As industries increasingly adopt sustainability considerations across their value chains, the importance of environmental product declarations (EPD) cannot be overstated. By systematically assessing the environmental impacts of a product from cradle to grave, businesses can gain valuable insight into their supply chain, pinpoint areas for improvement, and make informed strategic decisions that align with both regulatory requirements and customer expectations. As stakeholders increasingly demand accountability and verifiable environmental performance, embracing EPDs becomes a cornerstone of a forward-thinking and resilient sustainability strategy.

As a manufacturer of pressure-treated wood utility poles across North America, this rings true for Stella-Jones.

On October 18, Stella-Jones published its inaugural EPD, a first for the business and among North American utility pole manufacturers under the new Product Category Rules (PCR). As part of its commitment to environmental stewardship, Stella-Jones’ team played an active role in in the development of these new PCRs, representing the Treated Wood Council and treated wood industry, and working alongside alternative materials utility pole manufacturers in the development process. Having previously participated in industry-level life cycle assessments (LCA) with different industry associations, our team took this EPD one step further, providing transparent information on a product-specific life cycle, in this case Red Pine utility poles treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA). We are noting a growing trend for product-specific EPDs, both through regulations such as the U.S. Federal ‘Buy Clean Initiative‘, and individual state-based regulations. Most currently published EPDs are focused on construction materials, but we expect to see a growing demand for increased transparency and EPD publication across the infrastructure space in years to come. Our business seeks to stay ahead of regulations and views such industry-leading initiatives as opportunities for learning and leadership, which drew us to this project.

In 2023, we partnered with Pathways, an AI-powered LCA & EPD solution, who were seeking leaders in the materials manufacturing space to further develop their AI and data tools for EPD creation. Traditional LCAs present inherent challenges, in that they require a large amount of data and present only a snapshot of a product in time. The tool developed in collaboration with Stella-Jones connects directly to our data systems and allows for the tracking of life cycle impacts over time, creation of historical comparisons, and the visualization of impacts at different stages of the value chain. This significantly improves the ability of an EPD to provide useful information to businesses to make decisions on supply chain and manufacturing processes, and then readily see those impacts quantified.

Our first product EPD is for Red Pine poles treated with CCA, which are used by utility customers in Canada and regions within the United States. The EPD includes the company-specific supply chain information for the procurement and transportation of Red Pine poles, as well as facility-specific information from the seven Stella-Jones facilities that manufacture this product. An added advantage of the software solution is its capability to easily add specific in-service life and disposal methods for willing customers, to provide them distinct LCAs if needed. In terms of next steps, we are also getting ready to build the next set of products in the LCA tool and will look to publish more EPDs for our product lines in the future.

As a business and member of the utility poles manufacturing industry, Stella-Jones looks forward to working in partnership with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to identify opportunities to improve sustainability, both up and down our value chain.

We believe transparency in environmental impact reporting is a driver of meaningful change in our industry. By embracing detailed and accurate Environmental Product Declarations, we can foster productive conversations with other key players about opportunities for improvement, inspire innovation, and together, drive a more resilient and sustainable future.

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