Wood logs, from forest wood m³
Wood chips, from residual wood m³
Wood chips, from forest wood m³
Diesel kg
Hard coal kg
Heavy fuel oil kg
Light fuel oil kg
Lignite/shale/shiste kg
Natural gas m³
Petroleum coke kg
On-site transport
Transportation fuels Diesel L
Gasoline L
Water
Water Water m³
Water, unspecified natural origin m³
Other environmental information
Dust Total dust kg 0
In the background report of a clinker, the various substances in the category “Emissions to air, custom”
are treated as follows:
• Non-empty cells mean that the actual value provided by the user for the specific substance is
considered in the calculations
• empty cells (i.e. no value) mean that the default value (as calculated by the tool, based on the
actual mix of kiln fuels provided by the user) is applied
A statement about this rule is included in the “Introduction” tab of the background report.
7.4 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Waste-management
This tab of the background report corresponds to the “Waste management” section of the workflow
(see sub-chapter 5.8). The same exact rules as described in sub-chapter 7.2 apply.
A B C D E F G H I J
Waste management
Non-Hazardous waste
Non-Hazardous waste Wastewater m³
Non-hazardous waste to landfill kg
Non-hazardous waste to incineration kg
Hazardous waste
Hazardous waste Hazardous waste to incineration kg
Hazardous waste to underground deposit kg
Other environmental information
Output flows Materials/waste to recycling kg 0 50.000 km
Components for re-use kg 0
Materials for energy recovery kg 0
7.5 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Products
This tab of the background report corresponds to the “Products” section of the workflow (see sub-
chapter 5.9). The same exact rules as described in sub-chapter 7.2 apply.
A B C D E F G H I J
Products
Main product
Main product cement t 1 50.000 km
Co-product(s)
Co-product(s) Excess electricity kWh
7.6 RESULTS
This tab of the background report corresponds, to some extent, to the “LCA analysis” section of the
workflow (see sub-chapter 5.11), but with a higher level of detail (at the exchange level). As stated
previously, the “RESULTS” tab is only available for cement and concrete, not for clinker.
A B C D E F G H I J K
RESULTS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 25
GWP = Global warming potential; ODP = Depletion potential of the stratospheric ozone layer; AP = Acidification potential of land and water; EP = Eutrophication potential;
POCP = Formation potential of tropospheric ozone photochemical oxidants; ADPE = Abiotic depletion potential for non fossil resources; ADPF = Abiotic depletion potential
for fossil resources; HTP = Human toxicity potential; FAETP = Freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity potential; MAETP = Marine aquatic ecotoxicity potential; TETP = Terrestrial
ecotoxicity potential
LCIA methodology Impacts GWP ODP AP EP POCP ADPE ADPF …

3-
kg CO2 eq. kg CFC 11eq. kg SO2 eq. kg PO4 eq. kg C2H4 eq. kg Sb eq. MJ …
Materials 755.002349 2.80019E-05 1.837510314 0.257389868 0.267159356 0.000116161 4306.81169 …
Raw materials 754.7040331 2.79959E-05 1.836520295 0.256959121 0.267076727 0.000114962 4298.07337 …
Primary raw materials 754.7040331 2.79959E-05 1.836520295 0.256959121 0.267076727 0.000114962 4298.07337 …
Clinker 754.7040331 2.79959E-05 1.836520295 0.256959121 0.267076727 0.000114962 4298.07337 …
Cement 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 …
Anhydrites 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 …
Bentonite 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 …
… … … … … … … … …
It is worth noting that the results in the background report are fixed values which were calculated
when the background report was exported. Editing some of the input data in the life cycle inventory
(LCI) pages will not affect the results. The background report indeed is not a calculator, but really a
report, as its name indicates.

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WBCSD-CSI tool for EPDs of concrete

and cement (v1.5)

Prepared by: Quantis

April 20, 2018

LAUSANNE – PARIS – ZURICH - BERLIN - BOSTON | www.quantis-intl.com

Tel: +41 21 353 5910

1.1 Context and background ............................................................................................................. 11

1.2 Purpose of the present document .............................................................................................. 12

1.3 Address of the tool...................................................................................................................... 12

1.4 Definitions ................................................................................................................................... 13

1.4.1 Tool ..................................................................................................................................... 13

1.4.3 Product ................................................................................................................................ 13

1.4.4 EPD ...................................................................................................................................... 13

1.4.5 Self-declaration ................................................................................................................... 14

1.4.6 Background report .............................................................................................................. 14

1.4.7 Exchange ............................................................................................................................. 15

1.4.8 Project Database ................................................................................................................. 15

1.5 Key contacts ................................................................................................................................ 15

3 Welcome screen ................................................................................................................................. 18

3.1 Change passphrase ..................................................................................................................... 20

3.3 Logout ......................................................................................................................................... 21

3.4 U.S. version of the EPD tool ........................................................................................................ 21

4 EPD dashboard .................................................................................................................................... 22

4.1 Back to home page...................................................................................................................... 23

4.2 Help ............................................................................................................................................. 23

4.3 List of EPDs .................................................................................................................................. 23

4.3.2 Duplicate an EPD ................................................................................................................. 24

4.3.3 Export the background report of an EPD as an................................................................... 25

4.3.4 Export the self-declaration of an EPD as a pdf file.............................................................. 25

4.3.5 Delete an EPD...................................................................................................................... 26

4.4 EPD management buttons .......................................................................................................... 27

4.4.1 Create a new empty EPD .................................................................................................... 27

4.4.2 Create a new default EPD ................................................................................................... 28

4.4.3 Create a new EPD from a self-declaration report ............................................................... 29

4.4.4 Export an EPD template ...................................................................................................... 30

4.4.5 Import an EPD ..................................................................................................................... 31

4.5 Multi EPD management buttons ................................................................................................ 34

4.5.1 Export multiple background reports ................................................................................... 34

4.5.2 Export multiple self declaration reports ............................................................................. 35

4.5.3 Delete multiple EPDs........................................................................................................... 36

4.6 Metadata of the selected EPD .................................................................................................... 37

5 EPD edition .......................................................................................................................................... 38

5.1 Workspace .................................................................................................................................. 39

5.2 Control ........................................................................................................................................ 39

5.3 Help ............................................................................................................................................. 41

5.5 Description .................................................................................................................................. 42

5.6 Materials ..................................................................................................................................... 45

5.7 Manufacturing ............................................................................................................................ 47

5.8 Waste management .................................................................................................................... 49

5.9 Products ...................................................................................................................................... 50

5.11 LCA analysis ................................................................................................................................. 57

5.12 Export .......................................................................................................................................... 58

7 Background report .............................................................................................................................. 62

7.1 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Description ....................................................................................................... 63

7.2 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Materials .......................................................................................................... 63

7.3 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Manufacturing ................................................................................................. 64

7.4 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Waste-management ........................................................................................ 65

7.5 LCI-<PRODUCT>-Products ........................................................................................................... 65

CSI Cement Sustainability Initiative

CTUe Comparative toxic units, ecotoxicity

1.1 Context and background

1.2 Purpose of the present document

1.3 Address of the tool