Towards Sustainable Concrete Construction: An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Roadmap for Bangladesh

Abstract

Climate change represents one of the most pressing global challenges, with the construction industry contributing approximately 40% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. Bangladesh, as one of the most climate-vulnerable nations, faces increasing threats from sea level rise and extreme weather events while experiencing rapid infrastructure development. Concrete production generates approximately one ton of CO₂ per ton of cement produced, necessitating careful consideration of the environmental impacts of construction materials. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods enable quantification of the environmental impacts from raw material extraction through manufacturing ("cradle-to-gate"), while Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) provide standardized, verified LCA results to enable informed material selection. However, in order to obtain LCA and EPD data, developing countries face significant implementation barriers, including limited local data availability, expensive proprietary software, and insufficient technical expertise. Currently, while developed nations possess thousands of EPDs, Bangladesh has only five registered EPDs, with none addressing concrete products.This research addresses the question: How can a comprehensive EPD framework for ready-mix concrete be developed and implemented in Bangladesh despite significant data limitations and regional challenges? The methodology employed primary data collection from the NDE Ready Mix Concrete plant in Dhaka, multi-tool validation using OpenLCA software, spreadsheet calculators, and software in development at the University of Washington, POD|LCA, combined with Ecoinvent database integration. Results demonstrate that accessible, cost-effective approaches utilizing open-source tools and free databases have the potential to effectively overcome traditional barriers to EPD development. This study establishes the first concrete EPD development roadmap for Bangladesh and a draft EPD for concrete mixture, providing a replicable framework for developing countries to advance sustainable construction practices and climate resilience through systematic environmental impact quantification and transparency.