On Earth Day, environmental sustainability becomes a hot topic. But, the environmental impact of a building is around every day, and there are things you can do to lessen that environmental impact 24/7/365.

At Panduit, we do more than just talk about sustainability. Our world headquarters, which will celebrate its tenth birthday next year, is a LEED Gold Certified building and is just one example of our commitment to healthy, energy efficient, and sustainable business environments.

We can help you achieve that LEED certification as well. Panduit copper cable and jacks hold Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs), which contribute points towards your building’s LEED certification.

A couple of years ago the US Green Building Council adopted LEED version 4, which allows cabling systems to be counted toward LEED points. In response, Panduit was the first manufacturer to offer both EPDs and HPDs on copper cabling and connectors.

If you’re thinking about LEED certification, here’s what you need to know to make sure your cabling infrastructure can help:

EPD and HPD defined

• EPD = Environmental Product Declaration
• HPD = Health Product Declaration

EPDs and HPDs are both issued by a third party after they verify reports supplied by the manufacturer. EPDs disclose potential environmental impacts of a product, while HPDs disclose what a product contains and how it impacts human and ecological health.

What products carry EPDs and HPDs

A wide variety of materials used in the construction of buildings carry these declarations. Panduit has EPDs and HPDs on 18 types of RJ45 jacks and 22 different copper cables. This offering includes:

• Unshielded and shielded applications
• Category 5e, Category 6, and Category 6A
• Riser and plenum flame ratings

How EPDs and HPDs equal LEED points

LEED requires the installation of at least 20 different products that have third-party certification to qualify for one LEED point. These products must be from at least five different manufacturers. So, when you install at least four different certified products from Panduit, that counts as one portion of one point for EPD and one portion of a second point for HPD. Different levels of LEED certification require different numbers of points to qualify. Our alliance partner, General Cable, also offers EPDs and HPDs on their cabling solutions, so if you use a PanGen solution, it equals a second manufacturer toward the requirement to have five different manufacturers.

Not all cabling and connectors are equal

Panduit is one of a handful of cabling manufacturers that have EPDs and HPDs on copper cabling and RJ45 jacks. So, if you’re looking for an end-to-end solution that can help you earn LEED certification, Panduit is a great choice!

We’d be happy to share more information on our EPDs and HPDs. You can find links to our EPD and HPD documents bundled with each product. For instance, here are the EPD and HPD for our Category 6A, unshielded Mini-Com® jacks. You’ll find similar documentation for other products in our online catalog at www.panduit.com. Or, reach out to your sales rep or customer service for more information.

We like to help companies do their part to help sustain the environment, and not just on Earth Day!