Establishment of EPD Programme in Latvia:

case of construction industry

Ilze Garda

Master in Industrial Ecology Submission date: August 2012 Supervisor: Annik Magerholm Fet, IT

Norwegian University of Science and Technology Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management

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Preface
This study is a master thesis conducted during the last semester in the Master of Science Industrial Ecology Programme at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim Norway! The thesis is written in "#$" at the %e&artment of Industrial Economics and Technology Management under the su&ervision of the &rofessor 'nni( Magerholm )et! The o*+ective of this thesis was to investigate the feasi*ility of the esta*lishment of an EP% &rogramme in ,atvia *y a&&lying the (nowledge and s(ills gained during my studies at the NTNU and suggest a solution for an national EP% &rogramme that com&lies with the current re-uirements and &ractices elsewhere in the Euro&ean Union.Euro&ean Economic 'rea! I would li(e to than( my su&ervisor 'nni( Magerholm )et for her feed*ac( and guidance as well as encouragement in the wor( &rocess! ' s&ecial than(s goes to /0nis 12avi34 for the very first introduction to the sustaina*ility landsca&e of ,atvia and to my dear friend Ieva for her genuine su&&ort throughout these two years and for her infectious &assion for research!

Il5e 6arda 7iga ,atvia 'ugust 8th "#$"

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Abstract
Environmental assessment re&orting and documentation including Ty&e III environmental &roduct declarations (EP%s) are *ecoming increasingly im&ortant internationally and throughout Euro&e! 9hile some countries have *een using EP%s for several years already other have not yet a&&lied this tool and methodology of life cycle assessment (,:')! In March "#$$ a new EU 7egulation was &assed that introduces a new essential (*asic) re-uirement for construction wor(s namely sustainable use of natural resources and refers to the use of EP%s when availa*le! ;ased on these develo&ments the &ur&ose of this thesis is to investigate the feasi*ility of the esta*lishment of an EP% &rogramme in ,atvia! The study has identified several *arriers that slow down the &rocess of ac-uiring new environmental assessment tools li(e EP%s at the national level in ,atvia! Ta(ing these into account as well as the recent develo&ments towards a common Euro&ean E:<=EP% &latform the develo&ment of a contact=consultancy &oint that &rovides -ualitative information and consultation a*out o&tions for registering EP%s under already e>isting schemes is &ro&osed! 's the some of the readers of this study might *e less familiar with the conce&ts related to EP% &rogrammes and EP%s these are e>&lained in a greater detail than it would otherwise *e necessary!

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Contents

Preface !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $ '*stract !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ? :ontents !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 8 ,ist of )igures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @ ,ist of Ta*les !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A '**reviations !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! B $! Introduction !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $$ $!$! $!"! $!?! $!C! "! ;ac(ground !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $$ <*+ective and sco&e of the thesis !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $? ,imiations !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $? Structure of the thesis !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $C

Methodology !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $8 "!$! "!"! ,iterature review !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $8 Dualitative interviews !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $E

?!

;ac(ground theory !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $@ ?!$! ?!"! ?!?! 6eneral &rinci&les of industrial ecology !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $@ Sustaina*ility accounting and environmental accounting !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $A Methods for environmental accounting and documentation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $B Environmental management systems !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $B ,ife cycle assessment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "# Su&&ly chain management !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "$ Product la*elling and EP%s !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ""

?!?!$! ?!?!"! ?!?!?! ?!?!C! C!

Sustaina*le construction in the EU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "C C!$! C!"! EU &olicies !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "C EU legislative framewor( !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "E

8!

Environmental assessment and re&orting in construction sector !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?# 8!$! 7elevant IS< standards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?# Introduction !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?# IS< Technical :ommittees !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?# IS< $C#"8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?C

8!$!$! 8!$!"! 8!$!?!

Page |6 8!$!C! 8!$!8! 8!$!E! 8!$!@! 8!"! IS< $C#CE and IS< $C#E@ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?8 IS< $8?B"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?A IS< "$B?#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?B Summary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! C$

7elevant :EN standards !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! C" Introduction !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! C" :oo&eration *etween IS< and :EN (the Fienna 'greement) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! C? :EN.T:?8# standards !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! C? EN $8A#CG"#$" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CE

8!"!$! 8!"!"! 8!"!?! 8!"!C! 8!?! E!

:om&arison of IS< and :EN standards for EP%s !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 8#

E>isting EP% &rogrammes in the EU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 8? E!$! E!"! E!?! E!C! E!8! E!E! %evelo&ment and o&eration of an EP% &rogramme !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 8? 6ermanyG I;U !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 8@ SwedenG International EP% System !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! E# NorwayG Norwegian EP% )oundation !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! E? )inlandG 7T Environmental %eclaration !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EE Harmonisation and coo&eration initiatives !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! E@ Euro&ean EP% Platform IE:<J !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! E@ Mutual recognition *etween I;U and the International EP% System !!!!!!!!!!!!! EA

E!E!$! E!E!"! E!@! @!

Summary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EA

Sustaina*le construction in ,atvia !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @# @!$! @!"! @!?! @!C! Introduction !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @# 1ey facts a*out ,atvia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @$ Environmental management &ractices !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @" )ramewor( for construction industry and sustaina*le construction !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @C Policy documents and legislative framewor( !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @C 'uthorities and notified institutions !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @E ,:'.EP% com&etences in ,atvia !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @E Potential for sustaina*le construction in ,atvia !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @@

@!C!$! @!C!"! @!C!?! @!C!C! A!

%iscussion and conclusion !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A#

7eferences !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A" '&&endices !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! B?

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List of Figures
)igure $! Ste&s of conducting an ,:' )igure "! The structure and the standards of T: "#@ )igure ?! The structure and the standards of T: 8B.S: $@ )igure C! 7elated IS< standards for Sustainability in building construction )igure 8! Information modules of the EP% according to IS< "$B?# )igure E! 7elated :EN standards for Sustainability of construction works )igure @! Information modules of the EP% according to EN $8A#C )igure A! EP% develo&ment and verification &rocedure under the I;U &rogramme )igure B! <rigin countries of the declaration holders in the International EP% System )igure $#! The organisational structure of the Swedish EP% &rogramme )igure $$! Procedure for the develo&ment of EP%s under the Norwegian EP% &rogramme

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List of Tables
Ta*le $! IS< standards in the field of environmental la*elling (from ;rady "##8) Ta*le "! The main o*+ectives in the ,ead Mar(et 'rea KSustaina*le :onstructionL Ta*le ?! The overview of the changes in the *asic re-uirements Ta*le C! The areas of concern for the different as&ects Ta*le 8! The structure of :EN.T:?8# Ta*le E! The standards develo&ed *y :EN.T:?8# on Sustaina*ility in construction Ta*le @! Indicators to *e re&orted according to IS< "$B?# and EN $8A#C Ta*le A! The contents of the general &rogramme instructions Ta*le B! The contents of a P:7 document Ta*le $#! The contents of an EP% Ta*le $$! 1ey facts a*out the 6erman EP% &rogramme Ta*le $"! 1ey facts a*out the Swedish EP% &rogramme Ta*le $?! 1ey facts a*out the Norwegian EP% &rogramme Ta*le $C! 1ey facts a*out the )innish EP% &rogramme Ta*le $8! Study &rogrammes in environmental science at the ,atvian universities

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Abbreviations
:EN :S7 :P% :P7 E: EE' EP% EMS EU 6;: 6%P 6H6 6PP I<' IPP IS< ,:' ,:: M)' S:M T: Euro&ean :ommittee for Standardi5ation cor&orate social res&onsi*ility :onstruction Product %irective :onstruction Product 7egulation Euro&ean :ommission Euro&ean Economic 'rea environmental &roduct declaration environmental management system Euro&ean Union 6reen ;uilding :ouncil gross domestic &roduct greenhouse gases green &u*lic &rocurement in&ut=out&ut analysis Integrated &roduct &olicy International <rgani5ation for Standardi5ation life cycle assessment life cycle costing material flow analysis su&&ly chain management technical committee

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

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1. Introduction
1.1.Background
%evelo&ment *ased on the &rinci&les of neoclassical economics has *een dominating for many decades! The main goals of such develo&ment are economic growth (measured *y the countryLs 6%P and increase in 6%P) accumulation of ca&ital and ever=increasing &roduction and consum&tion! This race for more has however negative social and environmental im&acts and unlimited e>&onential growth cannot *e sustained on a finite &lanet with finite resources! Sustaina*ility M sustaina*le long=term develo&ment M has *ecome a hot to&ic on the international &olitical and scientific agenda! Historically &olitics *usiness environment and human well=*eing have *een treated as different often com&eting areas of interest! If we are to deal successfully with the environmental and social &ro*lems the society faces today a holistic and systematic a&&roach is needed! This study is *ased on the &remises of industrial ecology M a multidisci&linary field of research that aims to com*ine various disci&lines of natural and social sciences in order to address the current &ro*lems and the idea of sustaina*le develo&ment from a holistic and systematic &ers&ective! )urther a central conce&t is of the industrial ecology is environmental accounting and assessment that can *e used as an effectively at the &roduct level organisation level national and even glo*al level! Environmental assessment and documentation at the &roduct level is of &articular interest to this study! 7elia*le information a*out the environmental &erformance of a &roduct is essential for res&onsi*le and informed consumer choices as well as im&roved &roduction methods and effective recycling strategies! '&art from that the &olitical initiatives and framewor(s are crucial in order to develo& the necessary mar(et conditions for sustaina*le &roducts! ;oth the &olitical framewor(s and environmental accounting and documentation &ractices vary among regions and countries! 7egarding the assessment documentation and communication of the environmental &erformance at the various levels it is im&ortant to &oint out the im&ortance of the efforts of the International <rgani5ation for Standardi5ation in the develo&ment of IS<$C###= family of the internationally recogni5ed standards for environmental accounting and management! The Euro&ean Union M which is the focus region of this study M has also *een wor(ing on these issues and *y now has develo&ed its own standards and guidelines for environmental accounting and documentation! In addition each of the

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EU mem*er states has its own rules local re-uirements and ItraditionsJ for a&&roaching the issues related to environmental &erformance! In real life this leads to uncertainties in and different a&&roaches to environmental assessment and documentation across the EU that in general aims for harmoni5ed re-uirements and o&en mar(ets among its mem*er states! )urther this study is focused in &articular on the sustaina*ility of the construction sector and &roduction of *uilding materials! 'ccording to the re&ort from the UNEP International Panel for Sustaina*le 7esource Management residential and commercial *uildings are one of the ma+or contri*utors to glo*al greenhouse gas (6H6) emissions accounting for AN of the total amount of these emissions (Hertwich "#$#)! Several other (ey reasons why the *uilding and construction sector is highly im&ortant for sustaina*le develo&ment are listed in the international standard IS< $8?B" ("##A)G
it is a (ey sector in national economiesO it is a large industrial sector that a*sor*s considera*le resources over the life cycle of *uildings and contri*ute to transformation of areasO it has considera*le o&&ortunities for im&rovement related to the environmental economic and social as&ects!

:onstruction industry and &roduction of *uilding materials are im&ortant *ecause the use of &articular materials and *uilding methods affect not only the environmental im&acts of the *uilding &rocess *ut the choices made still in the design &hase will have a significant im&act on dura*ility energy efficiency and various emissions throughout the entire life cycle of industrial &lants office *uildings our homes and infrastructure! In the Euro&ean Union (EU) sustaina*le growth is &ointed out as one of the three guiding &rinci&les of Europe 2020 M the EUPs growth strategy for the coming decade! Farious initiatives to include environmental considerations into the s&ecific sectors are also &resent in the EU including initiatives in the construction sector M green &u*lic &rocurement :EN standards eurocodes :E mar(ing of &roducts and other! In March "#$$ the :onstruction Products %irective AB.$#E.EE: was re&ealed and 7egulation No ?#8."#$$ laying down harmonised conditions for the mar(eting of construction &roducts was &u*lished and came into force! This has led to a certain change of landsca&e in the sector since the new regulation clearly re-uires sustaina*le use of natural resources *y stating that Iconstruction wor(s must *e designed *uilt and demolished in such a way that the use of natural resources is sustaina*leJ (7egulation No ?#8."#$$)!

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These develo&ments are &articularly im&ortant for those EU countries where systematic assessment and verification of environmental &erformance of &roducts and &rocesses are not yet well=esta*lished! ,atvia an EU=mem*er state since "##C is an e>am&le of such country where conce&ts li(e life cycle management and documentation of sustaina*ility and environmental &erformance are not yet widely a&&lied *oth due to the lac( of relia*le region=s&ecific data and the lac( of necessary com&etences!

1.2.Objective and sco e of t!e t!esis

<*+ective of this thesis is to investigate the feasi*ility of the esta*lishment of an EP% &rogramme in ,atvia *y ma&&ing and analy5ing the current conditions (ga&s *arriers and o&&ortunities) and suggesting a solution for a national EP% &rogramme that com&lies with the current re-uirements and &ractices elsewhere in the EU.EE'! Thus the main tas(s of this study are toG
$! Ma& the relevant *ac(ground theory and methods used in industrial ecology! "! 6ive an overview of the e>isting framewor( for sustaina*le construction in the EU.EE'! ?! 6ive an overview of the methods for environmental assessment and re&orting in the construction sector! C! Investigate e>isting EP% &rogrammes in the EU.EE' (C re&resentative &rogrammes are chosen)! 8! Investigate the national conte>t for the environmental and sustaina*ility issues in ,atvia E! Ma& and analy5e the current conditions (ga&s *arriers and o&&ortunities) for esta*lishment of EP% &rogramme in ,atvia! @! Suggest a solution for a national EP% &rogramme that com&lies with the current re-uirements and &ractices elsewhere in the EU.EE'!

1.".Li#iations
)irst of all sustaina*ility is often seen as consisting of three main com&onents M environmental economic and social factors! This thesis deals &rimarily with the environmental im&acts and environmental &erformance of a &roduct leaving a detailed assessment and documentation of social and economic im&acts outside the

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sco&e of this study! )urther this thesis focuses on the sustaina*ility issues at the &roduct level! Processes glo*al and regional material and energy flows are somewhat addressed where a&&ro&riateO however a more detailed discussion a*out these levels are outside the sco&e of this wor(!

1.$.%tructure of t!e t!esis

The &ro*lem of this study is a&&roached from the system &ers&ective M the starting &oint of this study is the ma&&ing of the current re-uirements for assessment and documentation of sustaina*ility as&ects in construction industry (cha&ter C) further the investigation of the standards of the assessment and documentation of environmental &erformance in this industry in the EU (cha&ter 8)! Then the e>isting EP% &rogrammes are covered (cha&ter E) *efore e>&loring the national conte>t of environmental and sustaina*ility issues in ,atvia (cha&ter @)! This is followed *y the concluding discussion (cha&ter A)! The relevant *ac(ground theory is given in the cha&ter ?!

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2. &et!odolog'
The &rimary goal of research is to &roduce new (nowledge or structure and dee&en understanding of the e>isting theories conce&ts and issues (1othari "##C)! Farious -uantitative and -ualitative methods e>ist that can *e used in the research M surveys and -uestionnaires o*servations and e>&eriments grou& interviews and individual interviews M all de&ending on the sco&e o*+ective and structure of the study! )or the detailed e>&lanation of the various research methods the reader may refer to for e>am&le Research Methodology *y 7a+endra 1umar (New %ehliG 'PH &u*lishing "#$$)! This &articular study is conducted *ased on literature review (secondary data sources) and qualitative interviews with experts (&rimary data sources).

