EU Council boosts clean construction industry standards

Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The European Council adopted a law for clean and smart construction products, supporting sustainability, digital innovation, and circular economy goals.

The EU Council adopted the Construction Products Regulation (CPR), which coordinates the EU regulations for the marketing of those products, promotes their free movement in the single market, facilitates administrative burdens and enables the circular economy and technological development in that sector.

What is the EU construction products regulation?

As reported by the EU Council, the CPR revises the existing EU rules that scope provides an opportunity to adapt standardisation to the latest technical developments, provides more useful information to consumers with the design of product digital passports and facilitates green choices. The new regulation enables the adoption of new standards and authorises the Commission to adopt common specifications under specific conditions when the usual standardisation route is barred. It also provides for the growth of a digital passport system for construction goods.

Also, the regulation adopted revises the definition of ‘construction product’. The CPR forms the responsibilities of manufacturers, importers and other economic operators and supports market surveillance and consumer protection. 

Why is the construction sector critical to the EU economy?

The EU’s construction ecosystem represents nearly 5.5% of the EU’s GDP and operates around 25 million people in over 5 million firms. The construction products industry includes 430,000 companies in the EU, with a total turnover of €800 billion. These are mostly small and medium‑sized businesses. They are a fundamental economic and social investment for local communities in European regions and cities.

According to statistics, buildings are responsible for about 50% of resource extraction and consumption and more than 30% of the EU’s total trash each year. In addition, buildings are liable for 40% of the EU’s energy consumption and 36% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. 

How does the CPR address energy and resource efficiency?

The new law on construction products revises the existing legislation in this field, which dates from 2011. The modification of the construction products regulation is part of the package of steps that the Commission presented on 30 March 2022, together with the ecodesign principles and the EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles. These efforts are part of the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan.