2024.02.12
Cascadia Windows & Doors—the manufacturer of the Cascadia Clip®—recently published the world’s first environmental product declaration (EPD) report for a cladding support system. This EPD report uses the new product category rules (PCR)—published in 2022—and is compliant with ISO 14044, ISO 21930:2017 and ISO 14025:2006 rules.
With this EPD report, architects, specifiers and designers will be able to accurately measure and compare key environmental and carbon impacts of the Cascadia Clip® against other cladding support systems. Not only will this allow project teams to reduce the environmental impacts of their product selections, but also more accurately determine the embodied carbon of the overall building.
“This is very exciting moment for our company,” explains Mike Battistel, president of Cascadia Windows & Doors. “Since we first launched the Cascadia Clip® in 2011 and provided architects with the industry’s first thermally broken cladding attachment support, they’ve been asking for this EPD report. But without a suitable PCR, it just wasn’t possible.”
That was until 2021, when the Rainscreen Association of North America (RAiNA) brought together several cladding support manufacturers—including Cascadia Windows & Doors—to develop a PCR specifically for the exterior insulation and cladding support industry.
The new PCR outlined a standard methodology—requiring third-party verified data—to measure the environmental impacts of cladding support systems. This standardization allows for easier and more accurate comparison of a product’s environmental impacts.
“For years, we’ve had thermal and structural performance data for cladding support systems,” continues Battistel, “these were easy to compare from product to product. But embodied carbon and environmental impact were difficult because all the systems are so different—their materials, their configurations. A true apples-to-apples comparison was time consuming, and project teams couldn’t always trust that they got it right. Not to mention many manufacturers were worried about how their products might stack up.”
With the launch of this EPD report, the Cascadia Clip® offers an additional data point to its extensive library of third-party verified product data, including things like thermal performance, structural strength and NFPA 285 fire testing.
“In the end, this EPD report gives project teams accurate, verified information—not just marketing language,” says Battistel. “That means they can make informed decisions and build buildings with smaller embodied carbon footprints; that require less energy to operate; that are more resilient in the face of a changing climate and more comfortable for people to live in.”
The Cascadia Clip® EPD report is available on the Cascadia Windows & Doors website, as well as on key industry databases, such as the Sustainable Minds Transparency Catalog. Cascadia Windows & Doors is also currently working on an EPD report for the company’s high-performance fiberglass windows, window wall, and doors.
“Our team is doing some incredible work right now, trailblazing the way to provide the market with key data it needs,” says Battistel, “and we’re all proud of their innovation and dedication.”
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For more information about the Cascadia Clip® EPD report, please contact us.