2.1.Literature revie(
' literature review (<liver "##C) consists of a te>tual analysis (;a**ie "##C) of secondary information sources (Saunders et al! "##?) The relevant information sources for this thesis include &olicy documents and legal acts at the Euro&ean and national level international and Euro&ean standards *oo(s and &u*lications in &eer= reviewed +ournals on the to&ics related to sustaina*ility and environmental accounting environmental re&orting and documentation environmental la*elling &roduct la*els and declarations standardisation and others! Farious conference &a&ers and &resentations as well as the data availa*le on the internet are also used in the literature review! '&art from the a*ove mentioned sources the secondary data for this study were collected *y reviewing the &u*lications in the following international &eer=reviewed +ournalsG
o o o o o o o o ;uilding and Environment ;usiness Strategy and the Environment Environmental Management and :or&orate Social 7es&onsi*ility International /ournal of ,ife :ycle 'ssessment /ournal of :leaner Production /ournal of Environmental Management /ournal of Industrial Ecology Sustaina*ility

' s&ecial attention is given to the &u*lications and other sources of secondary information that refer to small and medium=si5ed enter&rises (SMEs) M this is due to

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the fact that the ,atvian economy as well as the whole EU economy is largely *ased on SMEs!

2.2.)ualitative intervie(s
Dualitative interviews &rovide means for collecting more in=de&th and -ualitative information a*out the to&ic of the study (Holme $BB$)! The res&ondent in the interview is called an informant and he.she normally has a significant (nowledge a*out the to&ic! Dualitative interviews can also *e conducted with e>&erts! 'n e>&ert according to 9in(ler and Mc:uen=Metherell ("##A) is Isomeone who is ac(nowledged as an authority in a &articular su*+ect or who has had a uni-ue e>&erience with itJ! E>&erts can *e an im&ortant and valua*le source of -ualitative information almost on to&ic (i*id)! There are four ty&es of -ualitative interviews (McNamara $BBB)G
Informal conversational interview usually with no &redetermined -uestions thus ensuring a high ada&ta*ilityO 6eneral interview guide a&&roach is meant to ensure that the same general areas or to&ics of information are collected from each res&ondent *ut there is still significant freedom and fle>i*ility in the interviewO Standardi5ed o&en=ended interview is characteri5ed *y the same o&en=ended -uestions as(ed to all intervieweesO such information is easier to analyseO :losed fi>ed=res&onse interview M res&ondents are as(ed the same -uestions and they choose their answers from the same set of alternatives!

Primary data for this study were collected through -ualitative interviews of the e>&erts from the re&resentative sta(eholder grou&s M the ,atvian industry authorities and academia! The interviews were mostly informal conversational ty&e although some -uestions were &re&ared *eforehand!

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". Background t!eor'

".1.*eneral rinci les of industrial ecolog'
Industrial ecology is a multidisci&linary field of research that aims to com*ine various disci&lines of natural and social sciences in order to address the current &ro*lems and the idea of sustaina*le develo&ment from a holistic and systematic &ers&ective! <ne of the most commonly used definitions of the industrial ecology states that it is Ithe study of the flows of materials and energy in industrial and consumer activities of the effects of these flows on the environment and of the influences of economic &olitical regulatory and social factors on the flow use and transformation of resourcesJ (9hite $BBC)! This definition illustrates clearly the holistic &ers&ective of this field and its interest in meta*olic &rocesses of industrial society their environmental im&acts and their interaction with the various institutions! This is a very much needed a&&roach if we are to &ursue the &ath of sustaina*le long=term develo&ment! <ne of the central conce&ts of the industrial ecology is environmental accounting M it constitutes the very *asis of im&ortant decisions regarding design and technology o&tions sustaina*le &roduction methods and recycling strategies as well as sustaina*le and res&onsi*le consum&tion! Environmental accounting can *e carried out at the various levels M starting from the assessment of environmental &erformance of a single &roduct till accounting at the com&any level and further material and energy flows at the national regional and glo*al level! %e&ending on the scale and sco&e of environmental accounting it may *e *ased on various methodologies li(e life cycle assessment (,:') life=cycle costing (,::) in&ut=out&ut analysis (I<') at the com&any regional or national level material.su*stance flow analysis (M)'.S)') and other! Systems thin(ing (;ertalanffy $BEA) and a holistic a&&roach is the very cornerstone of the industrial ecology! In the conte>t of the industrial ecology the systems thin(ing is manifested *y use of a life cycle (cradle=to=grave) &ers&ective material and energy flow analysis systems modelling and sym&athy for interdisci&linary research and analysis M all this in order to avoid narrow and &artial analysis leading to erroneous decisions and unintended conse-uences (,ifset and 6raedel "##$)! Industrial meta*olism is another im&ortant foundation of industrial ecology and a &art of systems thin(ing a&&roach within the field! It is defined as I&hysical &rocesses that convert raw materials and energy &lus la*our into finished &roducts and wastesJ ('yres $BBC)! Thus this conce&t addresses the tracing of material and energy flows from e>traction of resources through &roduction and consum&tion to

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the final dis&osal and.or recycling of the materials and energy loc(ed in the given &roduct! )inally a sta(eholder analysis is a -ualitative *usiness research method that has *een widely a&&lied in the industrial ecology es&ecially within the areas of environmental management and cor&orate social res&onsi*ility (:S7)! )reeman ($BAC) defines sta(eholders as Iany grou& or individual who can affect or is affected *y the achievement of the organi5ationPs o*+ectivesJ thus a sta(eholder analysis investigates the various grou&s that are directly or indirectly affected *y organisationLs activities or those can directly or indirectly affect these activities! 'c(off ($BAA) goes even further *y considering also the interests of the very young and those who have not yet *een *orn and &ointing out that in order for the future generations to *e a*le to decide for themselves their o&tions should *e (e&t o&en! Interests of the various sta(eholder grou&s are often conflicting so a thorough sta(eholder analysis hel&s to identify and organi5e these various interests assess the associated o&&ortunities and ris(s!

".2.%ustainabilit' accounting and environ#ental accounting

The term IaccountingJ refers most often to the collection analysis and management of financial information li(e &rofit and loss statements income and e>&enses related to *usiness activities! 7esearch lin(ing the more traditional financial accounting to the *roader sustaina*ility accounting emerged in the early $BB#s and has since then received growing interest and attention of academia and &ractitioners (,am*erton "##8)! Sustaina*ility accounting aims to ca&ture environmental economic and social as&ects of organisationLs activitiesO though it is sometimes used synonymously with environmental accounting (i*id)! Sustaina*ility accounting is often *ased on the tri&le=*ottom line (El(ington $BBA) that covers economic environmental and social as&ects! ' commonly (nown e>am&le of the framewor( for sustaina*ility accounting is 6lo*al 7e&orting Initiative that *ased on these &rinci&les! Environmental accounting is *ased on the accounting and analysis of the in&uts and out&uts in form of material and energy flows and economic as&ects of sustaina*ility are ca&tured *y a&&lying life cycle costing! 'ccounting for the social dimension of sustaina*ility is more challenging due to Iits intangi*le -ualitative nature and lac( of consensus on relevant criteriaJ (von 6ei*ler et al! "##E)!

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Though not a focus of this &articular study it is also im&ortant to mention life cycle costing (,::) and total cost accounting (T:') that are methods for assessing the so= called total cost of ownershi& and for accounting of environmental and social im&acts in addition to financial e>&enditures while ta(ing into accounting the whole life cycle of a &roduct! These methods es&ecially ,:: considers all the costs of ac-uiring owning and dis&osing of a given &roduct or system ()uller "#$#)! Such cost accounting methods have relatively recently gained attention *ecause shareholders as well as sta(eholders have *egun to realise that environmental information is relevant to decision ma(ing also from the economic &ers&ective (Schaltegger and ;urritt "###)! )or more detailed discussion of these methods the reader may refer to Schaltegger and ;urrittLs onte!porary environ!ental accounting" issues# concepts# and practice! Motivation for sustaina*ility and environmental accounting were summari5ed as early as in $BB? *y /ohn El(ington M a well=(nown authority in the field of sustaina*le develo&ment and cor&orate res&onsi*ility! He wrote that *usinesses engage in such &ractices in res&onse to new regulations in res&onse to emerging *usiness re-uirements or in res&onse to changing &u*lic e>&ectations! This is as true in "#$" and various studies have confirmed these *eing the main drivers for the evolution of sustaina*ility accounting and re&orting

".".&et!ods for environ#ental accounting and docu#entation

".".1. +nviron#ental #anage#ent s'ste#s

Environmental accounting is often considered along with the &ractice of cleaner &roduction and it is -uantification of all material and energy flows (in&ut and out&ut) that are further used to assess the im&acts of these flows on the environment ()et "#$#)! Esta*lishing and maintaining of environmental accounts give the o&&ortunity to further develo& goals &olicies and &rograms for im&rovement of organi5ationLs environmental &erformance! It also &rovides the *asis for environmental indicators and their develo&ment over the time as well as the *asis for develo&ment of environmental management system (i*id)! 'n environmental management system (EMS) is a structured framewor( for accounting and managing significant environmental im&acts of the organi5ation! It may develo& and certified according to international standards (li(e IS<$C##$ or EM'S) or national schemes (li(e Mil+QfytRrn) or it can *e develo&ed *ased on internal more informal guidelines and considerations (;rady "##8)!

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7easons for im&lementing EMS are often customer re-uirements for the documented and certified EMS re-uirements of national legislations as well as &otential for cost savings as a result of &ro&erly monitored and managed environmental in&uts and out&uts (;rady "##8)! Im&roved trac( of environmental records is also a significant &art of organi5ationLs :S7 strategy that is an im&ortant &art of re&utation *uilding in the mar(et in the community as well as the e>isting and &otential em&loyees!

".".2. Life c'cle assess#ent

,:' is a very central tool in the industrial ecology! It is a -uantitative method that is *ased on the conce&t of systems thin(ing and holistic a&&roach to &ro*lems and that is meant for the accounting of the industrial meta*olism of a &roduct! ' full=scale ,:' considers all the &hases of resource use and environmental releases associated with a system i!e! a &roduct &rocess or activity and it is first of all intended as a relative tool for com&arison of alternative &roducts &rocesses or activities (:urran "##A)! <ther -uantitative methods used in the industrial ecology include material flow analysis and in&ut=out&ut analysis! The &rocess of conducting an ,:' is time and data intensive and re-uires attention to detail and access to relia*le data! The ,:' &rocess is thoroughly descri*ed in IS< $C#C#G"##E Environmental management == ,ife cycle assessment == Princi&les and framewor(! The main ste&s of the &rocess are illustrated in the )igure $! The figure also shows the most common a&&lications of ,:'s!

)igure $! Ste&s of conducting an ,:' (IS< "##E)

P a g e | 21

,:' ena*les life cycle management (,:M) of &roducts and services since it is a tool that &rovides valua*le information a*out full im&acts of decisions and choices and ma(es it &ossi*le to cover also those im&acts that occur outside of the &roduction or final consum&tion *ut that are directly influenced *y selection of a &articular &roduct &rocess or service (:urran "##A)! In order to ma(e an o&timal and well= *alanced decision ,:' should *e used together with other decision criteria such as cost and &erformance analysis M for e>am&le the life cycle costing method! Though not a &art of this thesis life cycle costing method is mentioned *ecause it is a &owerful tool com*ining the economic environmental and social costs of an asset! ,ife :ycle :ost (,::) of an asset is defined as Sthe total cost throughout its life including &lanning design ac-uisition and su&&ort costs and any other costs directly attri*uta*le to owning or using the assetS (New South 9ales Treasury "##C)! Hu&&es et al ("##C) are even more s&ecific *y stating that ,:: is a cost I*orne directly and indirectly *y &u*lic and &rivate actors involved and &ossi*ly including cost of e>ternal effectsJ thus ta(ing into account also environmental dimension and costs that are not always reflected in the mar(et &rice! This method is somewhat similar to ,:' since *oth methods are *ased on the systems thin(ing a&&roach and considers the life cycle &ers&ective M only while the ,:' is concerned with environmental im&acts and &erformance the ,:: is concerned with the monetary costs occurring throughout the entire life cycle!

".".". %u

l' c!ain #anage#ent

:hristo&her ("##8) defines su&&ly chain management (S:M) as the management of u&stream and downstream relationshi&s with su&&liers and customers to deliver su&erior customer value at less cost to the su&&ly chain as a whole! 'gain traditionally cost has *een considered only in monetary terms while increased focus on environmental issues has resulted into the cost *eing defined more *roadly! 6reen S:M involves introducing and integrating environmental issues and concerns into su&&ly chain management &rocesses *y selecting su&&liers and auditing and assessing their environmental &erformance (Handfield et al! "##8)! S:M &er se is a well=esta*lished issue on the strategic agendaO however green S:M is an emerging field and fewer &u*lications and research studies are availa*le on environmental su&&ly chain management and its im&acts or environmental management activities e>tended *eyond the first tier of e>ternal su&&liers ()ortes "##B)!

P a g e | 22

' multinational study *y Testa and Iraldo ("#$#) found that reasons for introducing green S:M can *e *oth ethical and commercialO it also came the conclusion that green S:M is strongly com&lementary with other advanced management &ractices and that it contri*utes to im&roved environmental &erformance however the effects on financial &erformance are more am*iguous! '&art from direct customer or legislative re-uirements that affect some of the actors in the su&&ly chain the green su&&ly chain initiatives are in often cases initiated *y large organi5ations and cor&orations *ecause of the increased media attention and coverage the *argaining &ower over su&&liers and the amount of resources the com&any &ossesses &lay an essential role in initiation and develo&ment of successful colla*oration &ro+ects!

