By: Helga Sævereid , Sustainability Manager at Zaptec.
When we talk about sustainability in our industry, it’s easy to end up in buzzword territory.
“Green”, “climate-friendly”, “low impact”, we’ve all seen the claims.
But if we want to be taken seriously, we have to be able to answer a very simple, very uncomfortable question:
"How do you know?"
For us at Zaptec, one important part of that answer is in place: the Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for our main products are third‑party verified, approved, and published on EPD Global’s website.
On paper, that may sound like just another compliance milestone. In practice, it changes how we understand our products, and how we improve them.
What an EPD really is (and isn’t)
An Environmental Product Declaration is a standardised, verified document that maps a product’s environmental footprint across its entire lifecycle. From raw materials and manufacturing, to use phase, and finally end of life.
It doesn’t claim that a product is “good” or “bad”.
It doesn’t give you a marketing slogan.
What it does give you is comparable data: numbers you can line up against other products, standards you can revisit in a few years to see if anything has actually improved.
For customers, that means a clearer view of the real impact of the products they choose.
Why EPDs matter inside Zaptec
The obvious benefit is transparency. If you’re a customer, partner, or regulator, you don’t have to take our word for it. You can go to EPD Global, search for “Zaptec”, and see the full documentation yourself.
But the real value starts behind the scenes.
Because an EPD forces us to look closely at every stage of the value chain, it gives us a detailed baseline for our climate accounting. That baseline is what allows us to:
- set meaningful reduction targets rather than vague ambitions
- see where the true “hotspots” are in our footprint
- stop guessing where to focus our improvement efforts
Sometimes the insights are intuitive, for example, the impact of materials or energy use.
Sometimes they challenge our assumptions, like when we see how much of the footprint is driven by where and how components are produced.
One concrete example: EPD data helps us evaluate whether sourcing more components in Europe instead of Asia can meaningfully reduce emissions, while also strengthening resilience in our supply chain. It’s not about shifting production for the sake of a label; it’s about understanding where it actually moves the needle.
This is where our Sustainability and Supply Chain teams work closely together. Data from the EPDs is not a static report that lives in a drawer; it informs real discussions on design choices, sourcing strategies, and long‑term product development.
Aligning with what stakeholders really care about
As regulations evolve, so must we. Going forward, we will report according to the VSME standard developed by EFRAG. That might sound technical, but the intention is simple:
To ensure that what we disclose reflects what European stakeholders actually value, and that we talk about sustainability in a language regulators, investors, and customers can all recognise.
Verified EPDs slot directly into this bigger picture. They give us robust, lifecycle‑based data we can build on, rather than isolated figures that are hard to compare.
Our goal remains unchanged:
to build long‑lasting products responsibly, and to contribute to the green transition with every charger we make.
The difference now is that we can document that journey in a more transparent and consistent way.
Want to see the details for yourself?
If you’re the kind of person who likes to look under the bonnet (and in this newsletter, that’s probably many of you), you can dive into the numbers yourself.
- All of Zaptec’s verified EPDs are publicly available on EPD Global – just search for “Zaptec” in their EPD library.
- We also link to them from our Sustainability page on zaptec.com, so customers and partners can easily access reliable environmental information.
The documents are free to use and provide a clear, lifecycle‑based view of the environmental footprint of our products.
Sustainability isn’t about claiming perfection.
It’s about being honest about where we are, transparent about what we measure, and committed to improving.
And verified EPDs are one of the tools that help keep us honest.
Download Zaptec’s EPDs
If you would like to explore the environmental impact of our products in more detail, you can download all EPDs directly from EPD Global’s website or access them via our Sustainability page. They are free to use and provide clear insights into the lifecycle footprint of our products.