Environmental declarations are no longer optional. Buyers, specifiers, public purchasers and regulatory requirements such as the RE2020 now demand reliable, verified environmental data on products. For a manufacturer of electrical, electronic (EEE) or HVAC equipment, a strategic question quickly arises: should you produce your PEPs and EPDs in-house, or entrust their production to a specialised provider?
This choice commits your budget, your timelines and your autonomy for years to come. This article offers a concrete decision framework to choose between in-housing and outsourcing, according to your product volume, your LCA maturity and your strategy.
A reminder: what a PEP and an EPD cover
Before comparing, let us clarify the deliverable. A PEP (Product Environmental Profile) is a type III environmental declaration dedicated to electrical, electronic and HVAC products, governed by the PEP ecopassport® programme. An EPD refers more broadly to this type of verified declaration, standardised by ISO 14025. In other words, every PEP is an EPD, but not all EPDs are PEPs.
In both cases, the technical foundation is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), conducted according to the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards. The calculations follow methodological frameworks by product category: the PCR and PSR, backed by standards such as EN 50693 or EN 15804+A2.
Producing a PEP is therefore not filling in a form: it means conducting a compliant LCA, selecting the right methodological framework, modelling the product and having the result verified. Hence the real question: who holds this skill, you or a partner?
Outsourcing your PEPs/EPDs: entrusting production to an LCA provider
Outsourcing means mandating a consultancy or an LCA expert who produces your PEPs end to end: data collection, modelling, calculation, drafting and support through to registration in the programme.
What you gain: immediately operational expertise, with no recruitment or training; the guarantee of compliance with PCR/PSR and the standards in force; a short time-to-market for your first declarations; a reduced mental load for your product, quality and CSR teams.
The limits to anticipate: a cost reasoned per declaration or per project, which grows with the number of references; a dependence on the provider for each update or new range; less agility when environment becomes a day-to-day design criterion.
Outsourcing is ideal to get started, to secure a first series of PEPs or to absorb a one-off peak in demand.
In-housing your PEPs/EPDs: equipping yourself with LCA software
Conversely, in-housing means producing your declarations internally using a dedicated LCA software. A PEP software solution integrates the PCR/PSR frameworks, automates the calculations and generates the reports, which makes the approach accessible beyond the circle of LCA experts alone.
What you gain: autonomy — you launch a declaration whenever you decide; a decreasing marginal cost; agility in eco-design; the capitalisation of your data and models in-house.
The limits to anticipate: an initial skills ramp-up for your teams; data governance to structure; an upfront investment, quickly recouped once the volume becomes recurring.
In-housing makes full sense when environmental declarations become a recurring process and a design lever, not a one-off formality.
The five criteria to decide
| Criterion | Outsource (LCA provider) | In-house (LCA software) |
|---|---|---|
| Internal LCA expertise | Low, carried by the provider | To be developed in-house |
| Time to get started | Fast | Initial learning period |
| Cost model | Per declaration / per project | Upfront investment, then low marginal cost |
| Autonomy and agility | Dependence on the provider | Strong autonomy |
| Ideal profile | Low or one-off volume | Recurring volume, eco-design |
To decide, ask yourself three simple questions: how many PEPs will you need to produce and maintain over the next two to three years? What LCA maturity already exists in your teams? Is environment, for you, a compliance to achieve or a competitive advantage to build?
What if the best answer were hybrid?
In-housing and outsourcing are not necessarily opposed over time. A frequent trajectory is to start outsourced to learn, then in-house to scale up.
You entrust your first PEPs to experts to secure compliance and understand the method, then you in-house production once the volume and skills are there. This is exactly the logic of Qweeko's two offers: Qweeko Start, the turnkey service where our LCA experts produce your PEPs and EPDs from A to Z, and Qweeko Pro, the SaaS platform that lets you in-house the generation of your declarations.
FAQ
Do you need to be an LCA expert to use PEP software?
No. A good PEP software integrates the methodological frameworks (PCR/PSR) and guides the user, which makes the approach accessible to product, quality or CSR teams.
Does a PEP produced in-house have the same value as an outsourced one?
Yes, as long as it complies with the rules of the PEP ecopassport® programme and the applicable standards and follows the required verification process.
Can you move from outsourcing to in-housing?
Yes, and it is even a common trajectory. You secure the first declarations with a provider, then in-house via an LCA software once the volume and skills are established.
In summary
Outsourcing means gaining speed and peace of mind to get started. In-housing means gaining autonomy and marginal cost to last. The right choice depends on your volume, your maturity and your environmental ambition, and it can evolve over time.