Q-railing - Producing averaged EPDs with a global supply chain

Q-railing is a German headquartered company who manufacture and supply balustrade and railing systems to clients globally.

In 2024, Q-railing commissioned Blue Marble to undertake a life cycle assessment and produce Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for five of its railing systems. The five EPDs were completed simultaneously to time-box the project for Q-railing and reduce the time the client had to spend on each project phase. The EPDs include the following products: Easy Alu with Glass Infill, Easy Alu with Picket Infill, Stainless Steel Post Railing, Glass Balustrades with Aluminium Base Channels – Smart, Smart + and Prime, Glass Balustrades with Aluminium Base Channels – Strong

Blue Marble found efficient means of averaging products by grouping components into discreet systems for analysis. This reduced the timescales and price of Q-railing’s EPD project, while still meeting regulatory standards. The systems comprise various components, including infills of various dimensions. Therefore, a minimum, base case and maximum combination were selected from which to create average EPDs.

Global sourcing and supply of components meant that Blue Marble was required to support with data gathering and review, providing advice and support throughout the project.

The EPDs were completed in accordance with EN 15804+A2 and third-party verified in accordance with ISO 14025. Blue Marble was able to deliver an EN 15804 compliant EPD to meet Q-railing’s requirements for establishing product life cycle environmental data