".".$. Product labelling and +P,s

Product la*elling is a means of communicating the environmental &erformance of a &roduct or service to the customer and these means are de&loyed *y com&anies as a result of legislative or customer re-uirements and.or in order to increase the mar(et share and im&rove *rand image (;rady "##8)! 9hile in some cases &roduct la*elling is strict and mandatory (for e>am&le in &harmaceutical industry or for ha5ardous chemicals) all (inds of environmental &roduct la*elling e>ist around the world! The legislative re-uirements for a&&lying a certain la*el vary significantly from country to country and due to this variety in la*els and re-uirements for these there is a high level of misleading use of environmental la*els! ' num*er of standards are esta*lished *y the IS< in an attem&t to define s&ecific re-uirements for the most common ty&es of la*elling = these are listed in Ta*le $!
Ta*le $! IS< standards in the field of environmental la*elling (from ;rady "##8)

Ty&e I eco=la*els are voluntary schemes and com&anies that want to use the logo of such a la*el have to demonstrate com&liance with a set of esta*lished criteria and this com&liance is chec(ed and verified *y a third &arty thus ensuring the credi*ility

P a g e | 23

of information (;rady "##8)! E>am&les of the most widely (nown Ty&e I eco=la*els include EU Eco=la*el ;lue 'ngel Nordic Swan and 6reen Seal! Ty&e II covers self=declared environmental claims and is considered to *e the most wides&read form of &roviding environmental information! However an im&ortant criti-ue and wea(ness of this ty&e is that such claims can easily *e misleading vague or even untrue! The IS< $C#"$ standard has tried to deal with this &ro*lem *y esta*lishing rules and guidelines for ma(ing self=declared environmental claims (;rady "##8)! Ty&e III environmental declaration &rogramme or EP% is defined *y the IS< $C#"8G"#$# a Ivoluntary &rogramme for the use and develo&ment of Ty&e III environmental declarationsJ! EP% is develo&ed *ased on the conducted ,:' of a &roduct or service and it should *e further verified *y the third &arty! To &ut it sim&ly it is a la*el that discloses the information a*out the life cycle environmental &erformance of &roducts and services! Such la*el is not a claim of environmental su&eriority M the &ur&ose of it is to ena*le com&arison of &roducts that fulfil the same functions *ased on o*+ective and -uantified environmental information (:ostello and Schenc( "##B)! Several national and international EP% &rograms e>ist! The same is the case for other ty&es of environmental &roduct la*elling! %ifferent countries have often different standards there are numerous ways of mar(ing and la*elling same ty&e of &roducts and this means higher costs for e>&orters and rather significant o*stacles for entering mar(ets M a concern over the large amount of various environmentally= related rules is e>&ressed *y the United Nations wor(ing grou&! 'n international harmoni5ation of standards and la*els is suggested as a ste& towards lowering entry *arriers while simultaneously &romoting the transition to green economy (UN:S% Secretariat and UN:T'% "#$$)!

P a g e | 24

$. %ustainable construction in t!e +$.1.+- olicies

The (ey o*+ective of the EU in the field of sustaina*le develo&ment is Ito integrate environmental sustaina*ility with economic growth and welfare *y decou&ling environmental degradation from economic growthJ (Euro&ean :ommission "#$"a)! In this conte>t the relevance of im&roved sustaina*ility of the construction industry is undenia*le since *uildings account for the largest share of the total EU final energy consum&tion (C"N) and they also &roduce a*out ?8N of all greenhouse emissions (Euro&ean :ommission "##@a)! 'dditionally waste &roduced from *uilding materials during the construction and demolition stages is the source of "8 N of all waste generated in Euro&e (:EN "##8)! )rom the economy &ers&ective the EULs construction mar(et accounts also for $#N of 6%P and @N of the wor(force (Euro&ean :ommission "##@a)! 'ccordingly the construction industry was included as one of the si> mar(ets in the ,ead Mar(et Initiative in "##E! The Euro&ean :ommission develo&ed the conce&t of Plead mar(etsP in order to &romote favoura*le mar(et conditions for new innovative &roducts services and technologies in the EU mar(et thus &roviding solutions to the variety of economic environmental and societal &ro*lems faced *y the EU (:EN n!d!=a)! The main o*+ectives within the ,ead Mar(et 'rea Sustaina*le :onstruction are shown in Ta*le "G
Ta*le "! The main o*+ectives in the ,ead Mar(et 'rea KSustaina*le :onstruction (Euro&ean :ommission %6 Enter&rise and Industry "#$")

Policy tool Standardisation, labelling, certification egislation

P!blic "roc!re#ent

$o#"le#entary actions

Main task %evelo&ment of "nd generation eurocodes *y :EN (Euro&ean :ommittee for Standardisation)! Screening of national *uilding regulations = in order to assess national regulations for sustaina*le construction enforcement of these regulation the e>isting &u*lic and &rivate initiatives etc! Esta*lishment of the Networ( for :ontracting 'uthorities M in order to connect &u*lic authorities see(ing to &rocure innovative and sustaina*le solutions within their construction &ro+ects! U&grading of s(ills of construction wor(ers!

The detailed action &lan for this ,ead Mar(et 'rea can *e found in '&&endi> $!

P a g e | 25

In general one of the earliest attem&ts of the EU in the field of sustaina*le develo&ment was creation of the Integrated Product Policy (IPP)! The develo&ment of the IPP dates *ac( to $BB@ when a review of current &ractices in the Mem*er States was carried outO further a 6reen Pa&er on IPP was &u*lished in "##$ (International Institute for Sustaina*le %evelo&ment n!d!)! The IPP recogni5es that all &roducts cause environmental degradation in some way during their life cycle M may it *e from manufacturing &hase utilisation or dis&osal! The IPP see(s to minimise these im&acts *y considering all &hases of a &roductsP life= cycle and ta(ing action where it is most effective! The tools used to achieve this o*+ective include *oth voluntary and mandatory measures li(e economic instruments su*stance *ans voluntary agreements environmental la*elling and &roduct design guidelines (Euro&ean :ommission %6 Environment "#$"a)! In "##A the Euro&ean :ommission &resented its Sustaina*le :onsum&tion and Production and Sustaina*le Industrial Policy 'ction Plan (shortly = S:P.SIP)! In this document the need for consistent data on &roducts and consistent &roduct assessment methods is recogni5ed as one of the (ey factors for successful im&lementation of this &olicy (S:P.SIP 'ction Plan "##A)! 9hen &ossi*le the Euro&ean harmonised standards should *e used and ideally these should *e *ased on international standards thus increasing the industry com&etitiveness and coo&eration inside and outside the EU (i*id)! 6reen &u*lic &rocurement (6PP) is another im&ortant instrument towards a more sustaina*le consum&tion and &roduction! 'ccording to the Euro&ean :ommission %6 Environment ("#$"*) &u*lic authorities s&end around " trillion EU7 annually in &urchasing this *eing e-uivalent to a&&ro>imately $BN of the EULs gross domestic &roduct! Such a &ro&ortion ma(es the &u*lic authorities in Euro&e a ma+or consumer whose &urchasing &ower and choices have accordingly a ma+or effect on *usiness and &roduction &ractices! 6PP is a voluntary instrument so the Mem*er States are free to determine the e>tent of the 6PP im&lementation in their own &rocurement &rocesses! 's a &art of the EU efforts to &romote green &u*lic &rocurement the Euro&ean :ommission started to develo& the EU :ommissionLs 6PP Training Tool(it in "##A! :onstruction is one of $# &roduct and service grou&s for which the common &urchasing recommendations have *een develo&ed covering the &rocurement of construction wor(s as well as the su&&ly of related services such as cooling heating and ventilation services and the &rovision of electricity (Euro&ean :ommission %6 Environment "#$"*)! Environmental criteria that may *e included in &rocurement s&ecifications for construction wor(s aims to address the design construction use

P a g e | 26

and dis&osal &hase of *uildings and are thus related to energy &erformance *uilding materials and waste and water management (i*id)! Environmental criteria that can *e readily used in tender documents were also develo&ed for some more s&ecific &roduct grou&s including the following construction &roductsG
windows gla5ed doors and s(ylightsO thermal insulationO hard floor=coveringsO wall &anels!

$.2.+- legislative fra#e(ork

The recent develo&ments in the EU legislative framewor( for the construction industry follow the a*ove discussed as&iration for consistent data and consistent &roduct assessment methods throughout the EU! There are two &rimary ty&es of legislative acts in the Euro&ean Union M directives and regulations! ' directive is a legislative act that esta*lishes the EU &olicy and it is further left to the Mem*er States to im&lement the directive into their national legislation in the way the state finds a&&ro&riate ()olsom ,a(e and Nanda $BBE)! ' regulation on the other hand is a legislative act that enters into force as soon as it is &assed and it is legally *inding for every Mem*er StateO thus a regulation overrides national laws on the same su*+ect and se-uentially the national legislation should *e ad+usted in order to *e consistent with a regulation (Euro&ean :ommission "#$"*)! 'n im&ortant o*+ective of the EU legal acts in the field of construction &roducts is to create a single mar(et enhance free &roduct movement in the internal mar(et and remove technical *arriers to trade caused *y dis&arity in re-uirements that are stated in national &roduct standards national technical s&ecifications and a&&rovals and other national &rovisions related to construction &roducts! Until March "#$$ the main legislative act for construction &roducts in the EU was the EU %irective AB.$#E.EE: commonly referred to as the :onstruction Products %irective! It aimed at the a&&ro>imation of laws regulations and administrative &rovisions of the Mem*er States relating to construction &roducts and &rovided for the esta*lishment of harmonised standards the :E mar(ing and the granting of Euro&ean technical a&&rovals for the construction &roducts &laced on the EU mar(et (:ouncil %irective AB.$#E.EE: $BAB)!

P a g e | 27

'ccording to the :onstruction Products %irective any construction &roduct &laced on the EU mar(et had to *e suita*le for construction wor(s meaning that such a &roduct had to meet the following essential re-uirements for construction wor(s stated in the %irectiveG
$! "! ?! C! 8! E! mechanical resistance and sta*ility safety in case of fire hygiene health and environment safety in use &rotection against the noise energy economy and heat retention!

's shown in the a*ove listing environmental im&acts to a certain degree were addressed in &oint ? (for e>am&le &ollution or &oisoning of the water or soil) and &oint E that re-uires effective use of energy for heating cooling and ventilation systems! However the essential re-uirements for construction wor(s in the :P% did not address sustaina*ility in &articular and the re-uirements addressing environment were very vague and did not stimulate any additional efforts for a *etter environmental &erformance (9orld 6;: "#$$)! 's of March "#$$ the 7egulation No ?#8."#$$ of the Euro&ean Parliament and of the :ouncil entered into force and laid down harmonised conditions for the mar(eting of construction &roducts simultaneously re&ealing the earlier :onstruction Products %irective! The latest is re&laced *y the new 7egulation in order to sim&lify and clarify the e>isting framewor( as well as to im&rove the trans&arency and effectiveness of the e>isting measures! The 7egulation No ?#8."#$$ is commonly referred to as the :onstruction Products 7egulation (:P7)! The (ey to the removal of technical *arriers in the field of construction is the esta*lishment of harmonised technical s&ecifications for the assessment of the &erformance of construction &roducts (7egulation No ?#8."#$$ "#$$)! These harmonised standards should *e esta*lished *y the Euro&ean standardisation *odies and as such should &rovide the methods and the criteria for assessing the &erformance of the construction &roducts in relation to their essential characteristics (7egulation No ?#8."#$$ 'rticle $@ "#$$)! The transition to the new 7egulation is divided into two &hases (Euro&ean :ommission "#$"c)G
&re&aration &hase till /une ?# "#$? = esta*lishing of the organisational framewor( and &re&aration of the technical framewor( documentsO o&eration &hase from /uly $ "#$? M :E mar(ing under the :P7 starts and manufacturers &re&are %eclarations of Performance!

<verall the new :P7 is not revolutionary instead it clarifies and sim&lifies the :P% and the overview of the &rocedural changes can *e found in '&&endi> "! The most

P a g e | 28

im&ortant fact for the sco&e of this thesis is however that the 7egulation introduces a new essential (*asic) re-uirement for construction wor(s namely sustainable use of natural resources. This re-uirement is further descri*ed and e>&lained in the 'nne> $ of the 7egulationG I$he construction works !ust be designed# built and de!olished in such a way that the use of natural resources is sustainable and in particular ensure the following" %a& reuse or recyclability of the construction works# their !aterials and parts after de!olition' %b& durability of the construction works' %c& use of environ!entally co!patible raw and secondary !aterials in the construction works.( The *asic re-uirement on hygiene# health and environ!ent (?) is also somewhat e>&anded com&ared to the res&ective re-uirement in the :P% and the definitions are made more detailed and &recise! 'n im&ortant &recision is the inclusion of the all life cycle stages when considering im&acts of construction wor(s on hygiene health and environment! The res&ective re-uirement in the :P% clearly referred only to design and *uilding &hasesO the :P7 refers to the entire life cycle of Iconstruction use and demolitionJ (7egulation No ?#8."#$$ '&&endi> $ "#$$)! The overview of the changes in the *asic re-uirements is &resented in Ta*le ? where the new amendments are mar(ed in red! The detailed list of changes can *e found in '&&endi> ? (new amendments and changes are again mar(ed in red)!
Ta*le ?! The overview of the changes in the *asic re-uirements (7eg! No ?#8."#$$ '&&! $ "#$$)

%o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

&e'!ire#ent Mechanical resistance and sta*ility Safety in case of fire Hygiene health and environment Safety and accessi*ility in use Protection against noise Energy economy and Heat 7etention Sustaina*le use of natural resources

$(anges No changes No changes E>&anded E>&anded No changes E>&anded New

's to the assessment and documentation of sustainable use of resources it is stated in the recital clause (8E) of the 7egulation thatG

P a g e | 29

)*or the assess!ent of the sustainable use of resources and of the i!pacts of construction works on the environ!ent Environ!ental +roduct ,eclarations should be used when available.( The :P7 does not re-uire mandatory use of EP%s it is still voluntaryO however such a reference is a strong lin( towards a common usage and acce&tance of EP%s as a tool for documentation of environmental im&acts of a &roduct! 9here a&&lica*le the declaration of &erformance should also include the information a*out the content of ha5ardous su*stances in the construction &roduct in order to im&rove the &ossi*ilities for sustaina*le construction and to facilitate the develo&ment of more environmentally friendly &roducts (7egulation No ?#8."#$$ recital clause ("8) "#$$)! It should *e also noted that the new 7egulation ta(es a s&ecial notice of small and medium=si5ed enter&rises (SMEs) that re&resent the ma+ority of the EU enter&rises! This is done &articularly in two waysG $) *y sim&lification of the e>isting &rocedures so as to increase trans&arency of these and to reduce the costs incurred *y enter&rises in &articular small and medium=si5e enter&rises (Euro&ean :ommission "#$")O ") *y re-uiring the designation of Product :ontact Points for :onstruction in each Mem*er State M such a :ontact Point should &rovide free of charge information a*out the national &rovisions and s&ecific national re-uirements for the construction &roducts and construction wor(s in the res&ective Mem*er State (7egulation No ?#8."#$$ "#$$)! Until /uly "#$" only %enmar( had esta*lished such :ontact Point for :onstruction (Euro&ean Union "#$" and %anish Energy 'gency n!d!)! <verall the new 7egulation has led to a certain change of landsca&e in the sector since it clearly re-uires sustaina*le use of natural resources *y stating that Iconstruction wor(s must *e designed *uilt and demolished in such a way that the use of natural resources is sustaina*leJ (7egulation No ?#8."#$$ "#$$)!

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.. +nviron#ental assess#ent and re orting in construction sector

..1./elevant I%O standards
..1.1. Introduction

The International <rganisation for Standardisation (IS<) is an international non= governmental organisation founded in $BC@ and located in 6eneva Swit5erland! 9ith its $EC mem*ers it is today the worldLs largest develo&er of voluntary international standards that &rovide s&ecifications for &roducts services and &ractices thus hel&ing to ma(e industry more efficient and effective &romoting good industry &ractices and lowering *arriers to international trade (IS< n!d!)! The mem*ers of the IS< are the National Standards ;odies that also re&resent IS< in their res&ective countries! IS< standards are develo&ed *y a grou& of e>&erts after a &ro&osal is su*mitted to and acce&ted *y the relevant technical committee (T:)! 9hen a consensus is reached on the draft of the standard within the T: it is further shared with all IS< mem*ers who then comment on the draft and vote its final version! The whole &rocess of standard develo&ment is consensus=oriented! If a consensus is reached and a standard is a&&roved *y mem*er vote it *ecomes an IS< standardO if not it goes *ac( to T: for further editing (IS< n!d!)! 9hen an IS< standard is a&&roved and &u*lished it may further *e translated and ado&ted as a national standard *y the IS< mem*ers (IS< "#$$a)! ;y %ecem*er "#$$ the IS< had &u*lished $B #"? standards and standard=ty&e documentsO $C? of these were for the construction industry including construction materials and *uildings (IS< "#$$a)!

