Updating the Environmental Product ­Declaration for PLEXIGLAS® sheets and plates

Current studies show that environmental and climate issues are still firmly anchored in social awareness. We at POLYVANTIS GmbH therefore regularly receive inquiries from customers, planners and decision-makers about the environmental impact of PLEXIGLAS® products. Building regulations are increasingly demanding qualitative and quantitative information on the environmental impact of construction products and systems in addition to traditional safety-related certificates such as fire class and structural analysis.

Current European initiatives like the EU Green Claims Directive or the EmpCo Directive also stipulate stricter requirements for the presentation of objective, substantiated and verifiable information on the environmental properties of products.

We have now updated the Environmental Product Declaration for PLEXIGLAS® solid sheets, which was first introduced in 2018. This revised Environmental Product Declaration describes cast and extruded PLEXIGLAS® panels and sheets in various forms for construction and other indoor and outdoor applications.

The Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V. (IBU) and its council of experts have reviewed the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for PLEXIGLAS® Boards and Panels and have been publishing it in German since the beginning of 2025 and in English from April 2025 on their Homepage.

In brief: What is an EPD and what are they used for?

An EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) is a document that presents the environmentally relevant properties of a specific product in the form of neutral and objective data.

• Proof of the environmental impact of products and the basis for e.g. the ecological assessment of buildings and structures.
• Specific information on the use of energy and resources and the extent to which a product contributes to the greenhouse effect (carbon footprint, CO2e), soil acidification, destruction of the ozone layer, smog formation and other environmental impacts.
• Determination of product information, including typical properties, production, ingredients, delivery form and packaging, toxicology and health, impact of fire and water, recycling, etc.

EPDs show the results of life cycle analyses of products, so-called LCAs (Life Cycle Assessments). Depending on the selected system boundary “cradle to gate” or “cradle to grave”, the process of raw material extraction, production, transport, use and disposal is systematically analyzed. The LCAs are based on the ISO 14025 and EN 15804+A2 standards, among others, and are therefore largely internationally valid; they are also suitable as proof of environmental claims, e.g. for customers and in public procurement.

Benefits for customers, decision-makers, planners

The independently verified Environmental Product Declaration for PLEXIGLAS® sheets and panels provides customers, as well as private and public decision-makers, i.e. planners, architects, construction companies, real estate companies, facility managers, etc., with objective and independent quantitative and qualitative information on the environmental impacts of PLEXIGLAS® sheets and panels.