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 General

What is the Construction Products Regulation about?

The Construction Products Regulation aims to ensure that construction products can circulate freely within the Single Market. To achieve this, the Construction Products Regulation lays down harmonised rules for putting construction products on the EU market.

The existing harmonised rules focus on how to express the performance of construction products in relation to their essential characteristics, like for instance, how they react to fire, how they conduct heat or insulate sound. The current legislative framework also provides harmonised rules on the CE marking of these products. This ensures that reliable information is available to professionals, public authorities and consumers, so they can compare the performance of products from different manufacturers in different countries.

Member States are responsible for the safety, environmental and energy requirements applicable to buildings and civil engineering works.

Why do we need a revision of the Construction Products Regulation?

The Construction Products Regulation needs to be revised because it no longer fit to meet broader policy priorities, particularly on the European Green Deal. It is also necessary to speed up the use of digital technologies in the ecosystem. The new CPR aims to:

Ensure a smooth functioning of the Single Market and free movement of construction products.

Address the sustainability performances of construction products.

Enable the construction ecosystem's contribution to meeting climate and sustainability goals and embrace the digital transformation, because its competitiveness  depends on this.

Ensure that harmonised standards contribute to the competitiveness of the ecosystem and reduce market barriers.

In particular, while the current rules have guaranteed a harmonised framework for the marketing of construction products in the EU, there are still some aspects that need to be improved. This is especially true for the drafting process when creating harmonised standards for construction products. Very few harmonised EU standards have been referenced in the EU Official Journal in recent years.

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How will the new revised Regulation contribute to improving the Single Market for construction products?

In order to achieve a well-functioning Single Market for construction products, the proposal presents a series of tools to create better standards which will ensure a smoother flow of the technical harmonisation system; they will reduce national barriers to trade for products covered by the Regulation and improve enforcement and market surveillance. The proposal will also provide clearer rules through simplification, thereby reducing the administrative burden and help to ensure safe construction products.

How will the new revised Regulation improve the standardisation of construction products?

Standardisation activities for construction products are currently facing a standstill. This is the result of various factors, including outdated standardisation requests, an absence of any technical content related to sustainable use of natural resources as well as legal and technical aspects linked to the mandatory character and exhaustiveness of the standards.

In line with the EU Strategy on Standardisation, the revised Regulation foresees the possibility for the Commission to intervene in case the standards are lacking quality or are not provided in time for the market. In addition, the Commission will continue its work with Member States, industry and other relevant parties to revise the outdated standardisation requests, the acquis and to make them future proof for state of the art standards. The so-called “Construction Products Regulation Acquis Process”, launched mid-2020, is the forum where the harmonised standards, the European assessment documents and the legal acts of the Commission are being discussed and shaped, together with Member States, industry and other relevant parties.

What is the link between Construction Product Regulation and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation?

The objective of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation is to make sustainable products the norm on the EU market and reduce their environmental impact throughout the value chain. The ‘take-make-use-dispose' model can be avoided, and much of a product's environmental impacts is determined at the design stage.

The Ecodesigh initiative will have environmental benefits by reducing pollution and resource use. It will have a strategic benefit for the EU by increasing our resource independence, also in the context of the current geopolitical situation. In addition, it will strengthen the Single Market and create economic opportunities for innovation, notably in remanufacturing, recycling and repair.

Harmonised rules are needed to avoid fragmentation of the EU Single Market. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation provides a general framework, and more precise rules will apply to the specificity of products or categories of products. Following this approach, the revised Construction Products Regulation will intervene, in addition to safety and functionality aspects, to set sustainability criteria for construction products. This is also necessary because the Construction Products Regulation needs to work in coordination with the national regulatory building codes applicable to construction works. However, specific circumstances may justify targeted intervention on construction products under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. This will be the case for example for intermediate products (except for cement) and energy-related construction products, which are already regulated under the existing Ecodesign Directive (heaters, boilers, heat pumps, water and space heating appliances, fans, cooling and ventilating systems and photovoltaic products, for example).

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What will the revised CPR mean for construction products in terms of sustainability?

According to the proposed Regulation, manufacturers will have to deliver environmental information about the lifecycle of their products. Moreover, they will have to comply with several obligations, including:

Design and manufacture a product and its packaging in such a way that overall environmental sustainability reaches state-of-the-art level;

Give preference to recyclable materials and materials gained from recycling;

Respect minimum recycled content obligations and other limit values regarding aspects of environmental sustainability;

Make available, in product databases, instructions for use and repair of the products;

Design products in such a way that reuse, remanufacturing and recycling are facilitated.

