Ecolabel revision

Plans to step up use of the EU “flower” Ecolabel, widen eco-design rules to include products not consuming energy and simplify the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMASⁱ) scheme were also backed by MEPs in the Environment Committee.  Construction products remain under the scope of the Regulation.

It is CEMBUREAU’s view that complex systems like buildings cannot be assessed with a single indicator. For the same reason, assessment of a single construction product without knowledge of its detailed use and installation, leads to a distortion of the facts. Applying ecolabels to individual building products or components does not enable the specifier to use the data needed to assess the building as a whole, since the ecolabel is a simple pass/fail “stamped approval”. The use of an ecolabeled component cannot, on its own, guarantee that the product as a whole will be environmentally friendly.