ECOS response to the EC consultation on the revision to the Construction Products Regulation

In the EU alone, buildings and their components are responsible for 36% of EU carbon emissions or 1424 Mt of CO2 annually – approximately equal to the carbon footprint of the African continent. Unsurprisingly enough, buildings are the sum of their parts, i.e. construction products, both functionally and in terms of environmental impacts. With most impacts embodied in products, especially in terms of carbon, it is essential that the CPR addresses these challenges to secure Europe’s pursuit of the 2030 climate objectives. Still, the changes put forward by the new CPR do not live up to this challenge.

This is a once in a decade opportunity to make sustainable construction products the norm: with the repealing of the existing CPR falling only in 2045 (art.94 new CPR), it is essential that this revision provides concrete solutions to these urgent challenges.

For this reason, ECOS calls on policy makers to:

1. Provide effective solutions to the shortcomings of the CPR standardisation system, notably by establishing criteria for Commission’s intervention, as to facilitate the development of technical specifications even in case of failures of the standardisation system.
2. Restrict the scope of the CPR to construction products, shifting cement under the scope of the ESPR, together with all other intermediate products such as steel and chemicals.
3. Ensure environmental provisions fully reflect the ambition of the ESPR: 3.1by establishing a structured approach to the development of product and information requirements mirroring the Eco-design process, which will allow to timely tackle products’ environmental hotspots. 3.2 by securing a methodology that properly assesses construction products’ environmental impacts, ensuring that reliable and comprehensive information is available to building level WLC calculation.
4. Secure the appropriate tools in support of the deployment of sustainable products, including a more integrated approach to end of life.

Find ECOS full response HERE.