MEMBER STATE / STAKEHOLDER...

INDEX... 3 1 MEMBER STATE / STAKEHOLDER... 5 2 REPORTING AUTHORITY/BODY... 7 2.1 SUMMARY OF PROPOSALS... 7 3 FACTUAL INFORMATION ON IMPLEMENTATION... 9 4 INFORMATION ABOUT THE APPLICATION OF THE CPR... 11 4.1 DEFINITIONS WITHIN ARTICLE 2, INCLUDING ANY COMPLICATIONS CAUSED BY THEIR WORDING OR MISSING INFORMATION... 11 4.2 EXPERIENCE OR NEED TO APPLY ARTICLE 3(3)... 12 4.3 THE SYSTEM OF DOPS AND CE MARKINGS (ARTICLES 4 9, DELEGATED ACTS ON ESUPPLY AND ANNEX III)... 12 4.3.1 CE marking content... 12 4.3.2 CE marking digits... 17 4.3.3 CE marking of kits... 17 4.3.4 Delegated acts on e-supply... 18 4.3.5 Annex III... 19 4.4 IN PARTICULAR, THE APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 5 ON DEROGATIONS AND ARTICLE 9(2)... 19 4.5 THE FUNCTIONING OF THE NATIONAL PCPC IN PRACTICE (ARTICLE 10)... 19 4.6 OBLIGATIONS FOR ECONOMIC OPERATORS (CHAPTER III)... 19 4.7 HARMONISED STANDARDS AND THE APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 17... 20 4.8 DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN ASSESSMENT DOCUMENTS (EADS; ARTICLES 19 24, 66(3), 66(4) & ANNEX II)... 20 4.9 FORMAL OBJECTIONS (ARTICLES 18 & 25)... 20 4.10 EUROPEAN TECHNICAL ASSESSMENTS (ETAS; ARTICLE 26 & IMPLEMENTING ACT ON THE FORMAT)... 20 4.11 LEVELS AND CLASSES OF PERFORMANCE (ARTICLE 27)... 20 4.12 AVCP SYSTEMS (ARTICLE 28 & DELEGATED ACT ON ANNEX V)... 21 4.13 PROVISIONS ON THE REQUIREMENTS FOR TABS (ARTICLES 29 & 30, TABLE 2 OF ANNEX IV)... 21 4.14 SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES... 21 4.14.1 Article 36 situations... 21

4.14.2 Treatment of micro-enterprises (Article 37; cf. also Article 2(15))... 21 4.14.3 Individually manufactured products (Article 38; cf. also Article 2(15))... 21 4.15 PROVISIONS ON NOTIFIED BODIES (NBS; CHAPTER VII)... 21 4.16 FUNCTIONING OF MARKET SURVEILLANCE (CHAPTER VIII) & REFLECTIONS ON THE MARKET SURVEILLANCE PACKAGE... 21 4.17 DELEGATED ACTS (ARTICLES 60 63) AND THE PRACTICES INVOLVED... 22 4.18 STANDING COMMITTEE (ARTICLE 64)... 22 5 OVERALL ASSESSMENT... 23 6 OTHER GENERAL OR SPECIFIC OBSERVATIONS... 25 6.1 OTHER BARRIERS TO TRADE... 25 6.2 NATIONAL MARKS... 25 6.3 DEVELOPMENT OF BRCW7... 27 6.4 ECODESIGN INCONSISTENCY... 29

Founded in 1988, Construction Products Europe is a Brussels-based international nonprofit making association. The association is made up of national and European associations that represent Small and Medium-size Enterprises to world-leading companies. Construction Products Europe aims to promote the European construction industry, to share information on EU legislation and standardisation and to provide input in all European construction-related initiatives. Construction Products Europe AISBL Blv du Souverain 68, 1170 Brussels - Belgium EU Transparency Register 48010783162-91 www.construction-products.eu

