TNFD lists EPHI lead pipe replacement cost tool in global catalogue
Environmental & Public Health International (EPHI), a Chicago-based water-infrastructure consultancy, has secured a listing for its Lead Service Line Replacement Cost Calculator (LSLRCC) in the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) Tools Catalogue. The TNFD catalogue provides decision-makers in business and finance with curated resources for assessing nature-related risks and opportunities, placing the LSLRCC alongside tools from the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Carbon Disclosure Project.
The calculator is a free, multilingual tool designed to help utilities, tribal governments and local policymakers estimate the cost of replacing lead water pipes, prioritise disadvantaged communities and plan investment programmes aligned with the US Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI). EPHI says the LCRI listing supports compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and applications to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), a federal financing mechanism for water infrastructure upgrades.
A catalogue listing, not a funding close
The announcement is a recognition event rather than a capital transaction. EPHI has not disclosed a funding round, a government contract award, or a named utility customer. The release does not include replacement-cost estimates generated by the tool, programme volumes, or any third-party-verified figures on lead pipe removal rates. EPHI also notes that sponsorship opportunities for the calculator are available, suggesting the tool's operating model relies in part on commercial backing.
That context matters for readers tracking where capital is actually moving in water infrastructure. Lead service line replacement in the United States is a large, federally mandated market: the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated roughly US $15 billion specifically for lead pipe removal, and the EPA's LCRI tightened replacement deadlines significantly. The practical constraint is not awareness of replacement costs but the pace at which utilities can plan, finance and execute programmes, particularly in lower-income communities with limited technical capacity.
Climate adaptation and nature finance read-across
The TNFD framework is gaining traction as a companion to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), extending nature and biodiversity considerations into corporate and financial risk reporting. Its tools catalogue is a relatively new feature, and inclusion signals alignment with the framework's methodology rather than a formal endorsement of efficacy. For infrastructure investors and development-finance institutions, the catalogue can serve as a sourcing list for due-diligence tools when assessing water-sector projects.
Water infrastructure sits at an intersection of climate adaptation, public health and environmental justice that is attracting increasing interest from impact-oriented capital allocators. Multilateral development banks and green-bond issuers have expanded water-resilience lending, and the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation) is referenced in a growing share of sovereign and municipal bond frameworks. Tools that quantify replacement costs can, in principle, strengthen the investment case for utility bond issuances or State Revolving Fund applications.
Anthony Ross, founder and director of EPHI, said the listing "helps bridge environmental policy, public health, and climate finance, areas that must work together to protect communities and ecosystems."
EPHI says the LSLRCC has now been featured or recognised by more than 60 organisations and platforms since late 2025, including WHO, UNICEF, UNDRR, UNHCR and the World Economic Forum's UpLink initiative. The company did not provide usage data, such as the number of utilities or governments that have applied the calculator to active replacement programmes.