UL Solutions is one of the most widely used EPD Program Operators in North America, operating through its UL Environment division since 2009. Headquartered at 333 Pfingsten Rd in Northbrook, Illinois, UL Solutions is accredited under ISO 14025 and ISO 21930, and hosts published EPDs in its free SPOT database alongside more than 180,000 other certified product families. This profile covers who UL Solutions is, what it publishes, the standards its program runs on, its SPOT database, and its mutual recognition agreements with other operators.
Who Is UL Solutions?
UL Solutions traces its EPD and environmental-claims work to UL Environment, launched in January 2009 by Underwriters Laboratories to validate the environmental claims manufacturers use in product marketing. In August 2010, UL Environment expanded its sustainability portfolio by acquiring majority ownership of TerraChoice, the environmental certification firm behind the EcoLogo™ program. UL Environment’s EPD and Product Category Rule work now sits within the broader UL Solutions organization.
Unlike the Nordic-system operators, UL Solutions isn’t a single-purpose EPD foundation — it’s the sustainability and certification arm of a much larger testing, inspection, and certification company, which gives it deep existing relationships with North American manufacturers already using UL for product safety certification.
What EPDs Does UL Solutions Make Available?
UL Solutions publishes verified EPDs into its SPOT (Sustainable Products of Trust) database — a free, public tool that lists more than 180,000 product families with credible sustainability certifications, drawing roughly 25,000 monthly visitors. SPOT covers far more than EPDs alone (it also indexes certifications like ENERGY STAR and Safer Choice), but every UL-verified EPD lands there, making it one of the most visible registries for North American buyers and specifiers to search.
UL Solutions has led Product Category Rule development across a wide range of sectors, including:
- Building-related products: aluminum construction, asphalt shingles, insulation, flooring, roofing materials, steel doors, and structural wood products
- Non-building products: sealants, hand dryers, tires, printers, and cladding
The Standards Behind UL Solutions’ Program
Every EPD verified through UL Solutions is certified to:
- ISO 14025 — the overarching international standard for Type III environmental declarations.
- ISO 21930 — the international construction-product EPD standard, which UL uses as a primary reference alongside ISO 14025.
- EN 15804 — referenced for EPDs intended for European markets, though published under the UL brand rather than through a European operator directly.
This combination makes UL Solutions a strong fit for manufacturers whose primary market is North America but who may need occasional European recognition — see our comparison of ISO 21930 vs EN 15804 for how the two standards relate.
PCRs are developed through an open, collaborative process similar to how UL develops its safety standards: draft review, stakeholder comment periods (open to suppliers, manufacturers, trade associations, NGOs, and practitioners), and submission to a review panel before publication through UL Standards.
UL Solutions’ Program Operator Rules
UL Solutions doesn’t publish a single “General Programme Instructions” document in the same format as EPD International or EPD Global. Instead, its program rules are embodied in two places: its open PCR development process (published via UL Standards), and its EPD certification service terms, which set out the requirements for EPD verification, publication, and validity under UL’s program.
UL Solutions’ Mutual Recognition Agreements
UL Solutions is not a listed member of Eco Platform, the European association that harmonizes EN 15804 implementation among operators like EPD International, EPD Global, and IBU. Instead, UL maintains its own direct Mutual Recognition Agreements, including with:
- Institut Bauen und Umwelt (IBU) — in place since late 2013, covering construction-product EPDs
- BRE Global — allowing manufacturers to certify through either UL or BRE Global for globally recognized EPDs under an agreed PCR
- EPDItaly — covering construction products and building services
UL describes these as agreements “for single-source support,” letting a manufacturer publish once and gain recognition across partner registries rather than re-verifying separately in each market.
How CarbonBright Works With UL Solutions
CarbonBright’s Life Cycle Assessment and EPD workflows are built to produce audit-ready data aligned with the standards UL Solutions’ 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 UL Solutions or whichever EPD Program Operator fits your target market best.
Looking to publish an EPD through UL Solutions or another Program Operator? Contact CarbonBright to see how our platform fits into that process.