This document summarizes the main obstacles found by construction product manufacturers when applying the Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 that lays down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and that repeals Council Directive 89/106/EE. The groups of Construction Products Europe CPR Working Group, Sustainability Working Group and Implementation of CPR Task Group have discussed, amended and revised this document according to their knowledge and expertise. Clarify the interpretation of pass / fail criteria as a threshold level linked to the development of harmonised technical specifications. The technical decision taken in the Technical Committees in either CEN or EOTA should not be submitted to the delegated act procedure. Drastic reduction of the CE label to information that is critical according to the agreement in the Technical Committees while keeping the link to the DoP as the reference document. Facilitate the use of IT tools to provide the information of the CE marking. Delete the requirement to include the digits in the CE marking to avoid inaccurate interpretation of this information. Include the possibility to skip the obligation of affixing the CE making to kits in the harmonised technical specification under certain conditions. The obligation of affixing the CE marking to kits shall be specified in the harmonised technical specification (e.g. it should be on the main component of the kit).

European Institutions should support the development of a harmonised format to exchange the legal information regulated by the CPR. This approach would prevent the creation of barriers to trade within the Union Market. Support changes in other regulations related to construction products to be in line with the accessibility requirements of the Declaration of Performance. The number of the notified bodies for AVCP system 3 should not be required in the DoP. Create better channels of communication between CEN, EC and stakeholders to improve the citation process and update the list more frequently (e.g. at least every three months). Classes should not be subject to modification of the mandates / delegated acts while they only classify the performance in groups. Allow the inclusion of this information (quotation of the commission decision and OJEU) in the DoP under the corresponding heading. Keep a pragmatic approach to delegated acts. Support the existing methodology (TC 350) and focus all the environmental initiatives dealing with construction products to be consistent with BRCW 3 and 7 as well as the assessments already in place. Coordinate the actions at European Commission level to guarantee consistency in the application of the Construction Products Regulation and the Ecodesign Directive and avoid the establishment of two set of requirements for construction products dealing with the same requirements (environmental performance).

The information requested in this chapter can only be provided by National Authorities.

Definition in article 2(5) only covers the possibility to provide the performance as a level or class, or in a description. Taking into account the definitions of level (article 2(6)), class (article 2(7)) and the additional definition provided by article 2(8) for threshold level, it is clear that pass / fail is a valid declared performance. Proposal: Clarify the interpretation of pass / fail criteria as a threshold level linked to the development of harmonised technical specifications. Some of the situations where this situation applies are described in the following examples. Example: Test methods to assess the resistance to impact of some products require a visual inspection and it is considered pass if no cracks are observed while the test is considered a fail if cracks are detected in the surface. Using a description to clarify this performance is possible but does not provide any added value to the information provided by the pass / fail criteria. Example: Anti-bullet glass performances are tested by shooting in the glass under prescribed definition. The different classes are defined in the standard by a combination of prescribed weapon, ammunition, distance from the sample, position and number of strikes and energy of the ammunition. It is not a class as defined in 2(7), but it is also not a level as it is expressed by an alphanumerical code. This type of "class defined by test conditions" is not defined in the CPR.

