8 January 2015, 00:00
A milestone has been reached regarding mutual cross-border recognition of EPDs in Europe.
The ECO Platform, umbrella organisation comprising various (national) EPD programme operators in Europe, has come closer to mutual cross-border recognition of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) in Europe. The ECO Platform promotes the creation of a European Core EPD system according to the European standard EN 15804. During its first official annual conference on 16 October 2014 in Brussels, the launch of a new EPD logo was announced. The various programme operators commit themselves to specific minimum requirements with regard to quality management and the verification process. The new logo visualises these commitments. EPDs issued with the ECO Platform EPD trademark and logo guarantee the best possible standardised comparability of construction products in Europe. The previously agreed specific minimum requirements including quality management and the verification process, which participating EPD programme operators of the ECO platform are committed to, describe the basic requirements for a future, mutual cross- border recognition of EPDs in Europe. Currently, the ECO Platform participants are working on possible approaches, which should be available at the end of this year.
In the course of announcing the introduction of the new EPD logo The first “ECO-EPDs“ were already awarded to declaration owners of the various programmes – among them several members of Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V.: German Aluminium Association (GDA), European Association for Panels and Profiles, Knauf Insulation, Uzin Utz, Vector Foiltec, Rheinzink, Deutsche Rockwool, as well as EPPA – the European PVC Window Profile and Related Building Products Association and German Quality Association of Plastic Products (QKE).
The initiative to found the ECO Platform and to create the basis for mutual recognition across borders is very well received by the industry, since it fosters efforts to reduce trade barriers regarding product related environmental communication. Founding members of the ECO Platform were the Institut Bauen und Umwelt as a programme operator in Germany and also the European construction material association “Construction Products Europe”.
Source: Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V.