MBMA Updates Metal Building Environmental Product Declarations

Cleveland, OH - The Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) has released revised environmental product declarations (EPDs) for three metal building product categories: primary rigid framing, secondary framing, and metal cladding for roofs and walls.

These resources are valid for five years and are updates to the original MBMA EPDs released in 2016. They are available on the MBMA website at www.mbma.com/Environmental_Product_Declarations.html.

“The MBMA EPDs provide specifiers, designers and other industry professionals with transparent, third-party documentation of the environmental impacts of products used in metal building systems,” noted Tony Bouquot, MBMA’s general manager. “These industry-average reports can be used by all MBMA members to show compliance with LEED and other high performance energy programs.”

MBMA partnered with UL Environment to develop and certify these EPDs, which summarize the cradle-to-gate environmental impacts of a metal building system. The cradle-to-gate method is used to describe the impact of producing products, from raw material extraction, through processing, fabrication and up to the finished product leaving the manufacturing facility.

EPDs are based on Product Category Rules (PCRs) used to develop a life cycle analysis (LCA) final report, which is summarized in the EPDs. The MBMA LCA was recently updated in partnership with the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute. The U.S. Green Building Council LEED version 4.1 green building rating system encourages the use of EPDs, which can be used to earn credits in the program.

The MBMA EPDs, LCA and additional resources about the sustainability of metal building systems are available at MBMA’s website, www.mbma.com.

About The Metal Building Manufacturers Association

Founded in 1956, MBMA serves manufacturers and suppliers that work with industry professionals, architects, building designers, educators, building code officials and others to advance the metal building systems industry. The efforts of member volunteers and association staff regularly lead to industry improvements and groundbreaking research. Resources on the association's website include technical materials, research reports, videos and design guides, plus news of the most current research and ideas to propel the industry. MBMA also provides graduate and undergraduate educational resources at MBMAeducation.org. For more information, visit mbma.com.