Construction Products Regulation: European Commission publishes its CPR revision proposal

On Wednesday 30 March, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a revised Construction Products Regulation (CPR), which is set to simplify rules for construction products on the EU market. The proposal was announced as part of the Circular Economy Package, next to a proposal for a Regulation on Eco-design for Sustainable Products and an Eco-design and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2022-2024, all aiming to make all products in the EU market more sustainable.

The CPR revision proposal published yesterday is the outcome of a lengthy process of public consultation ongoing since 2016, in which EBC has been actively expressing the point of view of Construction SMEs. Additionally, EBC in collaboration with Small Business Standards, FIEC and Construction Products Europe has been pushing for an industry-led and standardisation-focused revision option for the CPR, as an alternative to all the scenarios of revision put forward by the EC over the last years.

EBC welcomes the publication of this proposal hoping that it will allow unblocking a process uncertain for many years. As Commissioner Thierry Breton stated, now consulting the relevant actors of the construction ecosystem will be key for this process. Indeed, the construction ecosystem is a key actor in the green and digital transition of the European economy.

As a first overview of yesterday’s announcements, the new CPR proposal introduces sustainability elements as an integral part of product requirements for construction products. Moreover, the willingness to tackle certain deficiencies of the current framework, to simplify through digitalisation administrative procedures and to ensure an organised and efficient standardisation system seem to be core in the proposal. More specifically:

• EBC welcomes the greater inclusion of sustainability elements as the construction sector is a key actor for the green and digital transition of the European economy, as long as the administrative burden is reduced to a minimum.
• EBC is supportive of the approach to simplify administrative procedures through digitalisation, and will closely examine the proposal of a Digital Products passport and the considerations on Green Public Procurement to avoid new red tape and limitations for SMEs.
• On the other side, EBC is worried of a too broadened role for the European Commission in the standardisation system. This strengthening of the potential role of the EC should be limited to specific cases only and as a last resort, and not become the rule. We will also study the details.

EBC, as all construction and standardisation stakeholders, will need time to analyse all the details of a highly technical piece of legislation, which has nevertheless the merit to launch a new round of debates based on a concrete approach. EBC will assess to what extent the messages, recommendations and requests from the construction industry on the CPR and on circular economy, and especially from construction SMEs and crafts, were taken into consideration.

To consult the EC revision proposal for the CPR, click here.

To consul the EC factsheet on the revised CPR, click here

To read the EBC position paper on the CPR revision process (2018), click here

To read the EBC position paper on the Circular Economy Action Plan (2020), click here

To consult the joint discussion paper on the CPR revision by EBC, SBS, FIEC and CPE (2020), click here