By Innotech Windows + Doors

Innotech Windows + Doors, North America’s largest exclusive manufacturer of German engineered fenestration systems, is proud to announce the publication of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs) for their core products, an exciting milestone that establishes their leadership in the North American fenestration industry. These core products include the Defender 76TS Window System, Defender 76TS Door System, Defender 88PH+ Window System, and Defender 88PH+ Door System.

Innotech has long been a strong advocate for transparency and their commitment to minimizing both operational and embodied carbon within the built environment has won them accolades from several industry groups. As one example, the Carbon Leadership Forum British Columbia, an organization dedicated to empowering industry professionals to radically reduce embodied carbon from buildings and infrastructure, recognized two of Innotech's projects in 2023 during the group's BC Embodied Carbon Awards:

The first, Inlet View, is a single-family home on the Sunshine Coast that uses the Defender 76TS and achieved Step 5 of the BC Energy Step Code.

The second, Third Space Commons at UBC, is a 2,400-square-foot wood frame, near-zero carbon single-family live-work building that was designed and constructed to compete in the 2023 U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon Build Challenge. This project used the Defender 88PH+ window system.

“This is a substantial team achievement that very few North American fenestration manufacturers have achieved,” says Troy Imbery, president of Innotech Windows + Doors. “It’s a cumulative step in our ongoing commitment to product performance, sustainability and transparency.”

The publication of the EPDs and HPDs was completed based on a comprehensive cradle to grave Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) completed by Vertima and audited by the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute. The LCA is compliant with the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards, EN 15804+A2 and ISO 21930, ISO 14025 and International PCR for construction products version 1.11 and C-PCR-007 for windows and doors version 2020-04-09. This global EPD aligns with the European standard EN 15804:2012+A2:2019 and the global standard ISO 21930:2017.

“As the building industry evolves, so does our definition of a sustainable home or building. Up until recently, the primary focus has been on reducing operational carbon emissions by specifying high-performance building materials, including windows and doors,” continues Imbery. “Now, embodied carbon emissions are also part of the definition providing a more holistic definition of sustainability in our built environment.”

In addition to evidencing the embodied carbon impact of their windows and doors, the data from these documents also provides valuable information about areas in which Innotech Windows + Doors can further reduce their environmental impact. “Sustainability is an ongoing journey,” adds Imbery. “With each small improvement, we’re better positioned to create healthier living spaces.”

Innotech’s new EPDs can be viewed on the Transparency Catalog^TM.