..1.2. I%O Tec!nical Co##ittees

The wor( of IS< is organi5ed in technical committees (T:s) that are further structured into su*=committees (S:s) or wor(ing grou&s (96s)! )or the sco&e of this thesis the following two technical committees are relevantG
T: "#@ on Environmental managementO T: 8B.S: $@ on Sustaina*ility in *uildings and civil engineering wor(s!

P a g e | 31

The T: "#@ was esta*lished in $BB? as a res&onse to the UN :onference on Environment and %evelo&ment in 7io de /aneiro and its call for sustaina*le develo&ment! It is res&onsi*le for the develo&ment and maintenance of the IS<= $C### family of international standards which are standards devoted to various disci&lines of environmental management! These are generic standards that can *e im&lemented in any ty&e of &u*lic or &rivate organi5ation and a&&lied to any ty&e of &roducts and services (IS< "##Ba)! The main o*+ectives of the IS<=$C### family are to hel& organisations toG
Minimi5e harmful effects on the environment caused *y their activities Meet regulatory re-uirements 'chieve continual im&rovement of their environmental &erformance Im&rove *usiness &erformance through more efficient use of resources (IS< "#$"a)!

The structure of the T: "#@ is &resented in )igure " that shows its si> su*= committees with the res&ective areas of com&etence as well as the standards that have *een develo&ed *y these S:s! Standards under develo&ment are shown in lighter colour in &arentheses!

)igure "! The structure and the standards of T: "#@ (from Mageroy "#$$O u&dated in "#$")

'll construction wor(s must of course fulfil functional and technical &erformance re-uirements *ut they also should consider and ta(e into the account the environmental economic and social &erformance (1rigsvoll )umo and Mor*iducci "#$#)! These as&ects within the standardisation wor( are under the res&onsi*ility of the T: 8B.S: $@ that is a &art of T: 8B on ;uildings and civil engineering wor(s!

P a g e | 32

The T: 8B.S: $@ is s&ecifically concerned with Sustaina*ility in *uildings and civil engineering! It was esta*lished in "##" and has *y now &u*lished C standards and another ? standards are under develo&ment! The structure and wor(ing grou&s of the T: 8B.S: $@ and the overview of the standards develo&ed *y this T: are &resented in )igure ?! Standards under develo&ment are shown in lighter colour in &arentheses!

)igure ?! The structure and the standards of T: 8B.S: $@ (IS< "#$"*)

The relationshi& and connection among the standards of the T: 8B.S: $@ are nicely illustrated in )igure C! 's seen from the )igure the full s&ectrum of sustaina*ility as&ects are covered *y IS< $8?B" and IS< "$B"B Part $ that are *oth standards &roviding the methodological *asics (IS< $8?B" M IS< "##A)! The &ro+ect of IS<.T7 "$B?" that also covered all sustaina*ility as&ects was deleted in "#$" (IS< "#$"c)! The sector=s&ecific EP% standard IS< "$B?# covers only the environmental as&ects only!

P a g e | 33

)igure C! 7elated IS< standards for Sustainability in building construction (IS< $8B?" M IS< "##A)

9ith regards to )igure C that is *ased on the structure descri*ed in the IS< $8?B" it is im&ortant to &oint out that the :EN standards related to sustaina*ility of *uildings and *uilding &roducts are structured the same way though the terminology may somewhat vary! The :EN standards are further discussed in the ne>t section! The most essential details a*out the standards related to environmental management systems life cycle assessment and &roduct la*elling were already &resented in the sections of cha&ter ?! The following IS< standards are of &articular interest for the further discussion in this thesisG
-S. /0021 M Environmental la*els and declarations = Ty&e III environmental declarations = Princi&les and &roceduresO -S. /0002 M 9ater foot&rint of &roducts &rocesses and organisations (under develo&ment)O -S. /0023 M :ar*on foot&rint of &roducts (under develo&ment)O -S. /1452 M Sustaina*ility in *uilding construction M 6eneral &rinci&lesO -S. 2/540 M Sustaina*ility in *uilding construction = Environmental declaration of *uilding &roducts!

These will *e further discussed in greater detail in the ne>t sections! The standards for environmental auditing (T:"#@.S:") environmental &erformance evaluation for organisations (T:"#@.S:C) and the rest of the standards on greenhouse gas management (T:"#@.S:@) as well as detailed investigations of T:8B.S:$@ standards for the assessment of whole *uildings are outside the sco&e of this thesis!

P a g e | 34

..1.". I%O 1$02.

IS< $C#"8G"##E Environ!ental labels and declarations 6 $ype --- environ!ental declarations 6 +rinciples and procedures is a generic international standard that Iesta*lishes the &rinci&les and s&ecifies the &rocedures for develo&ing Ty&e III environmental declaration &rogrammes and Ty&e III environmental declarationsJ (IS< $C#"8 M IS< "##E)! The standard is a&&lied on a voluntary *asis and it is im&ortant to note that any goods or services are referred to as a &roduct in IS< $C#"8! IS< $C#"8 is develo&ed in accordance with the general &rinci&les laid out in IS< $C#"# Environ!ental labels and declarations 7 8eneral principles. )urther it re-uires that ,:' which will *e used for setting u& an EP% is conducted in line with the &rinci&les re-uirements and guidelines &rovided in IS< $C#C# and IS< $C#CC! The overall o*+ectives of this standard are (IS< $C#"8 clause C M IS< "##E)G
to &rovide the relia*le -uantified information on the environmental as&ects of &roductsO to allow for informed com&arisons *etween &roductsO to encourage im&rovement of environmental &erformanceO to &rovide information for further environmental assessments!

EP%s develo&ed according to this standard are &rimarily intended for the use in *usiness=to=*usiness communication *ut it is not &recluded to use them in *usiness= to=customer communication! It is noted in the standard that an EP% develo&er should within limits ta(e into account the information needs and awareness of its target audience! The standard &rovides the re-uirements for (IS< $C#"8 M IS< "##E)G
develo&ment and o&eration of an EP% &rogramme (including &rocedures for definition of &roduct categories and the develo&ment of &roduct category rules (P:7) as well as for the a&&lication of ,:' methodology)O develo&ment of EP%sO verification of EP%sO additional re-uirements for develo&ing EP%s for *usiness=to=consumer communication!

Ensuring com&ara*ility and trans&arency of information and &rocedures is critical since the o*+ective of EP%s is to allow for com&arisons of the environmental &erformance of &roducts throughout the whole life cycle! Ferification is another

P a g e | 35

im&ortant com&onent that should also *e done in a trans&arent manner! This is relevant for P:7 review and inde&endent verification of ,:'.,:I on which the EP% is *ased as well as the final EP% itself! IS< $C#"8 is a generic standard and as such does not include any sector=s&ecific re-uirements and &rovisions M these are left u& to other standards that are *uilt u&on this for e>am&le IS< "$B?# that is a sector=s&ecific standard addressing construction industry and in &articular construction &roducts! 7e-uirements for develo&ment and o&eration of an EP% &rogramme including P:7 and EP% develo&ment and contents of the EP% are discussed in more detail in the section E!$! ,evelop!ent and operation of an E+, progra!!e.

..1.$. I%O 1$0$1 and I%O 1$012

IS< $C#CE and IS< $C#E@ are two international standards that are currently still under develo&ment so information a*out these is somewhat limited! However it is im&ortant to mention them *ecause of the ongoing de*ate on the role of these two standards for the &roduct assessment and la*elling! 9hile the IS< $C#"8 is a standard for the develo&ment of EP%s *ased on multi&le indicators IS< $C#CE 9ife cycle assess!ent 6 :ater footprint 6 Require!ents and guidelines and IS< $C#E@ arbon footprint of products 6 Require!ents and guidelines for quantification and co!!unication re&resent single=indicator standards i!e! standards that addresses in &articular a single im&act category! = arbon footprint

The issues li(e glo*al warming and reduction of car*on emissions are at the to& of the environmental &olicy agenda today and as unscientific as it may sound terms li(e Kclimate changeL Kcar*on foot&rintL etc! have *ecome somewhat of a fashiona*le *u55words ()in(*einer "##BO 9eidema et al! "##A)! The li(ely reason is that to the general &u*lic a car*on foot&rint is a more a&&ealing conce&t than ,:' M it is sim&ler to -uantify easier to gras& and it has *een significantly &romoted outside the research community (9eidema et al! "##A)! SET': Euro&e ,:' Steering :ommittee ("##A) also &oints out that searching for sim&lification of ,:' methodology that would allow assessing a large num*er of &roducts in short time is a significant driving force for car*on foot&rint &o&ularity!

P a g e | 36

There are already various standards for 6H6 -uantification and management including IS< $C#C> series for life cycle assessment that already includes the im&act category for glo*al warming &otential! In this conte>t it is not sur&rising that the -uestions li(e I9hy do we need another standard s&ecifically on greenhouse gasesTJ arise! 'ccording to '*i='(l ("#$") the &ur&ose of this standard is not only to set rules for the -uantification and communication of car*on foot&rint *ut also to harmoni5e the different national initiatives related to Icar*on la*elingJ of &roducts and services! Unifying standards lower *arriers to trade and leads to increased consistency and credi*ility of environmental claims! ;esides as &ointed out 9eidema et al! ("##A) the Ithe e>isting IS< standards are vague on several crucial &ointsJ and the am*ition for the new standard should *e that it is *oth rigorous and easily a&&lica*le in &ractice! The o*+ective of IS< $C#E@ is to develo& internationally ac(nowledged system to account for the car*on foot&rint of &roducts (goods and services)! The standard will &rovide re-uirements for the -uantification and communication of greenhouse gases (6H6) associated with &roducts over their entire life cycle! The earlier draft version consisted of two &arts res&ectively while in the later discussions the wor(ing grou& &ro&osed to com*ine *oth &arts in a single standard (Panthi "#$$)! Im&ortantly IS< $C#E@ offers a wide range of communication o&tions for *oth *usiness=to=*usiness and *usiness=to=consumer communication (P:) 9orld )orum "#$")G
car*on foot&rint declarationsO environmental claims and la*elsO re&ortingO &erformance trac(ing!

IS< $C#E@ is *ased on the life cycle assessment &rinci&les laid out in IS< $C#C# and IS< $C#CC *ut it will give a more s&ecific guidance than the underlying IS< $C#CCG"##E (P:) 9orld )orum "#$")! The standard has also references to the IS< series of standards for environmental la*elling as well as IS< $C#E8 and IS< $C#EE on validation and verification related to 6H6! In /une "#$" the standard is still under develo&ment at the En-uiry stage (IS< "#$"d) *ut a draft standard has *een &u*lished *y the IS<! = :ater footprint

%es&ite the strong ca&a*ilities of ,:' and the continuous maturity of this methodology freshwater use as an issue has traditionally received very limited attention in ,:' (1oehler "##A)! Though a somewhat s&eculative assum&tion *ut

P a g e | 37

the ,:' methodology was essentially develo&ed *y &ractitioners and academia in industriali5ed countries where water scarcity is yet irrelevant (i*id)! <n a glo*al scale however water availa*ility and water -uality are increasingly *ecoming areas of great concern indicating that there is a considera*le need for methodological solutions to &ro&erly account for freshwater use related to a &roductLs life cycle and glo*ali5ed value chains! This has led to the initiation of the wor( on an international standard for water foot&rint (1oehler "##A and 9essman "#$#)! The &ro+ect was initiated in "##B and is &lanned to *e com&leted in "#$"."#$? (Hum*ert n!d!) In May "#$" the standard was still under develo&ment in the :ommittee stage (IS< "#$"e)! IS< $C#CE will &rovide the &rinci&les re-uirements and guidelines for the assessment and communication of the water foot&rint of &roducts &rocesses and organisations *ased on the life cycle assessments as given in IS< $C#CC (Eri(sson and Neven "##B)! The &ro&osed sco&e of the standard includes all ty&es of water and the region= s&ecific factors li(e scarcity level of develo&ment etc! will *e ta(en into account (Eri(sson and Neven "##B)! The standard will *e consistent with other standards the IS< $C### series in &articular with IS< $C#C# and IS< $C#CC for ,:' IS< $C#"# for environmental communication and IS< $C#EC and IS< $C#E@ for 6H6 -uantification and communication (Hum*ert "##B)! The main criticism of these two standards is that they assess a single im&act category of climate change and water usage res&ectively! ;oth standards do not address other environmental social and economic im&acts associated with &roducts ('*i='(l "#$"O E: Institute for Environment and Sustaina*ility "#$$)! ' &roduct that has a small car*on or water foot&rint does not necessarily score well on the other im&act categories! Thus such single=criterion standards and claims *ased on these standards may result in oversim&lification (9eidema et al! "##A) misleading assum&tions a*out the su&eriority and environmental -uality of &roducts ('*i='(l "#$") and &ro*lem shifting *etween the im&act categories ()in(*einer "##B)! Since the information a*out IS< $C#CE and IS< $C#E@ is rather limited due to them *eing in the Iunder develo&mentJ stage and the main focus of this study is on the develo&ment of EP%s that cover several indicators according to the e>isting legislative re-uirements in the EU these two standards will not *e further mentioned in this thesis (though they re&resent a very interesting and current to&ic for another study)!

P a g e | 38

..1... I%O 1."32

IS< $8?B"G"##A Sustainability in building construction 6 8eneral principles is a sector= s&ecific international standard that identifies the o*+ectives and esta*lishes the general &rinci&les for sustaina*ility in *uildings and other construction wor(s! The standard is *ased on the conce&t of sustaina*le develo&ment (as defined in the ;rundtland re&ort) and the conce&t of the life cycle of *uildings and other construction wor(s M from the resource e>traction till the final dis&osal (IS< $8?B" M IS< "##A)! The general &rinci&les laid out in this standard are (IS< $8?B" clause 8!? M IS< "##A)G
continual im&rovement e-uity (intergenerational interregional and intra=societal considerations)O glo*al thin(ing and local action holistic a&&roachO involvement of interested &artiesO long=term consideration (incl! life=cycle thin(ing)O a&&lication of the &recautionary &rinci&le and ris( managementO res&onsi*ility (incl! moral res&onsi*ility)O trans&arency and availa*ility of information!

The general &rinci&les further form the *asis for a suite of standards addressing s&ecific issues related to sustaina*ility of construction wor(s! It also gives the guidance on the a&&lication of these general &rinci&les for environmental economic and social as&ects that are ine>trica*ly lin(ed and interde&endent (IS< $8?B" M IS< "##A)! The areas of concern for these three ty&es of as&ects are listed in Ta*le C and the suite of standards develo&ed according to the &rinci&les laid out in this standard and their interconnection is shown in )igure C!
Ta*le C! The areas of concern for the different as&ects (IS< $8?B" clause E!"=E!C M IS< "##A)

%o 1 2 3

)s"ects Economic Environmental Social

)reas of concern 'sset value economic resources! The environment resources! Social infrastructure cultural human health and comfort!

heritage

P a g e | 39

IS< $8?B" recogni5es the im&ortance role of organisations and other sta(eholders in sustaina*ility of construction industryO however it does not intend to give &rovisions for the assessment of organisations or sta(eholders! The standard also does not &rovide any levels and *enchmar(s to *e used as the *asis for sustaina*ility claims!

