Parliament and Council agree on new rules to regulate the construction products sector

New rules speed up and modify European standardisation system to make it easier for manufacturers to put their products on the market.

Public authorities can use sustainability as one of the public procurement criteria for construction works.

Regulation paves the way for wider reuse and remanufacture of construction products.

Digital product passport will make the sector more digitalised and sustainable.

Parliament and Council reached an agreement on the new construction products regulation that will speed up publication of standards and boost sustainability and digitalisation in the sector.

European Union already has a Construction Products Regulation in force since 2011. It regulates the marketing of hundreds of products such as thermal insulation foams, wood-based panels and waterproofing sheets. However, its implementation has been difficult and challenging, so on 30 March 2022 the European Commission initiated the review of the current rules to address shortcomings, simplify legal framework and support green and digital transition in the sector. Today, Parliament and member states agreed on the final details of how this will be done.

Standardisation

Most importantly, the new provisionally agreed rules will give a boost to the standardisation system that has been blocked for years. Whereas construction products can be placed on the market without EU level standards (via the so-called EOTA route), the existence of standards makes marketing these products much faster and cheaper. Therefore, to the considerable benefit of manufacturers, the new rules make sure standards will be published faster in the future. This in turn will help innovative products find their way to the EU market quicker and at a lower cost to the manufacturers.

Stimulating sustainability

The updated law also addresses several sustainability issues in the sector to help Europe achieve its green goals. Importantly, the new rules foresee an opportunity for public authorities to use sustainability as one of the criteria for construction works in public procurement. The regulation also specifically covers reused and remanufactured products, thus supporting wider uptake of reused construction materials. Additionally, the annex of the new regulation lists a number of environmental requirements that manufacturers must mention in the declaration of performance and conformity in the future.

Digitalisation of the sector

New rules also present a milestone for the digitalisation of the construction industry. In the future, product information should be provided digitally using the so-called Digital Product Passport. This can be made available directly on the smartphone on the construction site for example, meaning that the content of the CE marking can be reduced to the essentials, as the additional information can be called up at any time in a user-friendly way.

Quote

After the vote, rapporteur Christian Doleschal (EPP, DE) said: “We agreed today on one of the key pieces of legislation for the construction sector. This comprehensive set of new rules will make sure standards for construction products will be published faster so that manufacturers can put their innovative products on the European market as quickly as possible. In addition, all product information, including their environmentally relevant properties, will be available in one place to stimulate sustainability in the construction sector. Also, today’s agreement is a milestone for the digitalisation of the construction industry. I am glad that our very ambitious parliamentary position has prevailed here!”

Next steps

The provisional deal agreed today will now have to be endorsed by the Parliament’s plenary as well as the Council. After that, it will be published in the Official Journal and it will become a binding and directly applicable law for member states.

Background

European Commission presented the proposal for a new regulation in the framework of the first circular economy package on 30 March 2022, along with the proposals on ecodesign, empowering consumers and sustainable and circular textiles. These initiatives complement each other and work hand in hand to make sustainable products the norm in the EU.