Environmental Information on Construction Products (EICP)

1
Environmental Information on Construction
Products (EICP)
Council of European Producers of Materials for
Construction Conseil Européen des Producteurs de
Matériaux de Construction Vereinigung
Europäischer Baustoffhersteller
CEPMC

• Philip Bennett
• CEPMC

UNICE/Eco-Label Information Day, 24 June 2002
CEPMC
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EICP

• - What is it?
• - What are the benefits?
• - Latest developments
• - Challenges ahead

UNICE/Eco-Label Information Day, 24 June 2002
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What is EICP?

• EICP is a voluntary, industry-based initiative
  for providing transparent, accurate and reliable
  environmental information on construction products

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EICP in Sustainable Construction
- Quality - Costs - Standards - Etc...
- Specifiers - Architects - Local authorities -
etc...
Whole Life Costing
EICP
Environmental assessment of buildings
Other environmental information
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Characteristics of EICP

• Scheme-based
• LCA-based (LCI on all the phases of the life
  cycle)
• using ISO 14040 principles
• Quantified environmental data
• Pre-set categories of parameters
• Quality assurance (usually, critical review)

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The main EICP actors in Europe

• National Scheme LCI/LCIA
  Producers scheme
  organiser/promoter operator
  involved to date
• UK Env. Profiles BRE - Building
  BRE on a 26 sectors
• http//collaborate.bre.co. Research
  Establishment sector basis
• uk/envprofiles/
• France Communication of AIMCC - French
  Constr. Ecobilan (PwC) 8 sectors
• Env. Characteristics Products
  Association on a sector basis
• of Building Prods
• Germany Building Materials IKP-Stuttgart
  Univ. commissioned around 25
• Profiles by sector
  sectors
• Nether- MRPI-Env. Relevant NVTB-Dutch
  Constr. commissioned 14 sectors
• lands Product Information Products
  Association by company
• www.mrpi.nl/engels.html

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The main EICP actors in Europe

• National Scheme
  LCI/LCIA Producers Scheme
  organiser/promoter Operator involved
  to date
• Sweden Building Products BYKR-Ecocycle
  Council commissioned 700 products
• Declarations for Building Sector
  by company
• EPD EMAS Council commissioned
• by sector
• Denmark EPDs for Building SBI-Danish
  Building SBI 40 sectors
• Product (MVDB) Urban Research
• Norway Env. Declaration NBI-Norwegian
  Buil- NBI
• of Building Prods ding Research
  Institute
• Finland Env. Declaration RTS-Finnish
  Building VTT- Building 50 sectors
• of Building Prods Information
  Institute and Transport

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Examples of software models for the environmental
assessment of buildings and components

• Country Model
  Model owner Further
  Information
• UK Envest (New Env. BRE
  www.bre-co.uk/sustainable/
• Impact Estimating envest.html
• Software)
• France Escale CSTB
  www.cstb.fr
• Germany Build-It IKP -
  Stuttgart kreissig_at_ikp2.uni-stuttgart.de
  University
• Nether- Eco-Quantum IVAM, W/E,
  Prisman www.w-e.nl.eqdemo.htm
• lands

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Examples of software models for the environmental
assessment of buildings and components

• Country Model Model owner
  Further Information
• Sweden Eco-effect KTH
  Infrastructure glaumann_at_arch.kth.se
• Planning
• Denmark Beat 2000 (Building SBI
  www.by-og-byg.dk/english/
• Env. Assessment Tool)
  research/environmental-impacts
• from-buildings/index.htm
• Norway Ecoprofile
  NBI www.byggforsk.no/oekoprofil/
• default.htm
• Finland LCA House VTT
  www.vtt.fi/rte/esitteet/ymparisto/
• lcahouse.html

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What are the benefits of EICP?

• EU policies for sustainable development and
  integrated product policy (IPP)
• Major benefits for construction
• Level playing-field for suppliers
• Alternative to eco-labelling which is unsuitable
  for B2B construction products
• Alternative to preference lists (which are
  based on varying and questionable methodology)
• Greening of public procurement
• Improvement of sector image

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Sustainable Development and IPP

• Working Group on Sustainable Construction - Sept
  2000(Tripartite Group EC, Member States,
  Industry)LCI-based environmental data schemes
  should become general practice for the
  construction products industry.
• EC Communication on the sixth environment action
  programme of the European Community - 24 January
  2001
• Member States and companies should aim at
  introducing product information schemes for all
  types of products in the years to come and the
  Commission will encourage this under its
  Integrated Product Policy approach.