Standards now contain a wide range threshold levels and pass / fail criteria. Article 3(3) establishes that the development of threshold levels or revision of existing ones require a delegated act. The development of harmonised technical specifications already requires a formal procedure including enquiry and voting. In these stages comments from Member States can be provided and are considered by the technical committees. If any technical decision taken in the Technical Committees in either CEN or EOTA has to be submitted to a delegated act for formal approval, the improvement of the technical content of such documents will be delayed and in some cases may be blocked by political decisions. Proposal: The technical decision taken in the Technical Committees in either CEN or EOTA should not be submitted to the delegated act procedure. CE marking was the core of the Construction Products Directive (CPD) - it included the important information related to the construction product while simultaneously being the legal reference in case of court case. The Construction Product Regulation (CPR) changes the role of the CE marking and now the Declaration of Performance (DoP) is the core of the system. Nevertheless the legal value of the CE marking is not clear for stakeholders because the information in CE marking is also in the DoP. 4.3.1 CE marking content The following table contains a comparison between the information required in the CE marking and in the DoP: CE marking Article 9(2) Article 9(2) [ ] the two last digits of the year in which it was first affixed Article 9(2) [ ] the name and the registered address of the manufacturer, or the identifying mark allowing identification of the name and address of the manufacturer easily Article 9(2) [ ] without any ambiguity, the unique identification code of the product-type, Article 9(2) [ ] the reference number of the declaration of performance DoP Article 6 and Annex III [not required] Article 6(4) The declaration of performance shall be drawn up using the model set out in Annex III. [name and registered address of the manufacturer is required in Annex III] Article 6(2) The declaration of performance shall contain, in particular, the following information: (a) the reference of the product-type for which the declaration of performance has been drawn up; Article 6(4) The declaration of performance shall be drawn up using the model set out in Annex III. [reference number of the declaration of

Article 9(2) [ ] the level or class of the performance declared performance is required in Annex III] Article 6(3) The declaration of performance shall in addition contain: (d) where applicable, the performance of the construction product, by levels or classes, or in a description, if necessary based on a calculation in relation to its essential characteristics determined in accordance with Article 3(3); Article 9(2) [ ] the reference to the harmonised technical specification applied Article 9(2) [ ] the identification number of the notified body, if applicable Article 9(2) [ ] the intended use as laid down in the harmonised technical specification applied Article 6(3) The declaration of performance shall in addition contain: (g) when a European Technical Assessment has been issued for that product, the performance, by levels or classes, or in a description, of the construction product in relation to all essential characteristics contained in the corresponding European Technical Assessment. Article 6(2) The declaration of performance shall contain, in particular, the following information: (c) the reference number and date of issue of the harmonised standard or the European Technical Assessment which has been used for the assessment of each essential characteristic; [the date of issue of the harmonised standard or the ETA is only required in the DoP] Article 6(4) The declaration of performance shall be drawn up using the model set out in Annex III. Article 6(3) The declaration of performance shall in addition contain: (a) the intended use or uses for the construction product, in accordance with the applicable harmonised technical specification; [not required] Article 6(2) The declaration of performance shall contain, in particular, the following information: (b) the system or systems of assessment and verification of constancy of performance of the construction product, as set out in Annex V; [not required] Article 6(2) The declaration of performance shall contain, in particular, the following information: (d) where applicable, the reference number of the Specific Technical Documentation used and the requirements with which the manufacturer claims the product complies. [not required] Article 6(3) The declaration of performance shall in addition contain:

(b) the list of essential characteristics, as determined in the harmonised technical specification for the declared intended use or uses; [not required] Article 6(3) The declaration of performance shall in addition contain: (c) the performance of at least one of the essential characteristics of the construction product, relevant for the declared intended use or uses; [not required] Article 6(3) The declaration of performance shall in addition contain: (e) the performance of those essential characteristics of the construction product which are related to the intended use or uses, taking into consideration the provisions in relation to the intended use or uses where the manufacturer intends the product to be made available on the market; [not required] Article 6(3) The declaration of performance shall in addition contain: (f) for the listed essential characteristics for which no performance is declared, the letters NPD (No Performance Determined); CE marking using labels is almost impossible for some products if manufacturers have to include all the required information in an understandable way. It means that instead of providing the CE label in the product or the packaging they are forced to do it in the accompanying documents. This involves significant additional cost, paper wastage and contravenes sustainability. What s more most printers traditionally used cannot print the regulatory CE symbol. CE marking content cannot be translated in all EU languages as well, as the country of final destination is not always known. This problem is solved by DoP available on a website. In the coming years the declared performance of a construction product will require additional lines in the label, such as information on dangerous substances (one declared value per substance and intended use) or environmental indicators as well as reference service life, databases used, etc. In this situation manufacturers will not be able to use the system as it was foreseen. The main function of the CE marking accompanying the construction product is establishing a link between the product and the declaration of its performance. The information included in the CE marking should be reduced to a minimum so that it can be easily understood by all EU citizens 1 while guaranteeing access to the information in the Declaration of Performance (DoP). Proposal: Drastic reduction of the CE label to information that is critical according to the agreement in the Technical Committees while keeping the link to the DoP as the reference document. 1 Different alphabets in Europe.

