ASTM International is a North American EPD Program Operator focused specifically on construction materials, having launched its EPD program in 2012 in conformance with ISO 14025. Headquartered at 100 Barr Harbor Drive in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, ASTM built its EPD program on top of a much older foundation — the organization itself dates to 1902, when it was founded as the American Section of the International Association for Testing Materials. This profile covers who ASTM International is, what it publishes, the standards its program runs on, its Program Operator rules, and how its scope differs from other operators.
Who Is ASTM International?
ASTM International is one of the world’s oldest and largest standards development organizations, founded in 1902. Its Environmental Product Declaration program is a comparatively recent addition — launched in 2012 — but it draws directly on ASTM’s century-plus of experience running open, consensus-based standards development processes for materials testing.
As a Program Operator, ASTM assists industries in developing Product Category Rules and verifies new EPDs to ensure they follow the proper procedures. Its EPD program is deliberately narrower in scope than operators like EPD International or UL Solutions — it focuses almost exclusively on construction and building materials, rather than branching into consumer or industrial products more broadly.
What EPDs Does ASTM International Make Available?
ASTM publishes and hosts both its Product Category Rules and the EPDs verified against them. Its published PCR library covers a focused list of construction materials, including:
- Asphalt shingles, built-up asphalt membrane roofing, and modified bituminous membrane roofing
- Clay brick, clay brick pavers, and structural clay tile
- Construction aggregates (natural aggregate, crushed concrete, iron/steel furnace slag)
- Gypsum panels and interior architectural wood door leaves
- Manufactured concrete and concrete masonry products, and precast concrete
- North American pressure-treated wood products
- Portland, blended hydraulic, masonry, mortar, and plastic stucco cements, and slag cement
- Power-operated pedestrian and revolving doors
- Segmental concrete paving products and single-ply roofing membrane
- Spray-applied fire-resistive materials (SFRM) and water-resistive/air barriers
The Standards Behind ASTM International’s Program
ASTM’s EPD program runs on:
- ISO 14025:2006 — the baseline international standard for Type III environmental declarations.
- ISO 21930:2017 — the international standard specific to construction-product EPDs, and ASTM’s primary construction reference.
- ISO 14040/14044:2006 — the underlying Life Cycle Assessment standards every EPD’s data must be built on.
Notably, ASTM’s program does not reference EN 15804, unlike UL Solutions or the European operators — a manufacturer selling primarily into North America under ASTM PCRs, and also needing European market access, would typically need a separate EPD path. See our comparison of ISO 21930 vs EN 15804 for how the two diverge.
ASTM International’s Program Operator Rules
ASTM publishes a General Program Instructions document — currently Version 8.0, revised April 29, 2020 — that governs its role as a Program Operator for PCR and EPD development, referenced across its published EPDs alongside its core ISO standards. Unlike EPD International or EPD Global, ASTM doesn’t publish this as a standalone downloadable PDF from its main certification pages, so manufacturers working with ASTM typically encounter its rules through their PCR documentation and the verification process itself rather than a single central rulebook.
How EPDs Are Generated Within ASTM’s Program
Rather than a formally tiered pre-verified tools program like EPD International’s, ASTM’s EPD library shows manufacturers commonly using one of several recognized third-party generator tools to produce their LCA results and EPD content, including tools from Pathways, the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute, the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), and Climate Earth’s CarbonCLARITY platform — particularly common in the concrete and cement sector, where high EPD volumes make tool-based generation especially valuable. ASTM then verifies the resulting EPD against the applicable PCR before publication.
Where ASTM International’s Scope Differs From Other Operators
Unlike EPD International, EPD Global, and IBU, ASTM International is not a listed member of Eco Platform, and it doesn’t maintain the same kind of publicized Mutual Recognition Agreement network that UL Solutions has built with operators like IBU and BRE Global. For manufacturers whose products and buyers are squarely North American, this narrower scope is rarely a drawback — but it’s worth knowing if a European or globally recognized declaration is also on the roadmap.
How CarbonBright Works With ASTM International
CarbonBright’s Life Cycle Assessment and EPD workflows are built to produce audit-ready data aligned with the standards ASTM’s program runs on — ISO 14025, ISO 21930, and the applicable PCR for each product. CarbonBright is a pre-verified tool, and can pursue certification for specific PCRs with ASTM International or whichever EPD Program Operator fits your target market best.
Looking to publish an EPD through ASTM International or another Program Operator? Contact CarbonBright to see how our platform fits into that process.