..1.1. I%O 213"0

IS< "$B?#G"##@ Sustainability in building construction 7 Environ!ental declaration of building products is a sector=s&ecific international standard of voluntary nature that &rovides the &rinci&les and re-uirements for Ty&e III environmental declarations s&ecifically for *uilding &roducts! This standard *uilds u&on IS< $C#"8 and is meant to com&lement the generic IS< $C#"8! Though a &art of standard series on sustaina*ility in *uilding construction it covers only the environmental as&ects and does not account for the economic and social as&ects of construction &roducts! IS< "$B?# is an attem&t to res&ond to the increasing demand from various actors in the construction sector for information that would ena*le them to address the environmental im&acts of *uildings and other construction wor(s and to harmonise various national a&&roaches used for addressing this demand (IS< "$B?# M IS< "##@)! The (ey element for that is having a consistent way of develo&ing EP%s that are *ased on ,:'s &erformed in a consistent mannerO here the standard refers to IS< $C#C# series! The overall goal of EP%s is Ito encourage demand for and su&&ly of *uilding &roducts that cause less stress on the environmentJ *y communication of accurate and verifia*le information on environmental as&ects of these &roducts (IS< "$B?# clause 8!$ M IS< "##@)! Environmental declarations re&resent a standardi5ed format for the communication of the -uantified (as well as -ualitative) information a*out &roducts! Such declarations for *uilding &roducts are im&ortant *ecause theyG
first of all &rovide in&ut data and information for the assessment of the whole *uildings and construction wor(s and allow for informed choices of &urchasers and consumers!

The goal of this standard is thus to &rovide a trans&arent and scientifically ro*ust methodology for develo&ing of EP%s for *uilding &roducts (IS< "$B?# clause 8!$ M IS< "##@)! The same as IS< $C#"8 also this standard stresses the im&ortance of involvement of interested &arties (clause 8!") and com&ara*ility of EP%s (clause 8!E of this standard with the reference to IS< $C#"8G"##E clause C and 8!E)!

P a g e | 40

<nly the manufacturer or grou& of manufacturers of the &roduct are authori5ed to declare the environmental &erformance of the &roduct (IS< "$B"# clause 8!? M IS< "##@)! 'n EP% develo&ed in accordance with this standard is &rimarily intended for *usiness=to=*usiness communication though it may also *e used for *usiness=to= consumer communication (IS< "$B"# clause 8!C M IS< "##@)! 'n im&ortant conce&t within IS< "$B?# is the information module that can *e e>&lained sim&ly as &art of the life cycle! 9hen an EP% covers all life cycle stages these should *e divided into at least C main life cycle stages (information modules) as indicated in )igure 8 under IStagesJ! These stages may *e further su*=dived into IModulesJ (see )igure 8)!

)igure 8! Information modules of the EP% according to IS< "$B?# (IS< "$B?# M IS< "##@)

)urther the standard o&erates with ? ty&es of assessment o&tions (IS< "$B?# clause 8!8 M IS< "##@)G
cradle=to=gate M modules $=? are mandatoryO cradle=to=gate with o&tion M modules $=? are mandatory modules C=$C are o&tionalO cradle=to=grave M all modules are mandatory!

's it will *e shown in the later analysis of the new EN $8A#CG"#$" (a ItwinJ standard *y the Euro&ean :ommittee for Standardisation) the Euro&ean standard uses a very similar division of life cycle stages!

P a g e | 41

's to the content of the declaration IS< "$B?# re-uirements are largely similar to those &rovided in the generic IS< $C#"8 (see Ta*le U in the section ,evelop!ent and operation of an E+, progra!!e)! The re-uirements that are s&ecific in the IS< "$B?# include (MagerQy "#$$)G
Isim&le visual re&resentation of the *uilding &roductJO information a*out the sites and manufacturer that the ,:' results are re&resentative forO a statement that the declaration re&resents an average &erformance!

IS< "$B?# s&ecifies also the categories for the declaration of environmental im&acts use of resources and generated waste! These include (IS< "$B?# clause A!"!" M IS< "##@)G
environmental im&actsO use of resources and renewa*le &rimary energyO waste to dis&osalO and emissions to water soil and indoor air that shall *e declared in accordance with national standards and &ractice!

)or the sa(e of convenience these categories will *e investigated in more detail in the section 8!"!C! and at the same time com&ared with the res&ective re&orting category re-uirements in the new Euro&ean standard EN $8A#C on the develo&ment of EP%s for construction &roducts in Euro&e! The re&orting categories and their com&onents of *oth standards are listed in Ta*le @!

..1.2. %u##ar'

<verall IS< "$B?# is largely similar to IS< $C#"8! ;oth standards are *ased on the life cycle &ers&ective and on the develo&ment and usage of P:7s *ut IS< "$B?# &rovides additional re-uirements for the develo&ment of EP%s and for the contents of the declaration! IS< "$B?# is also more s&ecific with regards to information modules in order to ena*le usage of the EP%s develo&ed according to this standard for further assessments of the environmental &erformance of the whole *uildings! The re-uirements for develo&ing P:7s and verification of EP%s are the same *etween the two standards so the same P:7 can *e used whether the EP% is &re&ared according to IS< $C#"8 or IS< "$B?# (MagerQy "#$$)! IS< "$B?# does not &rovide re-uirements for the develo&ment and o&eration of EP% &rogrammesO these are laid out in IS< $C#"8!

P a g e | 42

;oth standards &rovide re-uirements for EP%s that are &rimarily intended for *usiness=to=*usiness communication *ut the usage of these for *usiness=to= consumer communication is not &recluded!

..2./elevant C+4 standards

..2.1. Introduction

The Euro&ean :ommittee for Standardi5ation (:EN from )rench = :omitV Euro&Ven de Normalisation) is an international non=&rofit organisation that was officially esta*lished in $B@8 and is currently *ased in ;russels! :EN and its ?? national mem*ers wor( together to develo& voluntary Euro&ean standards (ENs) and technical s&ecifications! It is the only recogni5ed Euro&ean organi5ation according to %irective BA.?C.E: for the &lanning drafting and ado&tion of Euro&ean Standards in all areas of economic activity with the e>ce&tion of electrotechnology and telecommunication for whom s&ecialised standardisation organisations e>ist (:EN n!d!=*)! The main o*+ective of :EN is to remove trade *arriers among the EU Mem*er States that are caused *y different national &ractices and technical s&ecifications! 9hen there is one common Euro&ean standard or technical s&ecification in all the EU countries and all conflicting national standards are withdrawn a &roduct can reach a far wider mar(et simultaneously with lower develo&ment testing and certification costs (:EN "#$#)! Euro&ean standards aim to reach and reflect a consensus among the economic and social interests of the mem*er countries! Most of the standards are initiated *y industry through the National Standards ;odies *ut they can as well *e initiated *y consumers associations and other actors! ;esides many standards are develo&ed to su&&ort the Euro&ean legislation and these are then initiated *y the Euro&ean :ommission (E:) and the Euro&ean )ree Trade 'ssociation (E)T') (i*id)! 9hen the standard is develo&ed and ratified ratification *y :EN the National Standards ;odies ado&t this Euro&ean Standard as an identical national standard at the same time withdrawing any conflicting national standards! Thus the Euro&ean Standard *ecomes the national standard in all mem*er countries of :EN (i*id)! The total num*er of the active documents &er %ecem*er "#$$ was $C CBA (:EN n!d!=*)!

P a g e | 43

..2.2. Coo eration bet(een I%O and C+4 5t!e 6ienna Agree#ent7

The :EN has signed the so called Fienna 'greement with the International <rgani5ation for Standardi5ation (IS<) M according to it Euro&ean and international standards can *e develo&ed in &arallel avoiding the dou*le wor( and increasing glo*al a&&lica*ility and harmonisation *etween the standards develo&ed *y these two organisations! More than ?#N of the Euro&ean Standards ado&ted *y :EN are identical to international standards! ;esides the identical EN.IS< Standards a num*er of Euro&ean standards develo&ed *y :EN are closely lin(ed to IS< standards (:EN "#$#)! Some of the most common identical standards for environmental management include (:EN "#$")G
EN IS< $C##$G"##C (identical to IS< $C##$G"##C) EN IS< $C#"#G"##$ (identical to IS< $C#"#G"###) EN IS< $C#"$G"##$ (identical to IS< $C#"$G$BBB) EN IS< $C#"CG"### (identical to IS< $C#"CG$BBB) EN IS< $C#"8G"#$# (identical to IS< $C#"8G"##E) EN IS< $C#C#G"##E (identical to IS< $C#C#G"##E) EN IS< $C#CCG"##E (identical to IS< $C#CCG"##E)

The connections similarities and differences *etween the standards for environmental &roduct declarations develo&ed *y these two organi5ations are discussed in the section 8!?!

..2.". C+48TC".0 standards

In March "##C the Euro&ean :ommission issued the Mandate ?8# directing the :EN to develo& standards for environmental &erformance of construction &roducts and whole *uildings! In res&onse :EN created a Technical :ommittee ?8# (T:?8#) to *e res&onsi*le for the develo&ment of standardi5ed methods for the assessment of the sustaina*ility as&ects of new and e>isting construction wor(s and for standards for the environmental &roduct declaration of construction &roducts (9orld 6;: "#$$)! In /une "##A the wor(ing area of :EN.T:?8# was e>&anded to include the develo&ment of standards for the assessment of social and economic &erformance (life cycle costing) of *uildings!

P a g e | 44

The T: consists of several wor(ings grou&s (96) with res&ective res&onsi*ilities and the structure of the :EN.T:?8# and its areas of res&onsi*ility are given in Ta*le 8!
Ta*le 8! The structure of :EN.T:?8# (:EN n!d!=c)

*orking gro!" $,%-+$ 350-*. 1 $,%-+$ 350-*. 3 $,%-+$ 350-*. 4 $,%-+$ 350-*. 5 $,%-+$ 350-*. 6

+itle and res"onsibility Environmental &erformance of *uildings Product level Economic &erformance assessment of *uildings Social &erformance assessment of *uildings :ivil Engineering wor(s

;y /uly ?# "#$" the :EN.T:?8# has &u*lished A standards M *oth for the assessment of the whole *uildings and for the develo&ment of environmental &roduct declarations for construction &roducts! Two standards for the assessment of *uildings remain still to *e &u*lished! The overview of the wor( outcome of :EN.T:?8# on sustainability of construction works is &resented in Ta*le E!
Ta*le E! The standards develo&ed *y :EN.T:?8# on Sustaina*ility in construction wor(s (:EN "#$"*) Standard %a#e of t(e standard Stat!s Pu*lished Pu*lished Pu*lished Pu*lished Pu*lished Pu*lished Pu*lished Pu*lished Under a&&roval Under drafting

Standards for construction products $,%-+& 15941 EP%s = Methodology for selection and use of generic data ,% 15804 EP%s = :ore rules for the &roduct category of constr! &rod! ,% 15942 EP%s = :ommunication format ;="=; Standards for buildings ,% 15643/1 Sustaina*ility assessment of *uildings = Part $G 6eneral framewor( ,% 15643/2 Part "G )ramewor( for the assess! of environmental &erformance ,% 15643/3 Part ?G )ramewor( for the assessment of social &erformance ,% 15643/4 Part CG )ramewor( for the assessment of economic &erformance ,% 15978 'ssessment of env! &erf! of *uildings = :alculation method "r,% 16309 'ssessment of social &erformance of *uildings = Methods / 'ssessment of economic &erformance of *uildings = Methods

The wor( &rogramme of :EN.T:?8# and the relationshi& among the standards develo&ed *y it are &resented in )igure E (only the &u*lished standards are included)! 's seen from the )igure E the terms used are slightly different *ut the structure of the standard family is strongly similar to that of IS< T:8B.S:$@ res&onsi*le for standards on Sustainability in building construction (see )igure C)! 'lso the :EN.T:?8# covers sustaina*ility *y loo(ing at the three as&ects of it M environmental social and economic!

P a g e | 45

The wor( of :EN.T:?8# is closely lin(ed to the im&lementation of the 7egulation No ?#8."#$$ which covers also the technical and functional &erformance! The technical and functional &arameters are also where the information necessary for environmental economic and social considerations come from therefore it also included in the )igure E for illustrative &ur&oses though the main focus of thesis of course remains on the &erformance as&ects related to sustaina*ility and environment in &articular!

)igure E! 7elated :EN standards for Sustainability of construction works (EN $8B@AG"#$$ M :EN "#$$)

)or the sco&e of this thesis the :EN standards for the develo&ment of environmental &roduct declarations for construction &roducts are the most im&ortant es&ecially EN $8A#C that was &u*lished in '&ril "#$" and that &rovides &roduct category rules for construction &roducts and services and is now the guiding document for develo&ment of EP%s in Euro&e! This standard and its im&lications are studied in greater detail in the ne>t section!

P a g e | 46

..2.$. +4 1.90$:2012

EN $8A#CG"#$" is a sector=s&ecific standard that lays out the core &roduct category rules (P:7) for construction &roducts and services and sets the re-uirements for the develo&ment and verification of EP%s for these &roducts! The standard was &u*lished as recently as in '&ril "#$" and it is a &art of Euro&ean harmonisation efforts (Smith "#$")! If the methods used in the EU are consistent the generated information can *e transferred from scheme to scheme across Euro&e ena*ling the use of such consistent EP% for the further assessment of entire *uildings and lowering *arriers to trade! The overall goal of the EN $8A#C is to ensure that Iall environmental &roducts declarations (EP%) of construction &roducts construction services and construction &rocesses are derived verified and &resented in a harmonised wayJ (EN $8A#C M :EN "#$")! It also serves a tool for the im&lementation of the new :onstruction Products 7egulation analysed in the section C!"! in &articular as a tool for the assessment and documentation of sustaina*le use of natural resources M a new re-uirement introduced *y this 7egulation! In &ractice the EN $8A#C can *e &erceived as the core P:7 for construction &roducts in Euro&e that (EN $8A#C clause $ M :EN "#$")G
defines the &arameters to *e declaredO defines the life cycle stages and &rocesses to *e includedO defines the rules for the develo&ment of scenariosO includes the rules for calculating the ,:I and ,:I' including re-uirements for data -ualityO includes the rules for re&orting environmental and health information that is not covered *y ,:'O defines the conditions that ena*les the com&ara*ility of EP%s!

The EN $8A#C does not deal with the communication issues contents and the layout of EP%s! The common re-uirements for the contents and layout of the declaration are &resented in EN $8BC"G"#$$ and a detailed guidance and tem&lates can *e found in the 'nne> ' of the standard! It is however not &rohi*ited to use another layout (EN $8BC" M :EN "#$$)! The normative references to other standards include EN $8B@A on ;ssess!ent of environ!ental perfor!ance of buildings# IS< $C#CC on 9ife cycle assess!ent# IS< $C#"8 and IS< "$B?# standards for environmental &roduct declarations as well as several IS< standards for *uildings and constructed assets covering Service life planning (EN $8A#C clause " M :EN "#$").