CE marking and Declaration of Performance should benefit from the use of the latest available information technology (IT) in the EU as this solution is cost effective, accessible for all stakeholders in the construction chain, easy to provide in different languages and manageable by other software tools. Proposal: Facilitate the use of IT tools to provide the information of the CE marking. Example: pren 14411 states that whenever possible, the complete CE marking shall be affixed on each packaging, hence, the manufacturer does not need to include any other information accompanying the commercial documents. However, when this is not possible, for instance, due to lack of available space on the box, a simplified marking may be affixed instead. In such case, the complete CE marking shall be additionally included accompanying the commercial documents. Complete CE marking for ceramic tiles under discussion by the Technical Committee according to the current CPR requirements: NOTES: CE marking symbol AnyCo Ltd, PO Box 21, B-1050 Name or identifying mark, and registered address of the manufacturer 05 001CPR2013-07-20 www.dop-website.com pren 14411 Dry-pressed ceramic tiles, with water absorption E b 0,5%, for internal and external walls and floorings Last two digits of the year in which the marking was first affixed Reference n. of the declaration of performance Acces to the online version of the DoP, if relevant Reference of the harmonized standard applied Name and unique identification code of the product type and intended use Reaction to fire A1 FL /A1 List of essential characteristics relevant to end use(s) (see tables ZA.1.1 and/or ZA.1.2) and Breaking strength >1 300 N level or class of the performance declared Slipperiness, as: Characteristics declared as NPD do not need to PTV slider 57, CEN/TS >0,35 be included 16165:2011 Annex C Bond strength / adhesion, for: Cementitious adhesive, 1 N/mm 2 type C2 Thermal shock Pass resistance Durability for: - internal use: Pass - external use: freezethaw Pass resistance

Reduced or simplified CE marking for ceramic tiles on packaging under discussion by the Technical Committee according to the current CPR requirements: NOTES: CE marking symbol AnyCo Ltd, PO Box 21, B-1050 05 001CPR2013-07-20 www.dop-website.com pren 14411 Dry-pressed ceramic tiles, with water absorption E b 0,5%, for internal and external walls and floorings Name or identifying mark, and registered address of the manufacturer Last two digits of the year in which the marking was first affixed Reference n. of the declaration of performance Acces to the online version of the DoP, if relevant Reference of the harmonized standard applied Name and unique identification code of the product type and intended use Proposal: CE marking with the link to the full information in the declaration of performance available in a website. NOTES: CE marking symbol AnyCo Ltd 12345ABC-54321 www.dop-website.com Name or identifying mark and reference number of the declaration of performance. Access to the online version of the Declaration of Performance, if relevant. Proposal: CE marking with the link (website and QR code) to the full information in the declaration of performance available in a website. 12345-ABC4321 www.dop-website.com NOTES: CE marking symbol Name or identifying mark and reference number of the declaration of performance Access to the online version of the Declaration of Performance, if relevant.

