ARGE prioritising sustainability through the development of environment products declarations
The topic of sustainability was addressed at the 2011 Annual Conference in Dusseldorf and members were in full agreement that this matter deserves ARGE’s full attention. Working Group C has brought together leading members of the industry to develop and agree a method to measure the energy used and environmental impact of LOCKS AND BUILDERS HARDWARE MANUFACURING.
From the 1st July 2013 producers of building materials will be required by law in all EEC Countries to comply with the Construction Products Regulation. This will include Basic requirements of Works in safety in use and sustainable use of natural resources. This requirement will need appropriate national legal endorsement in a country before it applies to that country.
One element of these regulations that affects ARGE members is finding an appropriate classification for materials used to make locks and building hardware. The agreed solution to this problem is the development of Environmental Products Declarations (EPDs). EPDs will measure the environmental performance of building materials and it is ARGE’s main objective to make the understanding of the EPDs comprehensive, informative and neutral.
The appropriate Life Ciycle Assessment of the EPDS for Locks and Builders Hardware products should regard the product stage, including the transport to the customer, and the end of life stage including recycling. The use stage is not necessarily important for our products because of minor maintenance.
ARGE is working with other European Institutions to form a consistent and comparable measure of EPDs. Together we aim to create European Core EPDs based on EN15804. European member states will be permitted to make amendments to the European Core EPDs, however, it they should remain comparable to enable comparisons.
The 2012 ARGE Conference is to be held on Tallink Silja Ferry travelling from Helsinki to Stockholm returning to Helsinki from 13 -15 September. This will provide an opportunity to learn and discuss the implementation and requirements of the Constructions Products Regulation, sustainability and offer industries EDPs solutions. Other topics will be discussed and speakers will be announced in due course.
The ARGE annual conference is a great networking opportunity with manufacturers from over 15 countries attending. The heads of many national associations of lock and hardware manufacturers come together to guide decisions that affect the large to small enterprises. The UK representative will be has been represented at these meetings by the former ARGE President David Whitworth who this year is a member of Working Group C. It is very important to ARGE that we can represent all our members’ interests and the best opportunity for our members to bring in their ideas and attend the Conference where important decisions are made which enrich the lock and hardware industry.
More information regarding invitations, registration conditions and the official program will be available from the website www.arge.org before Easter. We welcome new attendees and wish to inform you that partners are welcome