P a g e | 47

In the same way as the IS< "$B?# the EN $8A#C o&erates with life cycle stages and information modules! The structure and contents of these stages and modules are &resented in )igure @ and they are very similar to those laid out in the IS< "$B?#! EP% information that is I&ac(edJ in such information modules allow for easy organisation and e>&ression of com&licated data covering the life cycle of the &roduct! This of course re-uires that the underlying data are consistent re&roduci*le and com&ara*le (EN $8A#C M :EN "#$")!

)igure @! Information modules of the EP% according to EN $8A#C (EN $8A#C M IS< "#$")

The most significant difference *etween the IS< and EN systems is that the EN $8A#C introduces an o&tional su&&lementary stage *eyond the *uilding life cycle (see clause E!C!?!E) that is meant to account se&arately for the re=use recovery and recycling &otential thus indicating a stronger focus on the im&ortance of secondary energy and materials! The information module <o /4" Recycling of the IS< "$B?# is here re&laced with the 4" :aste processing %for re6use# recovery# recycling&! In IS< "$B?# the o&tional information a*out recycled content or &otential for energy recovery may *e re&orted under ;dditional environ!ental infor!ation (IS< "$B?# clause A!"!C M IS< "##@).

P a g e | 48

'nother difference is that instead of num*ering the information modules from $=$C as it is done in the IS< "$B?# the Euro&ean standard o&erates with a slightly different numeration system *ased on letters that re&resent life cycle stage and num*ers that re&resent an information module within a res&ective stage! )urther the EN $8A#C o&erates with ? ty&es of assessment o&tions that conform fully with the assessment o&tions named in the IS< "$B?#! These are listed *elow (EN $8A#C clause 8!" M :EN "#$")G
cradle=to=gate M modules '$ to '? are mandatoryO cradle=to=gate with o&tions M modules '$ to '? are mandatory other modules are o&tional and %=module may also *e includedO cradle=to=grave M all modules from '$ to :C are mandatory %=module may also *e included!

The com&arison of construction &roducts *ased on their EP%s is defined *y the contri*ution they ma(e to the environmental &erformance of the *uilding and com&arisons are also &ossi*le the assem*led systems and com&onents i!e! at the su*=*uilding level! More detailed conditions for com&ara*ility of EP%s are &resented in the clause 8!? of the standard! 's to the contents of declaration the guidance on the layout and communication of EP% information are to *e found in the EN $8BC" Environ!ental product declarations 6 o!!unication for!at business6to6business. %eclaration of general information is however also descri*ed in the clause @!$ of the EN $8A#C! The lists of the re-uired general contents are rather similar *ut the Euro&ean standard introduces a few more re-uirementsG
a descri&tion of the main &roduct com&onents and materialsO a statement of the 8=year &eriod of validity (the IS< "$B?# does not esta*lish a s&ecific &eriod of validity this is left u& to P:7s)!

;esides the re&orting of the ,:'=*ased data from the information modules is covered se&arately in the clause @!" of the EN $8A#C! In general the re-uirements for the EP% contents are more detailed and more s&ecific com&ared to IS< "$B?# and these are descri*ed in the EN $8BC" on o!!unication for!at" business6to6 business! The EN $8BC" suggests using the generic tem&late called -nfor!ation $ransfer Matrix (clause 8 of the standard) and there are also several other tem&lates for the re&orting of the ,:' results in the 'nne> ' of the IS< $8BC" though the use of e>actly these tem&lates is not mandatory (IS< $8BC" M :EN "#$$)! 's to the environmental im&act categories to *e re&orted there are some significant differences *etween the re-uirements of the IS< "$B?# and EN $8A#C! The re-uired &arameters according to the two standards are listed in Ta*le @! The additional or

P a g e | 49

more detailed re-uirements of the EN $8A#C are mar(ed in red colour! The *lue= mar(ed indicators re&resent similar indicators that have *een grou&ed differently!
Ta*le @! Indicators to *e re&orted according to IS< "$B?# and EN $8A#C 0S1 2193022007 (clauses A!"!" M A!"!?) ,n3iron#ental i#"acts2 $! :limate change (6H6) "! %e&letion of stratos&heric o5one layer ?! 'cidification of land and water sources C! Eutro&hication 8! )ormation of tro&os&heric o5one (&hotochemical o>idants) ,% 1580422012 (clauses E!8 @!"!? M @!"!8 and @!C) ,n3iron#ental i#"act indicators2 $! 6lo*al 9arming Potential (69P) "! <5one %e&letion Potential (<%P) ?! 'cidification &otential ('P) C! Eutro&hication &otential (EP) 8! )ormation &otential of tro&os&heric o5one (P<:P) E! '*iotic de&letion &otential for non fossil resources ('%P=elements) @! '*iotic de&letion &otential for fossil resources ('%P=fossil fuels)! &eso!rce !se indicators2 E! Use of renewa*le &rimary energy e>cluding renewa*le &rimary energy resources used as raw materials @! Use of renewa*le &rimary energy resources used as raw materials A! Total use of renewa*le &rimary energy resources (&rimary energy and &rimary energy resources used as raw materials) B! Use of non renewa*le &rimary energy e>cluding non renewa*le &rimary energy resources used as raw materials $#! Use of non renewa*le &rimary energy resources used as raw materials $$! Total use of non renewa*le &rimary energy resources (&rimary energy and &rimary energy resources used as raw materials) $"! Use of secondary material $?! Use of renewa*le secondary fuels $C! Use of non renewa*le secondary fuels $8! Use of net fresh water! *aste category indicators2 $! Ha5ardous waste dis&osed "! Non ha5ardous waste dis&osed ?! 7adioactive waste dis&osed! ,#issions to 5ater, soil and indoor air2 To *e &rovided in accordance the hori5ontal standards on measurement of release of regulated dangerous su*stances using harmonised testing methods according to the &rovisions of the res&ective Technical :ommittees for Euro&ean &roduct standards (when availa*le)

4se of reso!rces and rene5able "ri#ary energy2 $! %e&letion of non=renewa*le energy resourcesO "! %e&letion of non=renewa*le material resourcesO ?! Use of renewa*le material resourcesO C! Use of renewa*le &rimary energyO 8! :onsum&tion of freshwater

*aste dis"osal2 $! Ha5ardous waste "! Non=ha5ardous waste

,#issions to 5ater, soil and indoor air2 To *e declared in accordance with national standards and &ractice!

P a g e | 50
(7ecycling content and energy recovery &otential can *e o&tionally re&orted under )dditional en3iron#ental infor#ation6) 1!t"!t flo5 indicators2 $! :om&onents for re=use "! Materials for recycling ?! Materials for energy recovery C! E>&orted energy!

's can *e seen from Ta*le @ EN $8A#C is more s&ecific and re-uires more detailed re&orting of the ,:' results! This com&arison also indicates a stronger focus on the accounting of secondary energy and materials and a strong interest to account for and document the re=use recovery and recycling &otential of &roducts! )inally the &rocess of verification and esta*lishing the validity of an EP% shall *e done in accordance with the IS< $C#"8 and IS< "$B?#O no additional re-uirements or sim&lifications are introduced in the Euro&ean standard (EN $8A#C clause B M :EN "#$")! ' rule of thum* for the reassessment and u&dating of a &u*lished EP% is that changes in environmental &erformance should *e re&orted to the verifier if they are outside the limits of W.= $#N on any one of the declared &arameters of the EP% (i*id)! To conclude most im&ortantly the new standard ensures that the same environmental indicators are to *e used in all EP%s and that data will *e consistently re&orted using the same life cycle stages and modules (PE International "#$")! This in turn should increase the availa*ility of com&ati*le environmental information and data for construction &roducts that can further used for the assessments of entire *uildings (Smith "#$")!

..".Co# arison of I%O and C+4 standards for +P,s

)or a manufacturer of construction &roducts who wants to develo& an EP% for some of its &roducts there are currently ? standards availa*le Ion the mar(etJG
IS< $C#"8 M a generic international standardO IS< "$B?# M a sector=s&ecific international standardO EN $8A#C M a sector=s&ecific Euro&ean standard!

)irst of all the IS< standards normally related to other standards and they have no &olitical *ac(ground! The :EN standards on the other hand often relate to the EU directives or &olicies (1rigsvoll )umo and Mor*iducci "#$#)! 'll of the standards that were investigated in detail share a common o*+ective of ena*ling the e>change of sustaina*ility related information a*out internationally

P a g e | 51

traded &roducts and services! ;oth of the sector=s&ecific standard aim to esta*lish rules and &rocedures for the develo&ment of consistent and com&ara*le EP%s for construction &roducts and services that could *e further used for the assessments of entire *uildings (or assem*led systems and com&onents at the su*=*uilding level)! IS< $C#"8 is a general standard that &rovides &rinci&les and &rocedures for the develo&ment of EP%s for any &roduct or serviceO it is also ado&ted as an identical standard in the EU M EN IS< $C#"8G"#$#! IS< "$B?# and EN $8A#C are sector=s&ecific standards develo&ed s&ecifically for construction &roducts and services! ;oth of them are *ased on the same general &rovisions of the IS< $C#"8! Terminology used in IS< and :EN standards differs slightly = IS< standards in the field of sustaina*le construction tal( a*out environmental economic and social indicators while :EN is referring to integrated &erformance of *uildings that is com&rised of environmental &erformance life cycle cost &erformance and health and comfort &erformance of the *uilding (1rigsvoll )umo and Mor*iducci "#$#)! In general the Euro&ean EN $8A#C is more s&ecific and &recise in its re-uirements and it &rovides a more detailed list of environmental and other indicators for the re&orting of results of the conducted ,:'! The EN $8A#C also esta*lishes accounting for secondary material and energy flows! It has *roadened the sco&e to include I*eyond the *uilding life cycleJ stage (module %) that covers re=use recovery and recycling &otential! The additionally introduced module % aims to increase trans&arency of the environmental *enefits and loads associated with reusa*le &roducts recycla*le materials and.or useful energy carriers that can *e used as secondary materials or fuels (EN $8A#C clause E!?!C!E M :EN "#$")! Increased attention to recycling &otential and use of secondary materials and energy can also *e o*served from the list of the selected environmental indicators and re&orting categories in EN $8A#C that are more detailed and more attentive to secondary flows of energy and materials (see Ta*le U)! In the IS< "$B?# recycling is included as an information module no $? in the end=of=life cycle stage (EN $8A#C terms it as Iwaste &rocessingJ) and one may o&tionally re&ort recycling content and energy recovery &otential under ;dditional environ!ental infor!ation. However re= use recovery and recycling &otential is treated rather vaguely and without s&ecific considerations in the IS< standard! )inally the IS< standards &ay also com&aratively more attention the involvement of interested &arties and the o&en consultation &rocess during the P:7 develo&ment while the EN $8A#C is a core P:7 itself and thus has a more descri&tive character!

P a g e | 52

<verall the ongoing international wor( for standardisation of the assessment and documentation of sustaina*ility as&ects will ma(e these assessments more trans&arent and the results of the assessments more credi*le com&ara*le and M what is also im&ortant M consistent! This will in turn increasingly allow using the information &resented in the EP%s for further assessments of entire *uildings as well as allow for informed choices of &urchasers and consumers!

P a g e | 53

1. +;isting +P, rogra##es in t!e +1.1.,evelo #ent and o eration of an +P, rogra##e
's the main focus of this thesis is to investigate feasi*ility of esta*lishing a new national EP% &rogramme re-uirements recommendations and other relevant information related to the develo&ment and o&eration of such &rogramme are studied in greater detail in this section! ' study *y Schenc( ("#$#) identifies the following I(ey ingredientsJ for a strong EP% &rogrammeG
conformance with the international standards on EP%s and ,:'s that would ensure the com&ara*ility and recognition of the EP%s develo&ed under the &rogrammeO government &rogrammes ena*ling a&&ro&riate legislation a strong life cycle inventory &rogramme and national standardisationO active &artici&ation of the industry in the develo&ment of sector=s&ecific P:7sO higher education &rogrammes develo& the necessary ,:'.EP% com&etencies (incl! relevant research) and N6< &rogrammes for education of the general &u*licO coo&eration with other EP% &rogrammes!

The international and Euro&ean standards and their res&ective re-uirements are discussed in the following sections that &artly cover also the im&ortance and the re-uirements for the mutual coo&eration and harmonisation *etween the &rogrammes! The recent initiatives for harmonisation and mutual recognition are investigated in the section E!E! The as&ects related to government &olicies and &rogrammes industry initiatives and the status of education &rogrammes and com&etences are &articularly investigated in the ,atvian conte>t in the cha&ter @! The guidelines and re-uirements for Ty&e III EP% &rogramme develo&ment and o&eration are given in IS< $C#"8 and an illustrative &rocess scheme on &rogramme develo&ment and o&eration is &rovided in 'nne> ' of the standard! 'ccording to this standard an EP% &rogramme can *e o&erated *y Ia com&any or a grou& of com&anies industrial or trade association &u*lic authorities or agencies an inde&endent scientific *ody or other organi5ationJ (IS< "##E)! <ne of the first tas(s is to define the sco&e of the &rogramme e!g! a certain geogra&hical area or certain industrial sectors or &roduct grou&s (IS< $C#"8 clause E!" M IS< "##E)! Some of the main res&onsi*ilities of the &rogramme o&erator include *ut are not limited to (IS< $C#"8 clause E!? M IS< "##E)G

P a g e | 54 &re&aration maintenance and communication of general &rogramme instructions (contents of the general &rogramme instructions as re-uired *y IS< $C#"8 are &resented in Ta*le A)O ensuring involvement of interested &arties in the &rogramme &rocedure and P:7 develo&mentO &u*lishing of P:7s and EP%s within the &rogramme and maintenance of the &u*licly availa*le lists and records on theseO selection of com&etent inde&endent verifiersO monitoring changes in &rocedures and documents and revising own &rocedures an documents when necessary!

Ta*le A! The contents of the general &rogramme instructions (IS< $C#"8 clause E!C M IS< "##E)

%o 1 2 3

$ontents Scope of the progra!!e .b=ectives of the progra!!e -dentification of the progra!!e operator

4 5

6 7

8 9 10 11

-ntended audience of progra!!e -nvolve!ent of the interested E!g! su&&liers manufacturers trade associations parties &urchasers users consumers N6<s &u*lic agencies inde&endent &arties certification *odies! +rocedure for definition of = product categories +rocedure for develop!ent Including content of P:7 rules for &eriod of validity and !aintenance of + R and selection &rocedure for &redetermined &arameters! +rocedure for independent Including com&etence of verifiers and com&etence verification of P:7 review &anel! *unding sources and other = resources +eriodic review of the = progra!!e instructions *ees If relevant!

$o##ents E!g! geogra&hic area or sector=s&ecific! = ' com&any or a grou& of com&anies industrial or trade association &u*lic authorities or agencies an inde&endent scientific *ody or other organi5ation! the ;="=; ;="=: or *oth!

