Welcome to Earthsure, a Type III Environmental Product Declaration program of the Institute for Environmental Research and Education (IERE). This program was recently expanded beyond food and agriculture systems to meet stakeholder requests.
Our goal is to measure environmental performance to give the market a path to environmental sustainability.
We measure with Life Cycle Assessment: holistic, hard science — not feel-good environmentalism.
We follow international standards for environmental management, measurement and disclosure.
We partner with producers, manufacturers, and interested parties to get our measurement system right, and to get better over time.
Earthsure develops product category rules, which is the basis of an ecolabel, which can be used to show customers a commitment to environmental sustainability. While IERE provides the initial EPD, it does not perform studies to support additional EPDs, but provides the PCRs free to the public.
How the system works
Administration
IERE manages the Earth sure program, and is responsible for communication and quality assurance.
Product Category Rules (PCR)
The program has multiple product categories, each of which is applicable to many producers. Each product category has a rule that is developed in an open process with interested parties, and verified by independent experts.
Packaged Single Entrée 2009
Meat 2006
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
Specific products are analyzed following the PCR, either by IERE or by another qualified LCA expert. The results are the EPD.
- climate change,
- depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer,
- acidification of land and water sources,
- eutrophication,
- formation of photochemical oxidants,
- depletion of fossil energy resources, and
- depletion of mineral resources;
- any harmful contents of the product
and any other issues raised in the Product Category Rule.
Why do an EPD?
Do an EPD because your customers, especially B-to-B customers want to know about the sustainability of your product, and will appreciate that you are taking real measureable action, not greenwashing.
More Information:
Earth Sure Ecolabel System
staff@iere.org
PCRs in Development
(interested parties sought)
Shelf-stable prepared soups and stews
(UNSPSC code 50191507)
and
Pavement rejuvenation products
(no UNSPSC codes, but applicable to use for UNSPSC codes 72103301, 72141003, and 72141104)
Environmental Product Declarations
