The Gypsum Association has completed the development of a product category rules document for North American gypsum boards. The intended application of the PCR is to provide a common set of specific rules, requirements and guidelines for developing ISO 14025 conformance Type III environmental product declarations for North American produced gypsum board products and to specify the underlying requirements of the life cycle assessment in conformance with The International Organization for Standardization 14040 series of LCA standards.

According to Michael Gardner, executive director for the Gypsum Association, “As an industry we are excited to be at the forefront of industrial sustainability reporting. Our members take a serious approach to their individual and collective environmental responsibility. We view the creation of a PCR as one more positive step in that process.”

The PCR was developed in collaboration with FPInnovations, Vancouver, British Columbia, which will serve as the Association’s Program Operator. The scope of this PCR is limited to the environmental performance of North American produced gypsum boards. It does not address either the economic or social aspects of the product.

The Association will now proceed to developing a generic EPD for gypsum board. According to Jennifer O’Connor, research leader, sustainability, FPInnovations, “An EPD is a standardized and LCA-based tool to communicate the environmental performance of a product or system. EPDs provide transparent, credible environmental footprint data, allowing buyers to fairly compare one product to another.”

The new PCR for North American Gypsum Boards is available at www.gypsum.org/environment/.