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Purpose <p>Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) have been increasingly used as standardized tools for life cycle-based environmental communication and decision-making. As sustainability reporting frameworks evolve and stakeholder expectations grow more complex, understanding how EPDs can bridge data quality, comparability, and communicative clarity is a key challenge for researchers, companies, and policymakers alike. However, the academic literature remains fragmented across sectors, tools, and policy domains. This study presents the first systematic literature review (SLR) dedicated entirely to EPDs, aiming to map their evolution over the last two decades, examine key drivers and barriers, and identify research gaps to support more robust and harmonized systems.</p> Methods <p>A systematic literature review was conducted using the Scopus database and PRISMA guidelines, 290 peer-reviewed articles published between 2001 and 2024 were analysed. Studies were coded according to bibliometric, geographical, and methodological variables, and classified into six thematic areas. Building on these categories, the paper proposes a conceptual framework that integrates key drivers, challenges, and enabling factors influencing the strategic role of EPDs across sectors.</p> Results and discussions <p>Findings indicate an exponential increase in EPD-related research since 2015, with Europe as the leading contributor. The construction industry still dominates the literature, although new fields of application in agri-food, energy, and consumer goods are emerging. However, the literature shows that the strategic potential of EPDs remains hindered by methodological fragmentation, limited data quality and access, sectoral asymmetries, and economic barriers. Despite these challenges, the growing integration of digital tools, automated LCA processes, and regulatory alignment, especially with the EU’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), signals a shift toward more dynamic and scalable applications.</p> Conclusions <p>This study provides a comprehensive synthesis of the EPD research landscape and identifies key priorities for future work. These include improving comparability across product categories, developing simplified tools to support broader adoption, especially by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and assessing the real-world communicative effectiveness of EPDs, particularly in business-to-consumer (B2C) contexts. By addressing these methodological, technical, and geographical asymmetries, EPDs can evolve beyond static reporting instruments to become integrated components of environmental governance. Strengthening these dimensions will foster a virtuous cycle in which EPDs become more credible, accessible, and impactful across sectors and scales, ultimately contributing to global sustainability and life cycle-based decision support systems.</p>

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Over twenty years of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs): from communication tools to sustainability decision-support systems

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月9日

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  • Alessia Acampora,
  • Martina Cova,
  • Flaviana Capolini

摘要

Purpose

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) have been increasingly used as standardized tools for life cycle-based environmental communication and decision-making. As sustainability reporting frameworks evolve and stakeholder expectations grow more complex, understanding how EPDs can bridge data quality, comparability, and communicative clarity is a key challenge for researchers, companies, and policymakers alike. However, the academic literature remains fragmented across sectors, tools, and policy domains. This study presents the first systematic literature review (SLR) dedicated entirely to EPDs, aiming to map their evolution over the last two decades, examine key drivers and barriers, and identify research gaps to support more robust and harmonized systems.

Methods

A systematic literature review was conducted using the Scopus database and PRISMA guidelines, 290 peer-reviewed articles published between 2001 and 2024 were analysed. Studies were coded according to bibliometric, geographical, and methodological variables, and classified into six thematic areas. Building on these categories, the paper proposes a conceptual framework that integrates key drivers, challenges, and enabling factors influencing the strategic role of EPDs across sectors.

Results and discussions

Findings indicate an exponential increase in EPD-related research since 2015, with Europe as the leading contributor. The construction industry still dominates the literature, although new fields of application in agri-food, energy, and consumer goods are emerging. However, the literature shows that the strategic potential of EPDs remains hindered by methodological fragmentation, limited data quality and access, sectoral asymmetries, and economic barriers. Despite these challenges, the growing integration of digital tools, automated LCA processes, and regulatory alignment, especially with the EU’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), signals a shift toward more dynamic and scalable applications.

Conclusions

This study provides a comprehensive synthesis of the EPD research landscape and identifies key priorities for future work. These include improving comparability across product categories, developing simplified tools to support broader adoption, especially by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and assessing the real-world communicative effectiveness of EPDs, particularly in business-to-consumer (B2C) contexts. By addressing these methodological, technical, and geographical asymmetries, EPDs can evolve beyond static reporting instruments to become integrated components of environmental governance. Strengthening these dimensions will foster a virtuous cycle in which EPDs become more credible, accessible, and impactful across sectors and scales, ultimately contributing to global sustainability and life cycle-based decision support systems.