2020 EPD compares North American ceramic tile with vinyl
On 21 April 2020 the Tile Council said UL had certified the 2020 North American industry-wide environmental product declaration for ceramic tile and published it in UL's public database. The declaration replaced one that expired at the end of 2019 and was valid for five years. The release says it covers more than 85 percent of North American ceramic tile. Against publicly available UL-certified industry declarations, vinyl tile's 75-year global warming potential is twice ceramic tile's, and rigid core board's is three times higher. That comparison is between those published declarations, not a field measurement of one floor.
The comparison the release actually prints
Against publicly available UL-certified industry declarations for vinyl tile, vinyl tile's 75-year global warming potential is twice ceramic tile's, and its fossil-fuel resource depletion is three times higher. Against rigid core board, warming potential is three times higher and fossil-fuel depletion is five times higher.
Other impact names
The release also says the ceramic tile declaration shows the lowest overall impacts, among the competitive flooring declarations it compared, for smog, ozone depletion, acidification, and eutrophication. The comparison is between those published declarations, not a field measurement of one floor.
Source
Fetched 2026-10-11 from Tile Council ceramic tile EPD release. The sentences above follow that page. They are not a contractor promise.
Related notes
- Tile notes index
- Green Squared was added to EPA's federal purchasing list
- North American tile mortar and grout have their own environmental declarations
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