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Perspectives on EPD and PEF

Aitor Aragón Coordinator of Ecolabelling and Sustainable Construction

EPD International Stakeholder Conference – Milan, November 29th 2016

AENOR

• The Spanish Association for Standardisation and Certification is a private non-profit organisation founded in 1986

• Through the development of technical standards and certification, AENOR helps to improve the quality and competitiveness of companies and their products and services

AENOR

• AENOR is the leading organization for certification and verification in Spain

– More than 20.000 certificates in force for management systems

– More than 100.000 products with in force certificates

• AENOR Internacional is present in Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Panama, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Portugal, Italy, Morocco, Poland and Bulgaria

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Communication Environmental

Passport

Access to markets

Private requirements

Verification AENOR

Confidence

Recognition

Public requirements

• AENOR is the Programme Operator and the Verifier according to ISO 14025

• Strategic pillars:

– Involvement of the industrial sectors

– Integration with other certifications

– International approach

International EPD System

Bilateral agreement signed in February 2015

Signature of the MoU between AENOR and International EPD in Madrid

December 2013

PCR published by AENOR:

– Steel

– Ceramic coverings

– Cement

– Gypsum products

– Mortar

– ETICS (external thermal insulation composite system)

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AENOR gives prevalence to standards (…). Thus, UNE Spanish standards or EN European standards for PCR shall have prevalence over any other PCR

[General Instruction of the GlobalEPD Programme rev. 2. February 2016]

Spanish Building Code (CTE)

• The Spanish Building Code (Código Técnico de la Edificación, CTE) is the normative framework for buildings in Spain covering the basic requirements for safety and habitability established in the Building Act (LOE)

• It has a voluntary Registry for documents and certifications

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General Registry of the CTE Bilateral mutual recognition

• Mutual recognition both logos in the EPD + registration in both websites

– AENOR

– International EPD System

– Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V (IBU)

Bilateral recognition with AENOR

MoU with AENOR

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Single Market for Green Products

Some considerations regarging PEF

↑The commitment of EC with LCA to declare the environmental performance is an Opportunity

↑Common EU product category rules

↑Common methodology for different sectors

↓EN 15804 and PEF rules have important divergences

The construction PEF pilot (thermal insulation) faced important problems

↓Verification in PEF is not yet clear

PEF for intermediate products

• The B2C approach:

will be very helpful for consumer goods; but

can have technical difficulties for intermediate products

• Many construction products and materials can be considered as intermediate products the performance is based on its function when integrated in the building asset

PEF and EN 15804

• Revision of the Mandate from the European Commission to CEN to align the standards from TC 350 with the PEF methodology

PEF

EN 15804

PEFCR

CEN PCR

B2B

B2C

Adapted

EN 15804 for B2B

B2C?

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CEN/TC 350 actions

• 3 weeks ago CEN/TC 350 met in Berlin

• The future revision of the standards to align the methodology with PEF were on the table:

– Revision of EN 15804 according to the requirements from the Commission

– Benchmarking in a B2C standard

– EN 15978 (buildings) revision consistency with rev. EN 15804 + new impact categories

Future EN 15804

1. Align functional unit definition with PEF (how much, how long and how well)

2. Develop a formula for end of life (C modules and module D) consistent with the PEF terminology

3. Data quality requirements

Tentative deadline : 19 months after the approval of the Mandate

Challenges for B2C

• Aggregation of modules A1-A4:

A1-A3 are based on primary data from the manufacturer accurate results

For some products, manufacturers can have reliable data of A4 & A5

Stages B (use) and C (end of life) are based on scenarios for the future (50 to 100 years)

• Can we add real primary data (verifiable in situ) with a prediction for more than 50 years?

Challenges for B2C

• Benchmarking

– Rules for benchmarking

– Rules for the definition of representative products based on default scenarios

• High differences for construction products:

– local conditions (weather, tradition, etc.)

– construction products can be used for different functions in the same building

– some materials are integrated into other construction products

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Conclusions

1. EPD provide reliable environmental information, based on European and International standards, to be used in private and public procurement

2. AENOR and International EPD are partners in the verification of environmental performance information, helping industry in their environmental communication

Conclusions

3. PEF will help the dissemination of LCA-based communication alignment, when possible cooperation with DG ENV

4. PEF should take advantage of the experience gathered in thousands of verified EPD in the construction sector in Europe

5. The review of TC 350 standards opens the possibility of collaboration to fully align PEF for construction products and EN 15804

Aitor Aragón Basabe

aaragon@aenor.es