5th Sep 2019
Maurizio Fieschi is a graduate in Biology and Philosophy and has worked as an environment and sustainability specialist for over thirty years. He has carried out various research projects for Turin University and has held management roles in the public sector for the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA, formerly ANPA) and numerous consultancy companies.
He is also a verifier and member of the Technical Committee for the International EPD system and official reviewer for The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. And, he is EPD Australasia latest approved verifier. We talked to Maurizio about EPDs and the verification process.
Sustainability is a key part of today’s market, not only in industrialized countries but also in the developing world as those areas realize that future economic growth will largely depend on the sustainability of their products. In this context, EPD is an important tool as it provides clear rules, consistency and transparent evaluation of product sustainability, without which, reliable comparisons would be impossible. For example, the construction materials sector is currently benefitting from a growth in this field with the development of common rules applied throughout the industry and the resulting increase of EPDs across a wide range of products.
My company, Studio Fieschi & soci Srl, recommends EPD every time it is considered suitable for a target sector. This is generally the case for all B2B (Business to Business) relationships, but also for some complex and technical B2C (Business to Consumer) products such as those related to the transport industry or environmentally significant areas such as food products. In Italy and Europe we are currently experiencing frequent EPD requests from the public sector (green public procurement) and in many cases, EPD certification has been instrumental in the awarding of procurement contracts worth millions of euros. Again, the various certification processes in the construction industry have been important for the wider development of EPDs.
The International EPD system began from an Italo-Swedish project promoted by myself and Sven-Olof Ryding. I have worked in the field of LCA for the past 30 years and EPD is a tool that I monitor and support in my role as Technical Committee member, consultant and verifier. My position as verifier is particularly interesting and informative as it allows me the opportunity to make contact with some excellent organizations which are truly committed to sustainability and provide them with constructive and critical feedback. It’s always a great satisfaction to be able to congratulate an organization on the successful completion of a verification process. I am pleased to now also be an approved verifier with EPD Australasia.
The verification process goes far beyond simple compliance with regulatory requirements. For EPD, it is essential for conformity to ISO 14025 which is one of the most important aspects of the tool as it provides a guarantee to stakeholders and allows organizations to communicate data confidently and reliably. Furthermore, the verification process itself helps to enrich the skills of those involved in developing the EPD system. Indeed, it is always rewarding whenever a verifier manages to not simply focus on bureaucratic requirements but create an open and honest discussion with their counterpart. During my work, I have been pleased to observe that companies and organizations are experiencing the process of development and verification of their EPDs with ever increasing satisfaction.
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