The new Construction Products Regulation should include stringent environmental requirements for products. These must be in accordance with law, both on performance and environmental information disclosure.
NGOs warn that sustainability obligations cannot be based on standards. This is a process largely driven in part by the construction industry.
The European Commission will adopt a revised Construction Products Regulation on Wednesday, 30 March. This is a proposal to simplify rules regarding construction products on the EU markets.
The Commission is expected propose new rules to strengthen market surveillance. Manufacturers will also be required to make their products more circular by requiring mandatory information on the environment.
However, NGO’s preliminary work suggests that the CPR may not be fully aligned with the horizontal Sustainable Products Initiative.Tomorrow’s publication is also planned. The SPI will expand ecodesign principles and obligations to a wide array of products by establishing a clear plan for developing product-specific requirements. NGOs fear that the CPR will not make this happen. It is likely to lower the bar for construction products. Construction products are an industry with significant environmental footprints. [1].
If the CPR revision doesn’t significantly improve on climate ambitions it will fail to address construction products’ enormous environmental impact.
The European Environmental Bureau (EEB), and the Environmental Coalition on Standards, (ECOS), represent some of Europe’s most prominent environmental organizations. They call on policy-makers for the new CPR to address the environmental impact of construction products.
Gonzalo SanchezEEB Policy Officer for Circular Economy & Carbon Neutrality Building Sector, Jeremy Sullivan said:
“Setting minimum environmental requirements on construction products in this CPR revision is necessary if we hope to decarbonise the built environment by 2050. These requirements can increase the competitiveness and sustainability of recycled and low-carbon materials. These measures cannot be delayed. It would take a lot of effort to decarbonise the building stock in the next decade. This is due to delays in implementing circular measures, and rewards for manufacturers who invest in low emission materials.
Federica Pozzi, Programme Manager at ECOS said:
“This proposal allows the construction industry to avoid transitioning towards a sustainable economy, let alone towards climate neutrality. There is no excuse. CPR must limit the impacts of construction products. Industry players must not be allowed to set their own standards. The Commission also adopted a proposal for a Sustainable Products Initiative that has more teeth. The CPR should apply the same strong sustainability principles to construction products, or at least deliver low-carbon circular and non-toxic products.
In more details, NGO demands entail:
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Stop relying on this Regulation for standardsThis makes it difficult to regulate construction products and permits little participation from actors representing the public interest.
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Limits on environmental hotspots must be kept to a minimumIt promotes the competitiveness and sustainability of low-carbon, circular, and non-toxic products by setting limits on their carbon footprint, water use, and chemical content. The standardization system cannot be trusted with limit setting. In this system, dominant industry manufacturers can set their own requirements and align themselves on a minimum common factor, limiting competition, innovation and market access for SMEs.
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Digital product passports can help you provide more transparency in product information. This would ensure that data can be effectively communicated throughout the product value chain and used to assist public institutions in developing obligatory requirements.
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Encourage market access for used building productsThis will ensure that primary products are treated equally. It is important to fully exploit the decarbonisation potential and resource efficiency potential of used materials.
ECOS, the EEB and other NGOs are not the only ones calling for decisive actions. 7 environmental organisations called on the European Commission to adopt mandatory requirements for environmental performance and information for construction products on 14 March. [2]
ENDS
Note to the editor:
[1] Background information on the impact of construction products: Together with buildings, construction products – including energy-intensive intermediaries such as cement and steel- account for approximately 50% of all extracted materials, 33% of water consumption and 35% of EU waste. These materials account for 36% of EU carbon emitted, a figure that is expected to rise with the upcoming Renovation Wave.
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/levels_en
[2]https://eeb.org/library/ngos-letter-on-the-construction-products-regulation-revision/