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Sustainable Development and IPP

• EC Green Paper on Integrated Product Policy - 7
  February 2001
• The general philosophy of increasing the amount
  of product information on the market calls for
  flexible and cost-effective solutions. For
  example, the criteria of environmental
  performance developed for product groups, based
  on a transparent examination of life cycle
  considerations, could be more extensively used.
• EU Council Conclusions on the EC Green Paper on
  IPP - 7-8 June 2001
• The Council calls upon the Commission to
  Present a coherent strategy to ensure that
  credible life cycle data and other reliable
  environmental information related to products are
  disseminated through the product chain. It should
  cover improvements in the elaboration of life
  cycle databases and other relevant
  business-to-business information (e.g. ISO Type
  III)

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Major benefits for construction

• EICP provides transparent, accurate and reliable
  information for
• the optimal eco-design of new products
• the improvement of existing products
• assisting architects, specifiers, contractors,
  purchasers in their choice of products (for a
  specific application) and in the eco-efficient
  and safe design, use and maintenance of
  construction works
• assisting contractors and recycling companies in
  the environmentally-friendly recovery (or safe
  disposal) of waste materials from end-of-life
  construction works

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Level playing field for suppliers

• Within a single (national) scheme there is a
  recognised, uniform methodology and presentation
  format for all construction products
• Most national schemes are based on ISO TR 14025,
  Type III Environment Declarations - Guiding
  Principles and Procedures

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EICP vs Eco-labels
Env. Declarations e.g. EICP schemes
Eco-Labels e.g. Blue Angel (D) Nordic Swan

• Type III (ISO TR 14025)
• Available for all products
• No comparison or weighting against other
  products
• Detailed information available for B2B
  purchasers/ specifiers
• Suitable for materials/ products/components to
  be incor-porated into end-use product, e.g.
  building

• Type I (ISO 14024)
• Pass/fail award scheme (with cut-off points set
  on what basis?)
• Suitable for end-consumer requiring quick,
  non-detailed information
• Suitable for end-use products

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EICP vs preference lists

• Increasing incidence of so-called environmental
  experts creating lists of recommended green
  products for use by public authorities
• Industry-generated EICP based on accepted LC
  methodology constitutes a far better alternative

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Greening of public procurement

• EC Communication on Public Procurement and the
  Environment
• eco-labels/EMAS not mandatory but may be used as
  proof of compliance with certain environmental
  requirements
• Further legislation to make eco-labelling and
  EMAS as sole proof of compliance?
• With EICP, eco-labelling is not necessary

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Improvement of Sector Image

• 20 of EU manufacturing output
• 2.5 million jobs (excluding distributive trades)
• 20.000 different consturction products
• consumes 40 of total raw materials
• accounts for 40, by weight, of total waste
  generated (most of which, however, is recovered)

BUT
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Developments in EICP

• Industry
• European Commission
• Standards Bodies

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Developments in EICP Industry

• Industry conference on 16 May 2001 (attended by
  200 people) to review the existing national
  schemes in Europe and to assess their potential
  for harmonisation at a European level.
• higher awareness of EICP as a tool for
  sustainable construction
• agreement that, to avoid higher costs and
  barriers to trade
• (particularly for SMEs), a cross-border
  harmonisation of
• EICP schemes is necessary
• support for international
  standardisation of approach

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Developments in EICP European Commission

• DG Environment Draft Interim Report Evaluation
  of EPD Schemes April 2002 which sees the
  construction sector as a frontrunner
• DG Enterprise Construction Unit. Project with
  consultant PwC comparing national EICP schemes,
  the potential for their harmonisation and their
  potential use for harmonised standards
• Expert Workshop on 20 June 2002

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Developments in EICP Standards Bodies

• NEN (Dutch Standards Body)
• AFNOR (French Standards Body)
• ISO/TC 207/ SC3/WG4 (Environmental management -
  Environmental labelling)
• ISO/TC 59/ SC3/WG12 (Building construction -
  Functional/ user requirements and performance in
  building construction)

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NEN (Dutch Standards Body)

• Draft Standard NEN 7185
• Material-related environmental profile of a
  building
• Description of a method (related to the Dutch
  Building Decree) for determining the
  environmental impact characteristics of
  residential buildings, based on LCA data of
  materials and construction products

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AFNOR (French Standards Body)

• Experimental Standard XP P01010-1
• Environmental quality of construction products -
  Information concerning the environmental
  characteristics of construction products
• Part 1 Methodology and model of data
  declaration - published in April 2001
• Part 2 Common methodology for determining the
  contribution of products to environmental impacts
  of buildings - health and comfort aspects
  included (Based on ISO 14042) - published in
  April 2002

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ISO/TC 207 Environmental Management

• ISO/TC 207/SC3/WG4 Type III Env. Declarations
• TR 14025 standard?
• Does not wish to develop sector-specific
  standards based on TR 14025.
• Will co-operate with ISO/TC 59/SC3/WG12 which is
  taking the lead on a construction sector
  standard.

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ISO/TC 59 Building Construction

• TC/59/SC3/WG12 Sustainable Building Construction
• Working since end 2000 on standard for
  guidelines to promote an objective methodology
  for environmental declaration of building
  materials and products.
• Proposal that WG12 becomes SC19 under AFNOR
  Secretariat.

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Challenges ahead

• With regard to providing environmental
  information, the construction products sector is
  one of the most advanced in Europe.
• However, challenges lie ahead
• Acceptance by both private and public procurement
  purchasers that EICP is more suited to their
  needs than eco-labelling
• EU harmonisation of national EICP schemes
• The use of EICP data in harmonised standards

UNICE/Eco-Label Information Day, 24 June 2002
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