<ne of the (ey com&onents is the involvement of interested &arties and the o&en consultation &rocess that should cover the develo&ment of the &rogramme itself and P:7s and the rules of how to &roduce and verify an EP% (IS< "##E)! %efinition of &roduct categories is another tas( to *e &erformed under the o&en consultation &rocess! The (ey rule stated *y IS< $C#"8 is that &roducts can *e &laced in the same &roduct category if they fulfil the same functions and a&&lications and the same functional unit can *e a&&lied (IS< $C#"8 clause E!E M IS< "##E)! P:7 documents are intended to ensure accurate -uantification of environmental as&ects of &roducts communication of these as&ects and im&acts consistently and

P a g e | 55

trans&arently that would further ensure the com&ara*ility of these as&ects and im&acts among &roducts in the same &roduct category (Ingwersen and Stevenson "#$")! Harmonisation of P:7s across the EP% &rogrammes is therefore very im&ortant! The re-uired contents of a P:7 document according to the IS< $C#"8 are &resented in Ta*le B! To achieve the necessary level for the harmonisation and consistency of the results the &rogramme o&erators are strongly encouraged to use readily availa*le P:7s when availa*le! The develo&ment of a new P:7 for the same &roduct category may *e +ustified in certain situations *ut should not *e *ased on the origin of the e>isting P:7 (IS< $C#"8 clause E!@!$ M IS< "##E)!
Ta*le B! The contents of a P:7 document (IS< $C#"8 clause E!@!$ M IS< "##E)

%o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

$ontents Product category definition and descri&tion 6oal and sco&e definition for the ,:' of the &roduct (acc! to the IS< $C#C#=series) Inventory analysis (incl! data collection calculation &rocedures and allocation of material and energy flows) Im&act category selection and calculation rules (if a&&lied) Parameters for re&orting ,:' data 7e-uirements for &rovision of additional environmental information Materials and su*stances to *e declared Instructions for &roducing the data re-uired to develo& the EP% Instructions on the content and format of the EP% Information on which stages of the life cycle are not considered (if a&&lica*le) Period of validity

The IS< $C#"8 allows for the develo&ment of multi&le &rogram o&erators in different countries and each of them has its own set of P:7 documents! ' study *y Ingwersen and Stevenson ("#$") unfortunately indicate that P:7s for the same &roduct categories have *egun to &roliferate and this could &otentially undermine com&arison and credi*ility of life=cycle=*ased claims for com&ara*le &roducts! In order to ensure that EP%s are com&ara*le and that they are understood and inter&reted correctly IS< $C#"8 re-uires that the &rogramme o&erator ensures the availa*ility of general &rogramme instructions P:7 documents and e>&lanatory material (IS< "##E)! The conditions for deeming different EP%s as com&ara*le are given in the clause E!@!" Require!ents for co!parability. IS< $C#"8 further re-uires the a&&lication of ,:' methodology according to IS< $C#C# series of standards for &roducing the -uantified environmental information for an EP%! The P:7 document should *uild u&on at least one life cycle assessment!

P a g e | 56

7esults from other environmental analysis tools or information modules (for e>am&le other EP%s) should *e used where relevant (IS< $C#"8 clause E!A M IS< "##E)! 's to the contents and format of the EP% these should com&ly with the re-uirements stated in the res&ective P:7! Some of the *asic elements are however stated in IS< $C#"8 M these are summari5ed in Ta*le $#! The rules for categorisation of ,:'.,:I data and ,:' results are given the clause @!"!" of the standard and the re-uirements related to additional environmental information are descri*ed in more detail in the clauses @!"!? and @!"!C res&ectively!
Ta*le $#! The contents of an EP% (IS< $C#"8 clause @!"!$ M IS< "##E)

%o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

&e'!ire#ent for t(e content Identification and descri&tion of the organisation %escri&tion of the &roduct Product identification Information a*out the EP% &rogramme P:7 identification Pu*lication date and &eriod of validity ,:' ,:I or information module data 'dditional environmental information %eclaration of content (materials and su*stances) E>cluded life cycle stages (if a&&lica*le) Statement that EP%s from different &rogrammes may not *e com&ara*le Information a*out o*taining e>&lanatory materials Information a*out verification

<nce the initial EP% is &u*lished it should *e u&dated as necessary to reflect for e>am&le changes in technology or manufacturing &rocess or other conditions that would alter the contents and accuracy of the initial declaration (IS< $C#"8 clause @!? M IS< "##E)! Ferification is another im&ortant com&onent of the EP% develo&ment &rocess that aims to ensure the com&liance of the develo&ed EP% with the general &rogramme instructions! The declaration data can *e verified inde&endently internally or e>ternally and the use of third &arty verification is a decision left u& to for the &rogramme o&erator to ta(e (IS< clause A!$!$ M IS< "##E)! The minimum re-uirements for P:7 review verification of ,:I.,:' data and verification of the final declaration are &rovided in the clauses A!$!" M A!$!C of the standard! The re-uirements for inde&endence and com&etences of verifiers are given in the clause A!"!

P a g e | 57

Even if most of the EP% &rogrammes are set u& according to the IS< $C#"8 and develo& their EP%s according to the IS< $C#"8 and IS< "$B?# they still &roduce different EP%s (Petters "#$$)! The reason for that is that the mentioned IS< standards are too vague and allow the &rogrammes and their &rocedures to develo& inconsistently (i*id)! Harmonisation of general &rogramme instructions and P:7s as well as mutual recognition of administrative &rocedures &rocedures for P:7s and declaration format is encouraged *etween the various &rogrammes in order to ensure com&ara*ility of EP%s (IS< $C#"8 M IS< "##E)! The recent efforts for the develo&ment of Euro&ean E:< &latform is a great e>am&le of coo&eration among the &rogramme o&erators! The Euro&ean E:< &latform is a &ro&osal for the Euro&ean um*rella organisation for national EP% &rogramme o&erators (Peters "#$$)! 'nother recent e>am&le of harmonisation efforts *etween the EP% &rogrammes is a mutual recognition agreement *etween the 6erman I;U &rogramme and the Swedish International EP% System that was reached in "#$" (Schmin(e "#$")! These two initiatives are discussed in more detail in section E!E!

1.2.*er#an': IBThe 6erman EP% &rogramme commonly referred to as I;U and administered *y the Institute of :onstruction and Environment (I;U) is one of the oldest EP% schemes! It was esta*lished in $BBA *y manufacturers of construction &roducts who were determined to su&&ort the demand for more sustaina*ility in the construction sector (I;U n!d!)! The (ey facts a*out the &rogramme are &resented in Ta*le $$!
Ta*le $$! 1ey facts a*out the 6erman EP% &rogramme (from Mageroy "#$$)!

.er#any Progra##e na#e2 Progra##e o5ner2 7ear of establis(#ent2 8oc!sed on2 9ased on2

I;U Institute of :onstruction and Environment (Institut ;auen und Umwelt e!F!) $BBA ;uilding &roducts IS< $C#"8 and IS< "$B?#

P a g e | 58

Today I;U is one of the most widely recogni5ed EP% &rogrammes with "#E &u*lished EP%s and X"# E<%s under develo&ment (Peters "#$$)! There is also a great variety in the origin of declaration holders M I;U has &u*lished EP%s of manufacturers in 6ermany )inland Italy Netherlands ;elgium 'ustria S&ain %enmar( Swit5erland Tur(ey and Malaysia (i*id)! I;U wor(s in close coo&eration with construction and environmental authorities in 6ermany and actively &artici&ates in the international standardisation &rocesses (I;U n!d!)! The mem*ers of I;U are construction &roduct manufacturers and service &roviders as well as associations! 'ccording to the data from "#$$ I;U had @8 ordinary mem*ers and $$ associated mem*ers (Peters "#$$)! There are also other actors involved in I;ULs wor( M health and environmental e>&erts and consultants inde&endent e>&erts from the research community and the authorities as well as testing facilities (I;U n!d!)! The &rogramme is financed through the mem*ershi& and licensing fees! The si5e of the annual mem*ershi& fee de&ends on the mem*erLs total turnover &er year and whether a mem*er is an ordinary com&any or an association and similar grou&ing and may vary from A## EU7 to B### EU7 (I;U "#$")! The initial verification and awarding of declaration are $"8# EU7 with the additional licensing fee &er year from $##=A## EU7 de&ending on the total amount of the &u*lished declarations (i*id)! In order to develo& and verify an EP% under the 6erman EP% &rogramme the owner of the EP% has to *e a mem*er of the &rogramme (I;U "#$$)O an a&&lication for mem*ershi& can *e made to the I;U informally on letter=headed &a&er! The &rocedure for creating an EP% under the I;U &rogramme is illustrated in )igure A! In short it is initiated *y a re-uest from &roducer and further consists of three ste&s (I;U n!d!)G
:reating P:7 document (if it is not already develo&ed for the &roduct category)O "! :reating declarations (*ased on the data from ,:' that is &erformed according to the res&ective P:7)O ?! :hec(ing and verification *y an inde&endent third &arty!
$!

If the P:7 is not readily availa*le for the res&ective &roduct category it should *e develo&ed in accordance with the re-uirements in the IS< $C#"8! The draft document is first develo&ed *y &roducers and e>&erts in the field and moderated *y I;U and it is then further -uestioned and verified *y the 'dvisory ;oard that acts as an inde&endent third *ody! The o&en consultation that is a re-uired &art of the &rocess ta(es &lace on the Internet=*ased )orum and allows for comments *y all interested &arties!

P a g e | 59

)igure A! EP% develo&ment and verification &rocedure under the I;U &rogramme (I;U n!d!)

The verification of the created EP% and its underlying data is carried out *y an inde&endent third &arty (the committee of e>&erts)!The &rogramme o&erator I;U has no influence over the verification &rocess whatsoeverO its final tas( is to &u*lish the declarations that have *een verified *y the committee of e>&erts (I;U n!d!) 7egarding the contents and layout of the &u*lished declarations these are develo&ed in com&liance with the IS< $C"#8 and IS< "$B?# (MagerQy "#$$)! 'fter the ado&tion of the EN $8A#C the declarations are *eing &re&ared and &u*lished according to the more s&ecific guidelines in this standard and its su&&lementary standard EN $8BC" on o!!unication for!at" business6to6business! The 6erman EP% &rogramme is the first to fully ado&t the new Euro&ean standard EN $8A#C into its general &rogramme instructions and general &roduct category rules for *uilding=related &roducts and services in order to facilitate the use of so called Euro&ean EP%s in *uilding assessment schemes and for showing com&liance with the re-uirements of the :onstruction Products 7egulation No ?#8."#$$ (Peters "#$$)! The general &rogramme instruction of I;U were u&dated in "#$$ and now

P a g e | 60

forms the *asis for the conformance of the EP%s develo&ed under the I;U &rogramme to the EN $8A#C and ensures the recognition of its EP%s throughout Euro&e (I;U "#$$)! I;U has also a strong &osition outside 6ermany! <ne of its goals is su&&ort and active &artici&ation in the efforts of the Euro&ean construction &roducts industry towards more sustaina*ility in construction sector (Peters "#$$)! I;U is a leading force in develo&ment of the E:<=EP% &latform M a common effort *y the e>isting EP% &rogramme owners to harmonise EP%s issued under various Euro&ean schemes (PE International "#$")! This initiative will *e discussed in more detail in the section E!E! The organisations in 'ustralia and New Yealand are also currently wor(ing on the develo&ment of an 'ustralasian EP% scheme *ased on the well=esta*lished 6erman I;U EP% system (PE International "#$")!

1.".%(eden: International +P, %'ste#

The Swedish EP% &rogramme or International EP% System (also referred to as Environ%ec or IES) is administered *y the Swedish Environment Management :ouncil in coo&eration with the mem*er organisations in a num*er of countries such as Italy S&ain and the US' (IES "#$"a)! It was founded in $BB@ *y the initiative from the *usiness sector (;oges(ar et al! "##")! The (ey facts a*out the &rogramme are &resented in Ta*le $"!
Ta*le $"! 1ey facts a*out the Swedish EP% &rogramme (from Mageroy "#$$)!

S5eden Progra##e na#e2 Progra##e o5ner2 7ear of establis(#ent2 8oc!sed on2 9ased on2

International EP% System (also Environ%ec) Swedish Environment Management :ouncil $BB@ Farious &roducts IS< $C#"8 and IS< "$B?#

The main o*+ective of the international EP% System is Ito hel& and su&&ort organisations to communicate the environmental &erformance of their &roducts (goods and services) in a credi*le and understanda*le wayJ *y offering any interested organisation in any country to develo& EP%s according to IS< $C#"8 and *y su&&orting other EP% &rogrammes see(ing coo&eration and harmonisation (IES "##A)! In the draft document of the u&dated &rogramme instructions there is also a reference to the new EN $8A#C and forthcoming IS< $C#E@ (IES "#$"*)!

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The Swedish system does not focus on any &articular &roduct categoryO instead it offers creation of P:7s and EP%s and inde&endent third &arty verification for with all ty&es of goods and services (IES "#$"a)! '&art from the full scale EP%s the International EP% System also offers to com&ile environmental information on s&ecific issues for e>am&le climate im&act through a climate declaration which descri*es the emissions of greenhouse gases *ased on ,:' (i*id)! Initially the Swedish EP% &rogramme with develo&ed in close coo&eration with the res&ective scheme in ItalyO however the Italian &rogramme uses different characterisation factors and often refers to a &u*lic ,:' data*ase that does not e>ist in Sweden (;oges(ar et al! "##")! ;y "#$" the International EP% System has issued XC## EP%s of $A# com&aniesO it has "A mem*er organisations and verifiers in $$ countries around the glo*e (Thorneus and Marino "#$")! <verall the Swedish EP% &rogramme is very internationally oriented scheme M a&art from Sweden it hosts the mem*ershi& organisations and declaration holders from $8 countries around the glo*e (IES "#$"c)! These are shown in )igure B! 'dditionally the first )innish EP% was &u*lished in the International EP% System in May "#$" (IES "#$"c)!

)igure B! <rigin countries of the declaration holders in the International EP% System (IES "#$"c)

The &rogramme documentation for the International EP% System consists of four &arts (IES "#$"d)G
Introduction intended uses and (ey &rogramme elements 6eneral Programme Instructions Su&&orting anne>es Process certification clarification!

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The general &rogramme instructions are currently under revision and the draft version of the u&dated document is now availa*le for o&en consultation until 'ugust ?$ "#$"! The new version of the general &rogramme instructions is e>&ected to a&&ly from /anuary "#$?! Until then the current version of the &rogramme instructions is valid (IES "#$"d)! The draft version also aims at aligning the current instructions with the EN $8A#C though the alignment is not as clear as for e>am&le in the guiding documents of the 6erman EP% &rogramme! The organisational structure of the Swedish EP% &rogramme is &resented in )igure $#! The International EP% :onsortium acts as the &rogramme o&erator according to IS< $C#"8! The &rogramme is further managed and administered *y the steering committee technical committee and the secretariat (IES "#$"*)! The develo&ment of new P:7 documents is underta(en *y a P:7 Moderator that coordinates the wor( of e>&erts and the Sta(eholder :onsultation 6rou&! <nce the EP%s are develo&ed *y the organisations they are verified *y either certification *odies or individual verifiers and &u*lished *y the secretariat (i*id)!