4.3.2 CE marking digits The last two digits of the year in which the marking was first affixed do not provide any useful information to the customer about the product. They are not linked to the manufacturing process, the traceability or any other characteristic or property of the product relevant for its use. In addition, the clarification provided in the FAQ 2 of the European Commission is not a valid legal reference to guide the application of the requirement. The DoP already contains the dated reference to the harmonised technical specification and the date the DoP was issued. Both dates provide more relevant information to the customers and market surveillance authorities than the two digits of the CE marking. Proposal: Delete the requirement to include the digits in the CE marking to avoid inaccurate interpretation of this information. 4.3.3 CE marking of kits For some construction products, especially kits like External Thermal Insulation Cladding Systems (ETAG 004), curtain walls (EN13830), claddings, ventilated claddings (ETAG 034), Internal partition kits (ETAG 003), etc., that are put together on the construction site by installers using two or more components, CE marking (in the meaning of article 9) of the entire system is practically not possible as the specific kit is created on site. In such cases it should be allowed to omit CE marking of the system because the DoP already includes all information required by the CPR. If the CE logo in such cases could be indicated on the DoP itself this would clearly indicate that the product or kit conforms to the relevant European harmonised technical specification. Through this approach the additional burden for stakeholders in the supply chain and redundant information could be reduced: CE marking and DoP delivering the same information do not create any added value. To harmonise the way the market is operating, it is required to define in the relevant harmonised technical specifications (Annex ZA) for kits of construction products whether the covered construction products have to be CE marked or not. The use of kits of products which are not defined in relevant harmonised technical specification should be prevented. This proposal does not prevent components of the kit bearing their own CE marking according the rules established for normal products. Proposal: Include the possibility to skip the obligation of affixing the CE making to kits in the harmonised technical specification under certain conditions. 2 Which is the meaning of the phrase the last two digits of the year in which the marking was first affixed, in Article 9(2) of the Construction Products Regulation (CPR)? These digits refer to the year that these kinds of products were made available on the market for the first time and therefore they will remain unchanged over the years as long as the performance of the product has not changed. In practice, this means that if the manufacturer has marketed similar CE marked products corresponding to a certain set of performance (a given product-type) from 2009 onwards, these two digits continue to be 09 even after 01/07/2013, when the CE marking will undergo some changes due to the CPR. [http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/construction/faq/index_en.htm#q2-6]

Proposal: The obligation of affixing the CE marking to kits shall be specified in the harmonised technical specification. (e.g. it should be on the main component of the kit.) 4.3.4 Delegated acts on e-supply The exchange of information is an important challenge for construction products manufacturers. The number of private initiatives developing solutions and tools to improve the communication of relevant characteristics is growing and the risk of having too many systems in place could be a burden for the industry. Member States also have different approaches to the use of electronic information, such as Building Information Model (BIM), and while some support the use of these tools, others are regulating their use and the rest do not have a clear position. The overall picture shows the need of a consistent approach, regulatory stability and the adequate link to existing initiatives. Overview of information categories and target groups for this information. All information sources in between the arrows are included for a particular target group in need of information The introductory memorandum of the delegated act already included a short reference to xml formats but these kind of formats, if used, are not available for the next link of the construction chain. Proposal: European Institutions should support the development of a harmonised format to exchange the legal information regulated by the CPR. This approach would prevent the creation of barriers to trade within the Union Market.

Proposal: Support changes in other regulations related to construction products to be in line with the accessibility requirements of the Declaration of Performance. 4.3.5 Annex III The delegated act prepared by the Commission is a step forward to improve the usability of declarations of performance. The initial Annex III did not fit the requirements of a large amount of construction products. According to the experience of Construction Products Europe the new Annex III provides the tools needed by manufacturers to issue the declaration of performance of their construction products in the best way. The obligation to list the identification of all notified bodies used for the type test should be cancelled. Many producers have used several notified bodies, as for some products no notified body can perform all the tests necessary for the DoP. In addition, they may have a lack of capacity during certain periods, manufacturer may change for price or convenience reasons, etc. In some DoPs, between 15 and 25 different notified laboratories have to be mentioned. In addition, it is not clear if reprocessors should copy the number of the notified laboratories used by their supplier(s) when a specific performance is not affected by the reprocessing. This will create an unnecessary burden, with no added value. The mention of the number of the notified body should be restricted to the notified product certification body and for notified factory production control certification body. These bodies, generally only one or two, are responsible for the continuing surveillance, assessment and evaluation of factory production control. This point was raised in the consultation process before the publication of the delegated act but it was not taken into account. In any case such information can be found on the relevant technical documentation which is available for to the market surveillance authorities under request. Proposal: The number of the notified bodies for AVCP system 3 should not be required in the DoP. Nothing to report. Nothing to report. Nothing to report.

