Material Statements by EPEA as an independent material trustee
As an independent material trustee, we draw up material statements on the topics of health, recyclability, CO2 footprint and environmental impact. The “Material Health Statement®” (MHS) is a declaration instrument and makes it possible for manufacturers of products, components and chemical products to communicate transparently regarding the material health of the materials used, product safety and the environmental quality of their products. In order to effect significant changes however, we must go beyond cataloguing, screening and assessment. Products must be optimised for current and future uses. For this reason, the MHS also documents the product development and the product optimisation process. Based on this, the “Material Reutilization Statement” (MRS) makes it clear how and with which processes the product circulates in the cycle.
Ideally, an MHS and an MRS are created during initial product optimisation or innovation development, based on the Cradle to Cradle® design framework. The MHS and MRS can be created for products at every point in a supply chain, including intermediate products. Here you can find the guideline for development of an MHS.
To describe the lower CO2 emissions associated with a product designed to be recyclable, we draw up a “Material Carbon Statement” (MCS) on the basis of ISO 14040, and a “Material Environmental Statement” (MES) to describe the overall environmental impact. This allows the advantages of the Circular Economy to be illustrated transparently, which is not possible with simple creation of a classic EPD.