01 · The Data Gap3 min read
I went looking for sustainable products and found a data problem
How a 2024 search for trustworthy eco-friendly products became two years of learning about EPDs, LCA, carbon data and the concept built around the gap.
Theme 01
The Data Gap
It started with a simple question: which products can I trust? Following the why-chain from a missing label leads to certifications, supplier data, EPDs and the LCA consultants who sit quietly in the middle of the value chain. This theme collects notes on credibility, incentives and the structural reasons the data does not exist yet.
Entries
01 · The Data Gap2 min read
Notes on EPD platforms and machine-readable declarations
A market reading of digital EPD infrastructure: why moving declarations from PDFs to structured data matters, and where product opportunities sit.
01 · The Data Gap2 min read
The SMB carbon advantage
Most carbon tools are built for enterprises, but small and medium businesses carry much of the supply chain. Why that gap matters, and what tools could do.
01 · The Data Gap2 min read
Why LCA and ESG need each other
ESG reports describe a company. LCAs describe a product. As reporting gets more product-specific, the two are converging, and that is where the data gap shows.
Common questions
- Why is product-level carbon data so often missing?
- Collecting it takes money and people. Profit usually comes first, government incentives are thin and buyers rarely ask for it, so nobody collects it until compliance or a large customer requires it.
- What is an EPD?
- An environmental product declaration documents the lifecycle footprint of a product, such as a steel beam or a bag of cement. It is built on a life cycle assessment and verified by an independent program operator.
- Where do LCA consultants fit in the value chain?
- They translate a manufacturer's operational data into an LCA and, often, an EPD. They are the place where product-level carbon data actually gets made, which makes their workflow a natural place for better tools.