Standardisation process is a complex process covering consultations at different levels to guarantee transparency. The work of the Technical Committees is not only valuable but required to guarantee the appropriate assessment methodology for construction products. On some occasions the development and publication of standards is blocked by the process and voting rules of CEN. Once the standard is published by CEN the official citation also delays the full application of the standards which causes difficulties to manufacturers, in particular to those who are working with products for which the CE is a new requirement. Proposal: Create better channels of communication between CEN, EC and stakeholders to improve the citation process and update the list more frequently (e.g. at least every three months). According to the opinion of Construction Products Europe, the methodology described on Annex II has a reasonable logic and is supported. The only element we would recommend to see on a future revision is to make sure that applicant(s) (manufacturer(s) or manufacturers association(s)) of the new European Assessment Document would have the opportunity to comment and provide their written agreement with the provisions that are included on such a future harmonised technical specification. Construction Products Europe would like however to acknowledge that so far the relation between manufacturers and Technical Assessment Bodies is satisfactory. The concern is expressed because Annex II is quite detailed and such a procedure is not foreseen. The involvement and commitment of the applicant(s) would support the European harmonisation and thus fair competition in a common market. The involvement applicant(s) or ETA owner(s) should also apply for the transition of former ETAGs to future EADs. [Transition from EOTA to CEN] Nothing to report. Nothing to report. The obligation to revise the mandate or to ask for a delegated act when establishing classes is exaggerated. Many classes are only convenience classes. Moreover, through the public enquiry and the formal vote procedure, every country would have already a chance to oppose to the proposed classes. This procedure should be limited to special cases, when a clear opposition appears during the enquiry, for instance, or for specific basic works requirements.

Proposal: Classes should not be subject to modification of the mandates / delegated acts while they only classify the performance in groups. When the producer is using tabulated or conventional values from the standard, a notified body should not be involved. The aim of such tabulated values is to reduce the burden and the cost of the assessment. For calculated values, it should also be clear that the notified body has a role restricted to the assessment of the calculation software, instead of the verification of each single calculation, which is not realistic for many types of daily calculations. Nothing to report. Nothing to report. 4.14.1 Article 36 situations According to our experience the development of Appropriate Technical Documentation is not necessary when declaring a tabulated value based on the Commission CWT/CWFT decision (article 36(1)). The main reason is the lack of content of this document which would only include a reference to the legal act. Proposal: Allow the inclusion of this information (quotation of the commission decision and OJEU) in the DoP under the corresponding heading. 4.14.2 Treatment of micro-enterprises (Article 37; cf. also Article 2(15)) There is no experience to provide any feedback about the use of this article. 4.14.3 Individually manufactured products (Article 38; cf. also Article 2(15)) There is no experience to provide any feedback about the use of this article. Nothing to report. Construction Products Europe requests information related to the Market Surveillance Authorities in all the Member States. Such information should contain contact details and reference to the national regulation dealing with Market Surveillance, The complaint

procedure and penalties would be also important information to be distributed at European level in English. About the Market Surveillance and Product Safety Package our members agree that instructions and safety information should be provided only according to the CPR, CPR already covers the surveillance of products according to different AVCP systems and some of them require third party verification. Construction Products Europe members do not agree on any common position on mandatory origin marking for construction materials. The information about the national provisions in relation to the market surveillance package should be accessible through the National Product Contact Points. According to the first experiences with the delegated acts proposed by the European Commission, the legal process is too rigid and slow for the industry. Proposal: Keep a pragmatic approach to delegated acts. Example: Submitting acts including different product families could be a solution (example: develop a delegated act for the CWT/CWFT of release to ground water / emission to water or indoor of dangerous substances for those product families which are under discussion). Nothing to report.