How can a manufacturer prove that the product meets all EU requirements?

To prove that products meet the EU requirements, the manufacturer will need to provide a declaration of performance and a declaration of conformity and affix the CE marking. In addition to this, the manufacturer should provide technical documentation describing the intended use and all the elements necessary to demonstrate performance and conformity. This technical documentation should include the mandatory or facultative calculation of environmental sustainability assessed in accordance with harmonised technical specifications, with the exception of used, remanufactured or surplus products.

How are the needs of businesses, SMEs and micro-enterprises covered in the revised Regulation?

The revised Regulation’s aim is to improve the Single Market for construction products and enhance the circulation of construction products within the EU. The proposal will:

minimise compliance costs, notably through an improved standardisation 

- process,
- provide clearer provisions,
- promote the reuse of products,
- reduce national requirements and create a level playing field for all manufacturers, especially SMEs, in all Member States.

Moreover, the intended work sharing and technical fine-tuning with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation will avoid unnecessary costs for businesses, especially SMEs. The proposal makes maximum use of the digitalisation potential to reduce administrative burdens, considering that the current Construction Products Regulation does not foresee the application of digital tools. In the future, all information and documentation may be processed in a digital form (such as Digital Product Passports) and stored, shared and accessed in an information system. This will lead to greater transparency along supply chains, allow data linked to the Construction Products Regulation to be stored in Building Logbooks and used for calculations required under other legislation (e.g. the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, EPBD). This will also facilitate market surveillance. Additionally, Member States may choose to exempt micro-enterprises from certain obligations of the Construction Products Regulation if they do not trade across borders.

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What else is the Commission doing to support the greening and digitalisation of the construction ecosystem?

The Commission has been developing a transition pathway for the construction industry ecosystem, in a process of co-creation with industry, interested parties and Member States, as part of the updated Industrial Strategy. As part of this work, the Commission published in December 2021 a Staff Working Document that proposes scenarios for construction to become more green, digital and resilient. An enabling and regulatory framework fit for the future, that fosters investments and the building of trust, is key to the ecosystem's resilience and a prerequisite for the twin transitions.

In February 2022 the construction sector launched, with the support of the Commission, a skills partnership under the Pact for Skills. The partnership aims to upskill and reskill at least 25% of the construction industry's workforce in the next five years, which corresponds to three million workers.

The Commission is also supporting research and innovation into green and digital construction via the Horizon Europe programme. This includes funding in areas such as waste management, digital building permits and logbooks, and a sustainable built environment under the Built4People co-programmed partnership.

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 Scope

Do all used construction products fall within the scope of this proposed regulation if they meet the requirements in letter a) to e) of Article 2(2)? Even if they were put on the market before the first European regulation on construction product came into force, e.g. 100 year old products?

Yes

Articles 1 and 2 (1)(c) include “direct installation” for construction products to the scope of the CPR. Why are they covered under the new CPR?

Direct installation is, according to the legal view of some stakeholders, already covered by the current CPR, but other stakeholders hold the legal view that it was not covered. The diverging views have created an uneven playing field. The CPR proposal is clarifying this point.

Why shall “key parts” be CE marked? This could lead to that for some products several elements have to be CE marked.

Only where a harmonised technical specification identifies a part as a key part, the CE marking should become mandatory. In the case of windows, the frames / profiles and the glass would probably become “key part”. Glass is already CE marked today, although just as a part and not a construction product in itself.

How are prefabricated one family homes going to demonstrate compliance with Member State performance requirements for Building Regulations for their intended use, and the conditions in which they are to be used?

Member States’ national requirements will be taken into account and addressed during the development of harmonised technical specifications (hTS) so that the harmonised technical specifications cover the most comprehensive requirements. Member States can decide whether they opt out, or not, of the Single Market for these houses.

Why does the CPR legislative proposal exclude from its scope systems treating waste water, sanitary appliances, products in contact with drinking water and traffic signalling products?

These products were excluded because

They were not regarded as a priority and have little potential in view of the overall goals of the new CPR (e.g. free circulation of products, protection of the environment and of safety);

Standardisation work did in several cases not provide useful results for the Single Market;

Some were not affected by any regulatory barriers to trade or;

Their function and the materials used are significantly different to the product groups covered by the standardisation work.

