ECC
Eco-Certfied Composites
Eco-Certified™ Composites (ECC) are among the greenest on the earth. The ECC sustainability standard is a voluntary industry certification developed and administered by the Composite Panel Association (CPA) for manufacturers of composite wood or agrifiber-based panels, including particleboard, medium density fiberboard (MDF), hardboard, engineered wood siding, and engineered wood trim.
ECC Certification is available to individual manufacturing plants and is based on life cycle inventory and other verifiable environmentally responsible practices. The certification process includes an on-site evaluation and subsequent yearly audits. CPA’s proprietary Carbon Calculator, developed by a third-party expert, is used to assess the life cycle and carbon footprint of composite panels made at a particular manufacturing plant.
Composite panels that carry the ECC seal are manufactured in facilities that are certified to meet rigorous environmental requirements utilizing objective-based criteria and annual onsite audits. The standard specifies that three or more of the following requirements are verified:
- Carbon Sink / Net Carbon Storage
- Locally-Sourced Wood Fiber
- Recycled / Recovered Wood Fiber
- Over 97% of Wood Raw Material Utilized
- Valid Wood Sourcing Certification
EPA & CARB Certified
An ECC-certified facility must ensure that 100% of its production meets the U.S. EPA TSCA Title VI and California Air Resources Board (CARB) ATCM 93120 formaldehyde emissions requirements for 100% of its panels 100% of the time. ECC-certified mills are not permitted to sell products that exceed EPA and CARB emission requirements in any market, even if panels are sold in countries where these regulations do not apply.
ECC certified plants must comply with CARB and EPA formaldehyde emissions requirements for 100% of their panels 100% of the time, and also meet at least three of the additional following requirements.
Carbon Footprint Standards
Using CPA’s proprietary Carbon Calculator, the plant must demonstrate that the panels they produce act as carbon sinks—that is, that they store enough carbon to offset their cradle-to-gate carbon footprint, as determined in kg-CO2 equivalents of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Local and Renewable Resources Sourcing
At least 85 percent of the total wood fiber used annually must be sourced within 250 miles (402 km) of the manufacturing plant.
Other Certification(s)
The plant shall hold a valid certificate from a certifying agency recognized by CPA such as the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC—Controlled Wood Standard or Chain of Custody Standard) or the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI—Fiber Sourcing Standard).
ECC Helps Earn LEED & Other Green Building Credits
Panels from ECC mills may help achieve green building credits, including LEED credits in eight material and resources (MR) categories and one environmental quality (EQ) category.
- MR credit: Building Life-Cycle Impact Reduction (BD+C, ID+C)
- MR credit: Environmentally Preferable Products (Homes)
- MR credit: Building Product Disclosure and Optimization – Environmental Product Declarations (BD+C, ID+C)
- MR credit: Building Product Disclosure and Optimization – Sourcing of Raw Materials (BD+C, ID+C)
- MR credit: Building Product Disclosure and Optimization – Material Ingredients (BD+C, ID+C)
- MR credit: Furniture and Medical Furnishings (BD+C)
- MR credit: Purchasing – Ongoing (OM)
- MR credit: Purchasing – Facility Maintenance and Renovation (OM)
- EQ credit: Low-Emitting Materials (BD+C, ID+C, Homes)
- MR prerequisite: Certified Tropical Wood: Homes
- BD+C (Building Design and Construction)
- ID+C (Interior Design and Construction)
- OM (Building Operations and Maintenance)
- 5.2 Climate Neutral Materials (CPA’s EPDs indicate carbon sequestering in wood exceeds the amount of GHG associated with the boundary and scope of the assessments more than 2:1 times)
- 5.4.1 Efficient Use of Materials, 60%
- 5.4.2 Efficient Use of Materials, 70%
- 5.6.1 Bio-based Renewable Materials – Sustainable Wood, Basic (materials certified to Eco-Certified Composite (ECC) or other programs)
- 5.6.2 Bio-based Renewable Materials – Sustainable Wood, Advances (materials certified to Eco-Certified Composite (ECC) or other programs)
- 5.7.1 Recycled Content, 30%
- 5.7.2 Recycled Content, 50%
- 5.8 Recyclable and Biodegradable Materials
- 5.10.2 Solid Waste Management, achieving 100% diversion (demonstrating scraps do not go to the landfill)
- 6.9.1 On-site Renewable Energy, 1% (all wood scraps are burned for fuel)
- 6.9.2 On-site Renewable Energy, 2% (all wood scraps are burned for fuel)
- 6.9.3 On-site Renewable Energy, 3% (all wood scraps are burned for fuel))
- 6.9.4 On-site Renewable Energy, 4% (all wood scraps are burned for fuel)
- 2015 National Green Building Standard (formally known as ICC/ASHRAE 700 National Green Building Standard)
- 901.4(2), Wood Materials, ECC Standard
- 11.901.4(2), Wood Materials, ECC Standard