Based on the information provided concerning the items listed above, to which extent the implementation of the CPR has served the following purposes: consolidation of the internal market for construction products, clarification, simplification and credibility of the legal framework? This question only can be replied after a period of at least 5 years of implementation.

Other market operators (e.g. insurance companies) are introducing de facto barriers to trade, through the inclusion of references to national marking for attesting conformity, which are considered as the trusted quality marks for this particular operator, and become conditio sine qua non in the market. The ELIOS 2 project has, for example, compiled the experience of insurance companies: http://signsdirectory.elios-ec.eu/signs National authorities should avoid requirements coming from national marks in conflict with Construction Product Regulation requirements (Basic Requirement of Construction Works). The construction products industry is used to dealing with national marks, in principle the existence of this kind of quality assessment is not a problem, but when Member States request compliance with national marks to place or use products in the National market they are de facto barriers to trade. The European Commission should analyse case by case if the national requirements can be considered necessary to ensure the protection of health, the environment and workers when using construction products or likewise if they are technical barriers to trade blocking the free movement of goods in the internal market.

Example: Action brought on 27 February 2013 - European Commission vs Federal Republic of Germany (Case C-100/13) The European Commission claims that the Court should declare that, in so far as the German authorities use the construction products lists to demand additional approvals for effective market access and the use of construction products, instead of incorporating the required assessment methods and criteria within the framework of the harmonised European standards, the defendant has failed to fulfil its obligations under Council Directive 89/106/EEC of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to construction products, and, in particular, under Article 4(2) and Article 6(1) thereof Pleas in law and main arguments The defendant has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 4 and 6 of Directive 89/106/EEC. The use of construction products lists has the result that additional, prior approvals are demanded for effective market access and the use of construction products. Many cases do not concern possible requirements with regard to new characteristics. Rather, requirements which were already established before harmonisation, and which could have and should have been covered by incorporation of the required assessment methods and criteria within the harmonised framework, are adhered to. Example: Arrêté du 24 décembre 2012 modifiant l arrêté du 27 juin 2006 fixant les modalités de demande de l aide à la sécurité des débits de tabac et définissant les matériels de sécurité ouvrant droit au bénéfice de ladite aide [NOR : BUDD1241964A] [ ] "3rd The burglar windows with a minimum strength class P6B according to NF EN 356: 2000, as defined in Table 4 of the standard NF EN 356 ; [ ] Products referred in points from 1st to 4th must be certified by a certification body accredited for the intended use by the French Accreditation Committee (COFRAC). Certification can also be issued by other member of the European Cooperation for Accreditation (EA) which has an agreement of mutual recognition in the context of European coordination bodies accreditation". [ ]

