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This guide by RMI outlines how building product manufacturers in India can use Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to ensure market access, comply with emerging regulations, and improve operational efficiency as the country moves toward a low-carbon future.

This guide by RMI explains the role of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) as 'nutrition labels' for building materials, detailing how they report life-cycle assessment (LCA) data to track embodied carbon. It outlines the current limitations of EPD standardization and proposes a vision for 'ideal' EPDs based on rigorous Product Category Rules (PCRs) to ensure fair and competitive carbon reduction policies.

This guide from the World Resources Institute provides city officials with a framework for building decarbonization, emphasizing the distinction between Net Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEBs) and Zero-Carbon Buildings (ZCBs) and the importance of life-cycle assessments (LCAs) to address both operational and embodied emissions.

This case study by RMI examines the necessity of shifting building carbon regulations from a focus on operational emissions to a full life-cycle approach. It highlights the Meishan Near-Zero Carbon Zone in Ningbo, China, as a leading example of implementing life-cycle assessment (LCA) standards and a whole-process management mechanism to achieve deep decarbonization in urban development.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the limitations and uncertainties of life-cycle assessment (LCA) tools used to compare the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of concrete, steel, and wood in the built environment. It argues that current LCAs often lack transparency and omit critical data—particularly regarding biogenic carbon in wood—which can lead to misleading conclusions about the relative performance of building materials. The report concludes that prioritizing energy efficiency and building longevity offers greater mitigation potential than focusing on material substitution alone.

This 2014 report by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI Tallinn), commissioned by the Tallinn Environmental Department, analyzes the municipal solid waste (MSW) management system in Tallinn. It evaluates waste volumes, composition, and the effectiveness of separate collection systems for packaging, bio-waste, paper, textiles, and bulky waste. The report compares different waste management models and uses life-cycle assessment (LCA) to determine the environmental impact of various treatment scenarios, including mass incineration and mechanical-biological treatment (MBT).

This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute explores extraction-based emissions accounting as a method to track greenhouse gas emissions associated with the supply of fossil fuels, contrasting it with traditional territorial and consumption-based frameworks to better assess economic risks and producer responsibility.

This research paper evaluates the potential of biofuels to help the UK meet emission reduction targets set in the Low Carbon Transition Plan (LCTP) and EU obligations, using a hybrid life-cycle assessment across four scenarios.

This 2004 guide by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) provides strategies for reducing energy consumption and environmental impact associated with home electronics. It emphasizes that changing user habits—such as unplugging devices and enabling power management—is often more effective for saving energy than simply purchasing more efficient hardware.

This 1996 report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development analyzes the development and implications of China's national ecolabelling program. It details the program's structure, its role in reducing domestic environmental stress, and the potential for environmental labels to act as trade barriers for developing countries. The document evaluates the impact of foreign ecolabelling on Chinese exports—specifically in the textile and refrigerator sectors—and provides recommendations for strengthening China's program through increased transparency, the adoption of life-cycle analysis, and international cooperation to achieve mutual recognition of standards.

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) discusses gaps in life-cycle assessments (LCAs) used to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the built environment. It argues that current LCAs may misdirect decarbonization efforts due to data gaps, lack of transparency, and the omission of biogenic carbon emissions from wood products.