Integrating environmental product declaration into ecolabeling standards: the case of wooden architectural components

The path to sustainable development requires the involvement of consumers and producers of goods. Ecolabels have emerged as the primary avenue of communication between the main agents within production chains, enabling environmental impact reduction and serving as criteria for consumer choices. However, many labels are not easy to attain (mainly for small businesses), as they demand environmental and safety requirements. Moreover, actual labeling program structures are not practical for public educational institutions to implement, making it more difficult for universities to act as impartial analysts. This research aimed to discuss about the possibility of a new ecolabel, the “Environmental Priority Ecolabel Guarantee”, based on criteria used by existing environmental labeling programs and Environmental Product Declaration rules from existing EPD programs. A Brazilian case study was developed involving a sound absorber, which was a wooden architectural product. Qualitative and quantitative descriptions were made based on ecodesign principles and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), respectively. The case study demonstrated the feasibility of the ecolabels wherein LCA played a key role to guarantee better environmental performance and that is possible for an University to act promoting sustainable development in small and medium enterprises.