As we strive towards more sustainable products, the first essential step is to have a single, clear definition of the meaning of sustainable use of natural resources. Another important point is that the assessment should cover the whole life cycle of the final product i. e. the construction, from the production phase of the building materials to end of life, and the use phase as well. The calculation of the environmental performance of construction products as part of the overall building performance has been subject to extensive standardisation work in CEN/TC350, mandated by the European Commission in 2004. The standards under this framework provide clear guidance when dealing with calculation methods, indicators and reports. This framework should therefore be considered as the best existing source of information by public authorities. Above all, Construction Products Europe considers it essential to have a single methodology to assess the environmental performance of construction products and construction works. As a cyclical industry, the construction industry requires long-term investments and therefore long-term strategy and regulatory predictability. Resource efficiency is one of the pillars of the Europe 2020 strategy which is the EU's growth strategy for the coming decade. That is why many initiatives have been taken up by the EC on this matter. In addition to the Construction Products Regulation: The Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC 3 ; The Ecolabel Regulation (EC) 66/2010 4 ; The EU Procurement Directives 2004/18/EC 5 and 2004/17/EC 6 (currently under revision) and in particular the part on Green Public Procurement; The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU 7 ; The Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27/EU 8 ; The Roadmap to a resource efficient Europe COM(2011) 571 9, which sees the construction sector as one of the three targets to reach a resource-efficient Europe in the long-term; The soil, water, and waste policies and their possible review; The Communication on "Building the Single Market for Green Products COM/2013/0196 10 ; 3 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/lexuriserv/lexuriserv.do?uri=oj:l:2005:191:0029:0058:en:pdf 4 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/lexuriserv/lexuriserv.do?uri=oj:l:2010:027:0001:0019:en:pdf 5 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/lexuriserv/lexuriserv.do?uri=oj:l:2004:134:0114:0240:en:pdf 6 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/lexuriserv/lexuriserv.do?uri=oj:l:2004:134:0001:0113:en:pdf 7 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/lexuriserv/lexuriserv.do?uri=oj:l:2010:153:0013:0035:en:pdf 8 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/lexuriserv/lexuriserv.do?uri=oj:l:2012:315:0001:0056:en:pdf 9 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/resource_efficiency/pdf/com2011_571.pdf 10 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/lexuriserv/lexuriserv.do?uri=com:2013:0196:fin:en:pdf

The EC 2020 Strategy to re-launch the competitiveness of the construction sector COM(2012) 433 11 ; Communication "Resource efficiency opportunities in the building sector" COM(2014) 445 12. For years now, the European construction products industry has committed itself to increasing the resource efficiency of its products and processes. Construction Products Europe recommends the use of a single methodology to assess the sustainable use of natural resources or in other words the environmental performance of the construction products. The industry supports the work developed by TC 350, in particular the standard EN 15804 13 which is currently being used in a voluntary way to provide this information to customers. In case the European Commission decides to establish a requirement to provide environmental information of the Construction Products, we support the use of TC 350 methodology under a life cycle approach. Any other proposal or initiative dealing with this important topic should be consistent to the TC 350 approach as the standards are frequently revised to take into account the state of the art of sustainability assessments. Life cycle assessment of buildings according to the modular approach used in CEN/TC 350 standards 11 http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/_getdocument.cfm?doc_id=7618 12 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/pdf/sustainablebuildingscommunication.pdf 13 EN 15804: Sustainability of construction works - Environmental product declarations - Core rules for the product category of construction products.

Proposal: Support the existing methodology (TC 350) and focus all the environmental initiatives dealing with construction products to be consistent with BRCW 3 and 7 as well as the assessments already in place. Construction products manufacturers are concerned about the possible creation of a secondary route to CE marking. Construction products fall under the Construction Products Regulation (CPR), which means that the procedure to grant CE marking is well established and requires the declaration of the so-called essential characteristics. Therefore, the implementation of both the CPR and Ecodesign on the same product could lead to two parallel routes to CE marking. This needs to be avoided so that the CE marking on construction products is not weakened and the illegal placement of products on the market does not occur. CE marking of construction products according to the CPR and the Ecodesign Directive The upcoming development of the declaration of essential characteristics under the Basic Requirement 3 Hygiene, health and the environment and 7 Sustainable use of natural resources of the CPR, is meant to provide the same environmental information as the Ecodesign Directive. To ensure policy coherence, we strongly recommend that the wellestablished CPD/CPR route be used to declare environmental performance parameters and set threshold levels according to the CPR article 3.3(6) unless there is clear evidence that Ecodesign route is required to improve the sustainability of the built environment. In the latter case, legislative processes must be consistent and coordinated.

We consider it essential to have a single methodology to assess the environmental performance of construction products and construction works. Therefore, we believe that in our drive towards efficiency, the best approach shall be to use CEN/TC350 methodology to improve the building performance. Proposal: Coordinate the actions at European Commission level to guarantee consistency in the application of the Construction Products Regulation and the Ecodesign Directive and avoid the establishment of two set of requirements for construction products dealing with the same requirements (environmental performance).