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An important part of our work is to provide acoustical panels that are not only functional, but sustainably sourced and eco-friendly. We worked hard to get our FSC certification, which confirms our commitment to forest wildlife and ensuring fair and safe conditions for forest workers and indigenous populations. We also want to offer complete transparency about our products, which is why we recently applied for and received a third-party verification for an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for our wood-fiber acoustical panels.
According to SCS Global, our third party verification partner, an EPD “is a transparent, objective report that communicates what a product is made of and how it impacts the environment across its entire life cycle.” The third-party verification process provides a transparent, objective report about a product’s materials and manufacturing and how its life cycle impacts the environment—it is an official way of ensuring that a manufacturer’s claims about their products checkout.
EPDs also confirm whether products use a certain amount of energy in the production process. Because of growing concerns about protecting the environment, more jobs restrict specifications regarding eco-friendly products. And because architects want credibility about products’ scientific data, the more proof and transparency provided, the more likely an architect will work with a particular product.
EPDs provide easier communications with architects by clarifying whether a company is transparent about their carbon footprint. In fact, many architects won’t even consider sourcing products from companies that do not have an EPD.
Carinal Acoustics’ EPD offers transparency to our partners about every step involved in delivering our panels to end users, which includes procuring trees for our wood-fiber acoustical panels, shredding them, manufacturing them into panels, and loading the panels on a truck that will transport them to our customers.
Our EPD reinforces part of our mission: implementing eco-friendly construction materials. And because Cardinal Acoustics remains committed to the environment, our manufacturing materials, process, and delivery did not change when we applied for our EPD. Unlike our competition, we were already green! The EPD process can put pressure on companies that aren’t green to begin with, to improve their products and processes. Applying for an EPD is thorough and entails copious data submissions, such as product-transport mileage, pounds of waste created in the last year, and energy bills (amount of electricity used in warehouses and water usage).
Cardinal Acoustics is one of the few major acoustical-panel companies carrying an EPD. We’re always improving our wood-fiber acoustical panels’ accessibility, and our EPD takes guesswork out of the equation for our contractor and architect partners.
Learn more about our EPD by checking out our report. And to discover how our acoustical panels control noise and beautify surroundings, connect with us! We’re happy to provide information and answer questions.