January 28, 2021
Chengdu, China, January 28, 2021 – UL is pleased to announce that Chinese company, Kaifa, has become the world’s first smart meter provider to earn an environmental product declaration (EPD) mutually recognized by UL and EPDItaly. The EPD offers purchasers comprehensive insight into Kaifa smart meters’ environmental performance across their entire lifecycle. This information is increasingly a requirement among government and commercial procurement teams worldwide.
Established in 2016, Shenzhen Kaifa Technology (Kaifa) is a holding subsidiary of China Electronics Corporation, one of the world’s largest providers of smart electricity meters, water meters, gas meters and turnkey advanced metering infrastructure solutions that leverage big data and IoT technology. Kaifa is the first Chinese company to export large volumes of smart meters designed and made in China to Europe.
“To satisfy the market demand for products that offer superior environmental performance and gain quick access to procurement professionals demanding green products, Kaifa pursued EPD certification of its three-phase meters. “Understanding that disparate regions have different requirements and standards for environmental data disclosure, we selected globally recognized safety science leader, UL, to conduct our EPD certification,” said Xu Yan, quality center manager of Kaifa. “EPD certification is an important milestone in Kaifa’s efforts to reduce environmental impact and curb emissions,” Xu Yan continued.
Designed to disclose a product’s environmental impact over its complete lifecycle, EPDs help manufacturers tell their products’ complete sustainability story. This internationally-accepted, published report compares environmental impact of similar products against product category rules (PCRs), offering manufacturers an opportunity to disclose true environmental impact of their product.
“By earning an EPD, Kaifa has demonstrated its commitment to openness, transparency and improved environmental performance of their electricity meters. We congratulate them on this notable accomplishment,” said Doug Lockard, vice present and general manager, retail and consumer products, UL.
Exporting more than 36 million meters to Europe, it was important for the EPD to be widely accepted and recognized among European purchasers. Based on a contractual agreement between accredited Italian Program Operator, EPDItaly, and UL, the organizations mutually recognize EPDs created in both programs, speeding market recognition and access across Europe, North America and other global regions. Kaifa’s EPD certifications are available through the publicly accessible databases, UL SPOT® and EPDItaly.
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