How has CPR affected you?

It’s been little over a month since the new Construction Products Regulation came into force, so how has this changed business for you?

Hopefully, you were prepared for the changes and the subsequent impacts of this legislative action. But remember this is just the start of a steady transition to more Pan European standards, as well as more compulsory standards for sustainability.

The new Construction Products Regulation requires products to be accompanied by a declaration of performance, as well as a CE mark. Until now this has been voluntary in the UK.

Replacing the Construction Products Directive, the new regulation provides details on the performance of a product, as well as safety guides, instructions, handling and storage information, with the aim to create consistent performance information across Europe.

This will obviously have an impact on manufacturers not already using CE marks on their products, as well as architects and specifiers, who will ultimately still be responsible for ensuring the correct product is used, as the new regulation does not provide recommendations on the suitability of a product for a particular job.

However, for the majority of manufacturers already using a CE mark, I suspect they will have noticed little change.

But, what about the wider implications that are not instantly apparent? Are you prepared for these changes?

The introduction of the CPR this July will require all construction works to be designed, built and demolished in such a way that the use of natural resources is sustainable and it may require Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to assess a product’s environmental impact.

To measure a product’s life cycle impact, life cycle assessments (LCA) known as EPDs will increasingly be required by end users, construction professionals and governments alike. The advent of Building Information Modeling (BIM) is also expected to include EPDs as an essential element.

It is therefore crucial that companies continue to plan for the future and the next stage of changes, which are likely to be bourn out of the introduction of the CPR.

ARGE continues to work with its experts to create generic EPDs for hardware products, which will help its members to remain competitive and make the most of lucrative commercial contracts.

Are you prepared for these changes? Would you like to know more about EPDs? Please leave a comment below.

You can find out more about the ARGE and the delivery of the important EPDs, by attending the annual conference in September.