Ortech Industries | Durra Panel EPD
Environmental Product Declaration of Ortech Industries' Durra Panel, 2023–24
Ortech Industries is an Australian-owned manufacturer based in Bendigo, Victoria, producing the Durra Panel, a wall and ceiling panel with an engineered biomass core made entirely from reclaimed straw. The panel is made using a dry extrusion process that combines heat and pressure, causing the straw fibres to release lignin, a natural polymer that self-binds the core with no glues or chemical additives. Lifecycles produced an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for the Durra Panel, built on a life cycle assessment conducted in compliance with ISO 14025, EN 15804:2012+A2:2019/AC:2021, the Construction Products PCR and the General Program Instructions of the EPD program. The assessment covered cradle-to-gate plus end-of-life (modules A1 to A3, A5, C1 to C4 and D) for one square metre of panel.
Results for the client: Both the LCA and the EPD were independently verified before being registered on the Australasian EPD Programme, giving Ortech a transparent, credible environmental declaration to share with architects, specifiers and certification schemes. Because the straw core stores biogenic carbon absorbed during crop growth, the panel's cradle-to-gate global warming potential is strongly negative, and the panel is 100% biodegradable, returning to the soil at end-of-life. The EPD substantiates the environmental story behind a material that diverts agricultural waste from disposal, and provides the evidence base increasingly demanded under Green Star, NABERS and sustainable procurement frameworks.