We are excited to have you join us for an amazing educational line up, check out the agenda below for the 2025 Conference. Please note that this agenda is subject to change.
The megatrend on improving sustainability is touching personal protective equipment through standards and regulations relevant to product design, packaging selection and manufacturer claims about product life cycles and their environmental impact. Recent revisions in a European hearing protection standard, anticipated regulations concerning sustainability claims, and increased consumer interest in general sustainability factors, spurred the effort to create a Product Category Rule for hearing protector devices. This project followed on the heels of the first publication of a PCR for respiratory protective devices. A PCR sets the rules for creating a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and provide the requirements and guidelines for developing an EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) for a specific product category. Using a standardized approach globally, establishes a consistent and transparent process for conducting the LCA and ensure that functionally similar products are assessed in the same ways. This presentation explains the work undertaken to create the first PCR for hearing protector devices. It describes how the PCR is used to help calculate legitimate LCA’s, which provide the data and foundation for Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). Benefits of the PCR include the potential to improve authenticity and transparency for consumers when comparing environmental impact of like products.
Learning Objectives: 1. Give one example of a sustainability product claim. 2. Describe the relationship between a Product Category Rule and a Life Cycle Assessment. 3. Explain how using a standardized approach to Life Cycle Assessments can be beneficial.
