Wondering if anyone can help me out here - we’re trying to wrap our heads around the biogenic carbon numbers in EPDs. Has anyone encountered “BCRP - Biogenic Carbon Removal from Product” and “BCEP - Biogenic Carbon Emission from Product”? Our rough guess from what we’ve read is that BCRP represents atmospheric carbon temporarily stored in the material during the A1 phase and BCEP represents a release of carbon when the product is incinerated at end of life stage C3. Is this a reasonable assumption? The example below is from an armstrong acoustic ceiling panel epd
Those categories are from ISO 21930, Section 7.2.12 (table attached).
The clearest guidance on the issue I’ve read is the ACLCA’s 2019 guidance on calculating non-LCIA inventory metrics. Biogenic stuff starts on page 32:
From what I understand, the emissions aren’t so easily assigned to a single phase in a cradle-to-grave LCA since biogenic carbon also leaves/enters the life cycle during other phases too, like A5 (waste during construction) or B phases (replacement of worn materials).
Hope this is a start!
If you’re still wanting more info beyond what Jack shared…
The CLF’s Wood Carbon Seminars - particularly James Salazar’s presentation and the following discussion section - address this quite well as I recall, using the AWC/CWC’s softwood lumber industry EPD as an example, focusing on Table 12.
I think your rough guesses are good, but there are nuances:
BCRP is carbon removed and stored in the material. This ‘removal’ usually describes carbon removed from the atmosphere via photosynthesis (but could be carbon transferred from another product in the case of upstream recycling). It’s accounted for in A1 (as you mention), even if that doesn’t quite align with when photosynthesis is happening.
BCEP (emissions) can be from other end-of-life scenarios besides incineration – landfill and recycling/reuse. And can also occur during manufacturing/A3 from co-product generation (this shows up in the softwood lumber EPD example).
In ISO 21930, the sum of all these biogenic carbon flows into and out of the product system (including the other BC–s on the list Jack shared) typically nets out to zero over the complete lifecycle.
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