OSP Blunt Fiber Optic Cable

Declaration details

Manufacturer

AFL Telecommunications LLC

Program operator

Smart EPD

Declaration number

SmartEPD-2026-066-1085-01.1

Date of issue

September 29, 2026

Valid until

September 29, 2031

Product category rules (PCR)

PEP ecopassport® PROGRAM PSR Specific Rules for Wires, Cables and Accessories (PSR-0001-ed4-EN-2022 11 16) (version 4)

Standard

ISO 14025:2006 and EN 15804:2012+A2:2019/AC:2021

Functional unit

1 m of product To transmit one communication signal over 1 m, at a wavelength of 1310 nm and 1550 nm, for 10 years and at a utilization rate of 100% in accordance with the National Electric Code® (NEC®) Standard on the product spec sheet and as defined in PSR-0001-ed4. Lifetime and use rate correspond to Data center applications as defined in the table given in Appendix 6.1. of the specific rules for wire, cables and accessories

System boundary

Cradle to gate with other options (A1 - A3, A4, A5, B6, C2 - C4, D)

Product specificity

Product Average

Manufacturing specificity

Manufacturer Average

Manufacturing plant

AFL - Duncan, SC (170 Ridgeview Ctr Dr, Duncan, SC 29334, USA)

Product service life

10 years

Verifier

Nathan Ayer, EarthShift Global

LCA software

SimaPro 10.4

Program instructions

Smart EPD General Program Instructions v.2.0, March 2025

Life cycle assessment results

Results per 1 m of product To transmit one communication signal over 1 m, at a wavelength of 1310 nm and 1550 nm, for 10 years and at a utilization rate of 100% in accordance with the National Electric Code® (NEC®) Standard on the product spec sheet and as defined in PSR-0001-ed4. Lifetime and use rate correspond to Data center applications as defined in the table given in Appendix 6.1. of the specific rules for wire, cables and accessories.

Environmental Impact Assessment Results

Resource Use Indicators

Waste and Output Flow Indicators

ND = not declared. Life cycle modules: A1-A3 product stage, A4-A5 construction process, B use stage, C end of life, D benefits and loads beyond the system boundary.

Material composition

Hazardous substances

No regulated hazardous or dangerous substances are included in this product.

Scenarios

Transport to the building site (A4)

Fuel type

Diesel

Vehicle type

Truck

Transport distance

3447 km

Capacity utilization

50%

Weight of products transported

.868

Packaging mass

.14

End of life (C1-C4)

Collected with mixed construction waste

8.26E-01

Landfill

4.13E-01

Incineration

4.13E-01

Product or material for final disposal

8.26E-01

Product description

The production of AFL cable products involves several key manufacturing steps to ensure high optical performance and durability. The process begins with the precision cutting of a main cable to a specified length. The main cable jacket is cut back to allow for high-precision cleaving and stripping of high-purity single-mode or multimode optical fibers from the main cable body, followed by the application of protective furcations or additional coatings. Fibers are then terminated with connectors such as LC, SC, MPO/MTP, or MMC, using advanced polishing and epoxy curing techniques to achieve low insertion loss. Finally, each AFL Cable undergoes rigorous testing for optical performance, mechanical integrity, and compliance with industry standards before packaging and distribution.

OSP Cable is used to link XSW to SSW Switch. This cable shall be used to make the link in between Building 1 to Building 2 at the Entrance Facility in each building. At the Entrance Facility, the cable shall be spliced at the Optical Splice Enclosure.

Interpretation

A1-A3 Cradle-to-gate

This section discusses the cradle-to-gate results for the functional unit. The results presented below are for the example product 3456F 3028m OSP Blunt Cable (Group 6) which represents aggregate results for the product considering the bulk cable and fusion splicing elements and the scaling equation provided in the Impact Scaling Factors section. Results for other products can be calculated by leveraging the scaling equation and the results presented in this EPD.

Although this discussion is focused on the LCIA results, calculated using the EF 3.1 LCIA method, the section also includes A1-A3 results for Primary Resource Use, Indicators Describing Waste and Output Flows.

As illustrated in the figure below, stage A1 is the dominant contributor to nearly all reported indicators, with contributions ranging from approximately 74% to 98% of the total A1-A3 impacts (88% on average). The contributions of A2 range from 1% to 19% (7% on average). A3 has similar contributions to impacts as A2, with impacts ranging from 1% to 12% (6% on average). These results highlight the significance of the raw material production stage in cradle-to-gate environmental performance of AFL products while also highlighting that other stages are not insignificant.

The bulk cable contributes 100% to A1, A2, and A3 impacts across all categories because OSP blunt products do not have cable assembly elements, and the impact of connection of this cable is fusion splicing which is outside of the A1-A3 boundary (in B6). Within the bulk cable, optical fiber and the LSZH compound dominate GWP-fossil impacts contributing 76% and 22%.

These results highlight the significance of the raw material production stage in cradle-to-gate environmental performance of AFL products while also highlighting that other stages are not insignificant.

A-C Cradle-to-grave

The LCIA results for A1-C4 demonstrate that the A1-A3 stages dominate impact contributions across all indicators, ranging from 67% to 99% of the total life cycle impacts. This reinforces the significance of raw material extraction, transportation, and manufacturing processes in determining the overall environmental performance of the product. Beyond A1-A3, the A4 stage has moderate contributions, ranging from 3% to 17% across indicators. A5 contributes less than 2% across indicators. B modules other than B6 are considered 0 as they are not relevant in this product system. B6 energy use associated with attenuations losses contributes less than 1% across all indicators. Modules C1 is not relevant in this assessment as products do not need to be deconstructed, they can be simply unplugged and removed. Modules C2 contributes less than 4% across all impact categories. Module C3 contributes less than 1% across all impact categories. The contribution of C4 ranges from less than 1% to 13% in some categories.

The GWP-fossil impact is influenced almost entirely by the bulk cable given there are no cable assembly elements and only 2 instances of connection-related impacts. Impacts from attenuation losses associated with fusion splicing of each end of the cable are included and only influence module B6. Module B6 is impacted primarily by attenuation associated with bulk cable (86% of GWP-fossil) and attenuation associated with fusion spliced connections (14% of GWP-fossil). End of life modules C2 – C4 are dominated 100% by the bulk cable as the bulk cable makes up 100% of product mass and packaging material end of life is considered in A5. C2 and C3 are modeled via the same transportation and waste processing & sorting pathways for all materials in the study and are therefore driven by differences in mass input only. C4, however, considers material specific end-of-life pathways sourced from EN50693. The majority of materials in this study are assumed to be incinerated or landfilled at end of life, with only some materials recycled at relatively low rates. Module D results reflect potential avoided impacts beyond the system boundary associated with end-of-life energy recovery and material recycling. These impacts are reported separately and are not included in cradle-to-grave totals.