CPA'S standard designates environmentally preferable products: the Composite Panel Assn.'s environmental programs for panel producers and secondary processors helps to ensure competitiveness in the global arena

Wood & Wood Products, Feb, 2008 by Karen M. Koenig

Environmentally preferable products. They're what consumers want, what architects and specifiers are demanding--and what composite panel producers and downstream manufacturers can provide.

Environmentally preferable products now can be identified by the EPP and EPP Downstream labels. EPP and EPP Downstream are voluntary certification programs developed by the Composite Panel Assn., which enable panel producers and secondary manufacturers to demonstrate their commitment to making and using environmentally responsible products. CPA defines an environmentally preferable product as "one that has been third-party certified to comply with environmental criteria referenced in the U.S. EPA's Guideline for Environmentally Preferred Purchasing."

According to CPA President Tom Julia, the EPP took nine months to develop and included meetings with companies that could potentially comply with the EPP requirements, as well as other associations and industries. Input from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about definitions, such as recycled and residual, helped ensure that the program CPA brought forward was both credible and verifiable, Julia said.

"For many years CPA has operated the largest and most rigorous product testing and certification program for composite panel products in North America--the CPA Grademark Program. As 'green' considerations became increasingly important to specifiers and customers in the late 1990s, CPA recognized that an inherent green benefit of using composite panel products was receiving little recognition, even by our own certification program," he said.

"Following consultation with members, customers, other certifying agencies and The Home Depot, CPA determined that an appropriate response mechanism was to develop a new certification program that would be managed through the Grademark Program and based on an approach promulgated by U.S. Executive Order and advanced by the U.S. EPA. This certification program would not only include formaldehyde emission requirements, but also raw material requirements, i.e., a requirement of using 100 percent recycled or residual content in order to be certified," Julia added.

CPA membership is not a requirement for participating in the program. However, Julia said, "We do analyze whether a mill's formaldehyde certification program is accredited and meets the requirements of the EPP program before we will issue a certification."

Currently, 46 mills participate in the EPP program, representing 21 panel producing companies. According to CPA, this number represents 48 percent of the of the North American composite panel industry. (For a list of companies, see sidebar page 59.)

CPA's EPP panel certification program is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)in accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 65 for product certification programs. The program also is referenced by the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Assn.'s Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP) and the National Association of Home Builders Model Green Building Guidelines.

"The response to our EPP program has been excellent," Julia said. "The initial specification was one of the first in the industry to offer certification for 100 percent recycled and recovered raw materials and involve quarterly on-site audits. The second iteration in 2006 added a formaldehyde emission limit which further strengthened the program and increased the number of participants. The third iteration, which will be launched in the spring of 2008, will further reduce the formaldehyde levels."

GROWING DEMAND DRIVES PARTICIPATION

"Our participation [in both the EPP and EPP Downstream Programs] was prompted by two factors: Uniboard's concern to market green and responsible products, and requests from our customers," said Luc Potvin, vice president of marketing for Uniboard Canada. All of the company's product lines are certified.

"Our decision was driven by our overall environmental leadership program," said Roger Rutan, vice president, marketing and business development for Timber Products Co. "Customer requests played a part, as did the requirements of the KCMA ESP."

"We have customers pleased to see us certified as it fits their company's requirements for an environmentally responsible product," said Steve Stoler, sales manager for Boise Cascade Corp. "Others need an EPP certified product to comply with the KCMA's new [ESP] certification program."

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"The main reason for [participating] was interest from the kitchen cabinet industry," agreed Phillip Hursey, quality manager for Unilin US MDE

Although changes were needed for many of the companies to receive certification, those too had unexpected benefits. For example, Rutan said, Timber Products made changes to its fiber sourcing for certification. "The process helped us find new sources for recycled material and to think differently about our overall fiber needs and resources," he said.

"Our fiber has always been 100 percent recycled or reclaimed, so the only changes were small process changes for the lower formaldehyde emissions," Stoler said.