Sustainable consumption & production

The European Commission launched its SCP (Sustainable Consumption & Production) and SIP (Sustainable Industry Policy) Action Plan in July 2008. It includes a series of proposals on sustainable consumption and production that will contribute to improving the environmental performance of products and increase the demand for more sustainable goods and production technologies. It also seeks to encourage EU industry to take advantage of opportunities to innovate.

The package includes:

• The extension of the Ecodesign Directive, which provides rules for setting ecodesign requirements for energy products with the aim of ensuring the free movements of energy-related products within the internal market, taking a life-cycle perspective.
• The revision of the Ecolabel Regulation, which complements the information provided to consumers, as a voluntary label. It will act as a "label of excellence" to signal to consumers those products that perform at such a level when many environmental criteria are considered over the whole life-cycle.
• The Energy Labelling Directive, which is being extended to cover a wider range of products, including energy-using and other energy-related products.
• The revision of the Community eco-management and audit scheme, EMASⁱ, which helps companies to optimise their production processes, reducing environmental impacts and making more effective use of resources. EMAS operates as a voluntary eco-management and audit scheme.

Although, in principle, CEMBUREAU supports the objectives of the package, in particular the aim to improve the overall environmental performance of products and provide information through Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), the Association feels that specific legislation adapted to the construction sector and covering construction products (Construction Products Directive) and buildings (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive) is more appropriate in order to contribute to sustainable construction and achieve EU targets.

CEMBUREAU recommends attention be paid to developing an ‘integrated strategy for sustainable construction’ to complement the progress on Sustainable Consumption and Production and which takes into account the whole life-cycle of the end-use product i.e. the building or construction works.

CEMBUREAU continues to monitor progress on the package and its various components, whilst at the same time working together with other associations, including CEPMC (Council of European Producers of Materials for Construction) and the ECF (European Construction Forum), in order to highlight that, in line with the “Better Regulation” approach of the European Commission, the Ecodesign and Ecolabel Directives should not cover buildings and construction materials as both are already subject to complex legislation which takes into account environmental performance and all eco-design aspects (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and Construction Products Directive – soon to become a regulation).