Sustainability requirements for construction products in the EU taxonomy
All questions about EU taxonomy compliance answered at a glance.
The proca EU Taxonomy Declaration provides all stakeholders involved in construction with astatement on how a product contributes to achieving EU Taxonomy buildingcertification.
A simple,structured and BIM-compatible representation of the required product datacreates clear orientation and planning security.
With proca you canensure that your products meet all relevant requirements. This saves time,creates credibility and enables a transparent presentation of productproperties.
This is allpossible thanks to our 100% intelligent and automated service.
versions ofthe EU taxonomy
Since January 2022,some aspects of the EU Taxonomy Regulation (from June 2020) have already beenin force, including both targets to reduce the environmental impact of theconstruction sector and concrete criteria for sustainable industrialactivities. A total of six sustainability goals have been formulated toincrease the sustainability of the industry: climate protection, adaptation toclimate change, sustainable use of water resources, transition to a circulareconomy, prevention of pollution and protection of ecosystems and biodiversity. Construction projects and existing buildings in the areas of new construction,renovation, and acquisition and ownership can be certified or verified as EUtaxonomy-compliant. Three possible main goals have been defined for theconstruction sector: climate protection, climate change adaptation and circulareconomy. For the main goal, a significant contribution must be made throughdefined criteria. For the remaining five environmental goals, DNSH criteriamust be met. These DNSH criteria (Do-No-Significant-Harm, abbreviated DNSH)follow the principle that measures and activities must contribute to therespective environmental objective without running counter to the otherenvironmental objectives. Furthermore, minimum protective measures must beobserved in every economic activity.
In principle, manyof the points contained in the EU taxonomy are also part of the DGNBcertification. This means that if a DGNB certification is to be carried out, anadditional EU taxonomy verification only requires a relatively small amount ofeffort in terms of the evidence for the individual criteria, since a large partof the required data is already available through the DGNB assessment.
EU taxonomy criteriarelating to construction products
The following criteria set specific requirements for individual products and are therefore particularly important for construction product manufacturers:
DNSH environmental pollution criterion
Within thesecriteria, the focus is on assessing the material health of the products,particularly with regard to emissions. This results in specific emission limitsfor individual product groups. The focus is primarily on formaldehyde andproven carcinogenic (VOC 1A) and probably carcinogenic (VOC 1B) VOC emissions.As a rule of thumb, products that want to be considered EU taxonomy-compliantmust meet the same requirements that are necessary to achieve quality level 4/4according to DGNB version 2023 within the framework of the DGNB's ENV 1.2 criterion.
The criteria of the EU taxonomy are to assess the SVHC content of a product. If SVHC values above 0.1% by mass are found, documentation with the exact concentration must besubmitted. If the product does not contain any SVHC, this can be proven eitherby appropriate documentation (manufacturer's declaration or safety data sheet)in which the SVHC content is stated as less than 0.1%. The same requirementcurrently applies to construction projects that aim to receive the QNG (Sustainable Building Quality Seal) in connection with the KFN (Climate-Friendly New Building) funding.
The CMR content of products is also assessed. This includes H340, H340i, H350, H350i, H360, and H360i. If the mass fraction of these substances is higher than 0.1%, documentation must be provided with the exact percentage.
In EPEA's proca declarations, the EU Taxonomy criterion DNSH pollution is presented with aresult of "compliant" or "non-compliant". Products for which no requirements in this criterion apply are presented with "no requirement".
DNSH water criterion
Within this criterion, the evaluation focuses on determining the efficiency of water use in the building itself. This includes, for example, the water flow rate of certain products that are installed and used in a building (such as showers or faucets). These efficiencies are assessed within proca. In accordance with the DNSH criteria for environmental pollution, there are similar requirements for products whose water efficiency has been assessed in accordance with the DGNB criteria ENV 2.2.
In EPEA's PROCA declarations, the EU taxonomy criterion DNSH water is rated as “compliant” or “not compliant.” Products that do not have requirements in this criterion are marked as “no requirement.”
Other EU taxonomy criteria
In addition to the criteria mentioned above, there are a number of criteria on which construction products have an indirect influence. However, as there are no specific product quality requirements, these criteria are not addressed in the PROCA declarations.
DNSH Circular Economy Criterion
Within this criterion, the circulatory capacity of the building should be assessed, including whether demolition waste can be recycled or reused. For this purpose, individual products that are themselves designed to be recyclable and can be recycled or reused at the end of the life of the building can contribute to an overall rating. However, as there are no requirements at product-specific level, this criterion is not assessed in the PROCA statements.