Some of the products are also covered by other Union Law (e.g. lifts)

Note: Not all points mentioned above apply for each of these products.

The requirement for additional human resources to standardise these products is questionable therefore, the more so as otherwise generic rules on mutual recognition would apply, which seem to be sufficient for so many other non-regulated construction

Will these products lose the CE marking? When will this change become effective?

These products will not lose the CE marking before 2045 as long as the respective harmonised standards remain listed under the old CPR.

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Product declarations

 Why does the draft not contain the „NPD“(No Performance Declared) option for the manufacturer anymore?

This option can also be used under the new CPR, to the extent that essential characteristics are not rendered mandatory in a targeted way. However, the declaration of the carbon footprint will be mandatory.

Why does the draft not contain the „NPD“(No Performance Declared) option for the manufacturer anymore?

This option can also be used under the new CPR, to the extent that essential characteristics

are not rendered mandatory in a targeted way. However, the declaration of the carbon footprint will be mandatory.

Why does Annex II, 11 b) allow to declare only some but not all essential characteristics

mentioned in a harmonised Technical Specification (hTS)?

It is allowed to declare all essential characteristics.

Why has a requirement for recycled content been introduced for all construction

products?

The requirement has been introduced to mirror the features of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.

Are construction products manufactured in the workshop and assembled by the same manufacturer within the scope of the new Regulation?

Is the European Commission aiming at adopting Environmental Product Declarations in

order to declare sustainability-related characteristics of construction products?

No. The Declaration of Performance and the Declaration of Conformity should become more comprehensive and totally sufficient in that regard.

The proposal puts that product requirements defined by delegated acts are mandatory. So how, then, is it possible to develop voluntary standards providing presumption of conformity with these mandatory product requirements, as specified in the delegated acts?

The CPR is following the usual practice under the New Legislative Framework.

The European standards that further specify product requirements already specified by Delegated Acts, facilitate the business of manufacturers by giving them more certainty and a presumption of conformity, whilst still being voluntary. The voluntary character is useful in particular for new designs that do not specifically fit under the harmonised standard.

Are these standards the same as those regarding essential characteristics?

No, they are different standards.

European Assessment Documents (EADs)

According to Art 35(2), new EADs may be developed for new products and / or new “intended use” as long as they are not covered by existing documents. In case of “new intended use” also for mature products new EADs can be developed if needed. Is this the right reading of the CPR and especially of Art 35(2)?

New EADs can be developed based on new intended uses compared to existing harmonised technical specifications.

Declaration of performance / conformity

When is it necessary to complement a declaration of performance with a declaration of conformity?

A “Declaration of Conformity” is required when a delegated act, according to Article 5(2), has specified product requirements for a specific product.

Are manufacturers expected to deliver a Declaration of Conformity while being exempted from issuing a Declaration of Performance?

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Notified bodies

Why has annex V (the AVCP systems) restricted manufacturers from determining the product types for their products?

This should ensure that all products belonging to the same type are compliant in the same way and have the same performance. It should also prevent circumventing authority measures aimed at specific products.

Why are notified test laboratories not mentioned in the proposal?

The term notified test laboratory is not needed anymore in the new legal text, because they became a sub-type of the notified bodies. This simplifies criteria and procedures and creates a level playing field.

Can Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) program operators who comply with the requirements of system 3+ become notified bodies?

System 3+ is not a requirement applicable to notified bodies, but a system applicable to a certain product type. EPD program operators may apply as notified bodies under the conditions set out in Chapter VI. When designated, they will have to apply System 3+ to a specific product type.

Does a notified body need to be notified for the full content of annexes?

Notifications will be specific to selected areas and/or product groups and can also be specific for certain AVS (former AVCP) systems. Member States are free to limit / specify notifications as they wish, and hence conformity assessment bodies can also apply to be designated as a notified body with all kinds of limitations / specifications.

Why was the obligation of informing other notified bodies about negative assessment

included?

This is to instruct national bodies to pay special attention to elements that have already been negatively assessed by at least one other notified body.

Labelling and information

Article 21 allows for the label “only for professional use” to be applied for products not intended for consumers. How should products used by professionals and non- professionals be labelled?

The question is not whether a product can be used also by non-professionals, but whether it is intended by the manufacturer to be used by non-professionals. Thus the manufacturer has a choice:

Either labelling “only for professional use”;

Or fulfilling the additional information obligations for informing consumers / lay- users especially.

Products labelled only for professional use are not to be used by consumers, and the distribution chain is expected to ensure this.