)igure $#! The organisational structure of the Swedish EP% &rogramme (IES "##A)

The creation of a new P:7 document may also *e initiated *y any sta(eholder *y contacting the SecretariatO all sta(eholders can as well as &artici&ate in the o&en consultation &rocess on the &rogrammeLs we*site (IES "#$"a)! 9hen it comes to the content layout and structure of the &u*lished declarations the EP%s from the International EP% System are the ones with the greatest variance (MagerQy "#$$)O some of the EP%s even seem entirely different! This could *e due to the fact that neither the general &rogramme instructions nor the res&ective P:7s &rovide s&ecific and clear re-uirements for the content and structure!

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's to the financing the Swedish EP% &rogramme o&erates with annual fees that cover all EP%s registered *y the res&ective organisation and registration fees (IES "#$"e)! 'ccording to the information on their we*site the annual fee is $### EU7 for small and medium=si5ed organisations with less than "8# em&loyees and "8## EU7 for large organisations with more than "8# em&loyees! The registration fee for the first EP% is $### EU7 and there are discounts for the second third etc! EP%! 's a result of the introduction of the new IunifyingJ EN $8A#C the International EP% System and the 6erman I;U &rogramme has recently agreed on the mutual recognition of verified EP%s develo&ed and &u*lished *y these two &rogramme o&erators (Schmin(e "#$")! This means that the EP%s of *oth &rogrammes are mutually recogni5ed without additional verification and the declaration holder of such an EP% may use one or *oth &rogramme logos! The mutual recognition however is restricted to EP%s of construction &roducts including furniture and te>tiles *uilt into a *uilding (i*id)! The achievement of mutual recognition is an ongoing &rocess *ut most of the &rogram characteristics have already the right level of accordance due to the common reference to the IS< $C#"8 IS< $C#C#.CC and EN $8A#C (in the draft version)! In addition a num*er of issues have *een identified that still need to *e aligned (Schmin(e "#$")!

1.$.4or(a': 4or(egian +P, Foundation

The Norwegian EP% )oundation or EP%=Norge was officially esta*lished in "##" *y the :onfederation of Norwegian Enter&rise and the ;uilding Industry 'ssociation (EP%=Norge n!d!)! The actors currently involved in the wor( of the &rogramme include the authorities e>&erts from the research communities as well as &u*lic and &rivate organisations (EP%=Norge "#$$)! The (ey facts a*out the &rogramme are &resented in Ta*le $?!
Ta*le $?! 1ey facts a*out the Norwegian EP% &rogramme (from Mageroy "#$$)!

%or5ay Progra##e na#e2 Progra##e o5ner2 7ear of establis(#ent2 8oc!sed on2 9ased on2

Norwegian EP% )oundation (EP%=Norge) :onfederation of Norwegian Enter&rise (NZringslivets Hovedorganisas+on NH<) "##" ;uilding &roducts and furniture IS< $C#"8 and IS< "$B?#

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The Norwegian EP% )oundation is a non=&rofit organisation and it is financed *y the :onfederation of Norwegian Enter&rise industry associations (EP%=Norge "#$$) and through the annual fee from the enter&rises that have EP%s verified *y the Norwegian EP% )oundation as well as a registration fee for each &u*lished EP% (EP%=Norge n!d!)! The &rices on the &rogrammeLs we*site are from "#$# M the annual administration fee is set to A### N<1 and registration fee to $#### N<1 for each EP% that covers the 8=year &eriod of validity (i*id)! If the same organisation develo&s more than $# EP%s then starting from the $$th the registration fee is $### N<1 &er EP%! Procedure for the develo&ment of EP%s under the Norwegian EP% &rogramme is &resented in )igure $$ and it follows the re-uirements in the IS< $C#"8! The &rocess is initiated *y the &roducer who wants to create an EP% for his &roduct! If a P:7 document for the res&ective &roduct category is not readily availa*le is should *e develo&ed according with the P:7=tem&late that is downloada*le from the &rogrammeLs we*site (EP%=Norge "#$$)! The draft version is usually &re&ared *y an ,:'=e>&ert in close coo&eration with the wor(ing grou& that consists of several manufacturers related organisations and other sta(eholders! ;efore the Ferification :ommittee of EP%=Norge acce&ts the P:7 document the draft version is *eing sent to the relevant sta(eholders for evaluation and commenting (i*id)!

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)igure $$! Procedure for the develo&ment of EP%s under the Norwegian EP% &rogramme (EP%=Norge "#$$)

Ferification of the conducted ,:' and the EP% is carried out according to the guidelines laid out in the IS< $C#"8! <nce the EP% has *een verified it is &u*lished on the we*site of the Norwegian EP% )oundation (EP%=Norge "#$$)! 'ccording to the data from "#$$ there were B" EP%s &u*lished under the Norwegian EP% &rogramme M more than a half of these for construction &roducts and *uilding materials (MagerQy "#$$)! 's to the new EN $8A#C the information on the &rogrammeLs we*site is -uite out= of=date! Under the section that lists the international standards related to the develo&ment of EP%s and other environmental la*els in 'ugust "#$" the EN $8A#C is still listed as a wor(ing item from "##B even if the standard was officially &u*lished in '&ril "#$" (EP%=Norge n!d!)!

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There is however a P:7 tem&late availa*le for &re&aring P:7s according to the EN $8A#C! The EN $8A#C and the associated im&lications and challenges were also on the agenda at the annual meeting that too( &lace in /une "#$" (EP%=Norge "#$")! In general the information in English on the &rogrammeLs we*site is rather limited and well out=of=date (this holds true also for the we*site in Norwegian) M a condition that might re&resent a significant o*stacle for the non=Norwegian organisations interested in the develo&ment of EP%s under the Norwegian EP% &rogramme!

1...Finland: /T +nviron#ental ,eclaration

The )innish EP% &rogramme 7T Environmental %eclaration was founded *y the ;uilding Information )oundation 7TS and the :onfederation of )innish :onstruction Industries 7T as early as in $BAA when the Euro&ean Union ado&ted the :onstruction Products %irective! The )innish &rogramme is thus the oldest of the EP% schemes! The (ey facts a*out the &rogramme are &resented in Ta*le $C!
Ta*le $C! 1ey facts a*out the )innish EP% &rogramme (from Mageroy "#$$)!

8inland Progra##e na#e2 Progra##e o5ner2

7ear of establis(#ent2 8oc!sed on2 9ased on2

7T Environmental %eclaration the ;uilding Information )oundation 7TS and the :onfederation of )innish :onstruction Industries 7T $BAA ;uilding &roducts IS< "$B?#

Even if the )innish EP% &rogramme uses the methodology *ased on the international standards including the IS< "$B?# the &rocedures and terminology used are significantly different from those o*served in the other EP% &rogrammes! The main &rogramme document is Methodology for o!piling Environ!ental ,eclarations for >uilding +roducts and ;ssessing Environ!ental -!pacts of >uildings that &rovides guidelines for the content and com&iling EP%s or eco=&rofiles of the *uilding &roducts (7TS n!d!)! 's e>&lained in the methodology document an eco=&rofile accounts for the environmental im&acts of a *uilding &roduct and it is *ased on the results from the ,:IO the results cover the stages Ifrom cradle to gateJ (FTT "##C)!

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'ccording to the rather scarce information availa*le on the &rogrammeLs we*site the national methodology is following the *asic &rinci&les stated in the IS< $C#C# and IS< $C#"# and it considers also the &reliminary results achieved within IS< :% "$B?# (7TS n!d!)! 7eferring to the IS< "$B?# as a :% (commission draft) indicates that this information is well out=of=date since the standard has *een &u*lished in "##@! The 7T Environmental %eclaration is strongly focused on the )innish mar(et and there is no information availa*le on the ado&tion and integration of the EN $8A#C in the methodology for the declaration develo&ment under the )innish EP% &rogramme!

1.1.<ar#onisation and coo eration initiatives

1.1.1. +uro ean +P, Platfor# =+CO>

In Se&tem*er "#$$ the EP% &rogrammes from )inland )rance 6ermany 6reat ;ritain Italy the Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Sweden and S&ain signed a SMemorandum of UnderstandingS in order to esta*lish a common Euro&ean EP% Platform called IE:<J (I;U "#$$)! The finalised wor( on environmental standards &roduced *y the :EN.T: ?8# has given a considera*le &ush towards harmonisation of &ractices and *y now in total "8 organisations including several national 6reen ;uilding :ouncils have involved in esta*lishing a common Euro&ean EP% &latform (i*id)! The Euro&ean E:< &latform is a &ro&osal for the Euro&ean um*rella organisation for national EP% &rogramme o&erators (Peters "#$$)! The goal of the Euro&ean E:<= EP% Platform is a common im&lementation of the EN $8A#C that aims for a mutual recognition among the mem*er &rogrammes (Schmin(e "#$")! Several reasons have *een identified that su&&orts the idea and need for a Euro&ean EP% &latform (Peters "#$$)G
$! Mar(et as(s for common and consistent EP%s throughout Euro&e that could *e used for further *uilding assessmentsO "! The new :onstruction Products 7egulation re-uires environmental data and data on sustaina*le use of resources and refers to environmental &roduct declarationsO ?! The need for lean &rocedures and less *ureaucracy!

'ccording to Peters ("#$$) the national &rogrammes &artici&ating in such an um*rella scheme would develo& their Euro&ean E:<=EP%s with the core content

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develo&ed according to the EN $8A#CO it would also *e &ossi*le to &lace additional information on the EP% according to regional demands! The strength of such system would mutually acce&ted &rocedures and core content a common -uality control and consensus=*ased develo&ment! 's the Euro&ean E:<=EP% would *e a &rogramme o&erator for the Euro&ean 'ssociations these would have an o&tion to verify and register their EP%s directly under the Euro&ean &latform (i*id)!

1.1.2. &utual recognition bet(een IB- and t!e International +P, %'ste#

'nother recent e>am&le of harmonisation efforts *etween the EP% &rogrammes is a mutual recognition agreement *etween the 6erman I;U &rogramme and the Swedish International EP% System that was reached in "#$" (Schmin(e "#$")! This means that the EP%s of *oth &rogrammes are mutually recogni5ed without additional verification and the declaration holder of such an EP% may use one or *oth &rogramme logos! The mutual recognition however is restricted to EP%s of construction &roducts including furniture and te>tiles *uilt into a *uilding (i*id)! The recognition &rocess is still ongoing *ut most of the &rogram characteristics have already the right level of accordance due to the common reference to the IS< $C#"8 IS< $C#C#.CC and EN $8A#C (in the draft version)! In addition a num*er of issues have *een identified that still need to *e aligned (Schmin(e "#$")! The general &rogramme instructions of the International EP% System are currently under revision and the draft version indicates efforts to align the current instructions with the EN $8A#C! The new version of the general &rogramme instructions is e>&ected to a&&ly from /anuary "#$? (IES "#$")!

1.2.%u##ar'
The 6erman EP% &rogramme and the Swedish International EP% System are *oth internationally=oriented &rogrammes though the 6erman &rogramme is also strongly &ositioned as a national &rogramme! The Norwegian EP% )oundation and the )innish EP% &rogramme are on the other hand two e>am&les of the &rogrammes strongly oriented towards their res&ective national audiences! The wor( of the 6erman Swedish and Norwegian &rogrammes is *ased on the international standards IS< $C#"8 and IS< "$B?# (for *uilding &roducts) and all these &rogrammes show interest in ado&tion of the Euro&ean EN $8A#C (also for *uilding &roducts)! They all a&&ly ,:' methodology for the P:7 and EP%

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develo&ment and a study *y MagerQy ("#$$) also indicates that the Norwegian Swedish and 6erman P:7s generally com&ly with the re-uirements of IS< $C#"8! The )innish &rogramme claims to follow the IS< $C#C# IS< $C#"# and IS< "$B?# though the main document for methodology was &u*lished in "##C and does not seem to *e revised since! 7egarding the ado&tion of the new EN $8A#C the 6erman and Swedish &rogrammes are the ones demonstrating significant &rogress in the ado&tion &rocess with the 6erman I;U &rogramme clearly leading the race M it has already fully u&dated the general &rogramme instructions and the &roduct category rules for *uilding=related &roducts and services according to the EN $8A#C! The recently develo&ed I;ULs EP%s already com&ly with the re-uirements set out in the EN $8A#C and EN $8BC"! The o*serva*le trend towards coo&eration harmonisation and mutual recognition *etween the e>isting EP% &rogrammes is indeed &ositive and &romising! 'll of the investigated &rogrammes are listed as the signatories of the SMemorandum of UnderstandingS that aims to esta*lish a common Euro&ean EP% Platform and facilitate the develo&ment of EP%s with core content according to the EN $8A#C! The further develo&ment of the common Euro&ean E:<=EP% &latform is &articularly interesting!

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2. %ustainable construction in Latvia

2.1.Introduction

Issues related to sustaina*ility and environmental im&acts of &roducts services and organisations have *een out on the Euro&ean &olitical agenda since the term Isustaina*le develo&mentJ was coined in the ;rundtland re&ort in $BA@ and environmental &roduct declarations (EP%s) have *een develo&ed in Euro&e for more than two decades already with the very first EP% &rogramme *eing esta*lished in )inland in $BAA! EP%s are *ecoming increasingly more &o&ular and recogni5ed as the means for &roviding essential information a*out the environmental and sustaina*ility as&ects of &roducts and services es&ecially (*ut not e>clusively) in the case of construction &roducts and services! 7ecently the re-uirement to account for sustaina*ility as&ects has also *een manifested in the EU legislative framewor( through the new :onstruction Products 7egulation and its re-uirement for sustaina*le use of natural resources (7egulation No ?#8."#$$ "#$$)! 's to the assessment and documentation of sustaina*le use of natural resources the 7egulation refers to the use of EP%s when availa*le (i*id)! There is also an increasing demand *y the mar(et for common and consistent EP%s throughout Euro&e that could *e further used for *uilding assessments (Peters "#$$)! The first IS< standard on the Ty&e III environmental declarations was &u*lished in "##E followed *y the sector=s&ecific IS< "$B?# for *uilding &roductsO however the re-uirements of these standards have *een somewhat vague allowing for the differences among the EP% &rogrammes their P:7s and EP%s to &roliferate! In '&ril "#$" the Euro&ean :ommittee for Standardisation (:EN) finali5ed their wor( on a sector=s&ecific standard EN $8A#C that is strongly *ased on the earlier IS< wor( and res&ective standards and has a similar structure and contents to the IS< "$B?# *ut the Euro&ean standard is considera*ly more s&ecific and &recise in its re-uirements and it &resents a firm *asis for the harmonisation of the Euro&ean EP% &rogrammes and their EP%s (see in &articular the section [!!!!\ ?ar!onisation and cooperation initiatives)! These develo&ments are &articularly im&ortant for those Euro&ean countries where a systematic assessment and verification of environmental &erformance of &roducts and &rocesses are not yet well=esta*lished! ,atvia an EU=mem*er state since "##C is an e>am&le of such country where conce&ts li(e life cycle management and documentation of sustaina*ility and environmental &erformance are not yet widely

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a&&lied! It is however im&ortant to (ee& an eye on the develo&ments in the e>&ort mar(ets and to *e a*le to meet new re-uirements if ,atvia is a*out to (ee& and e>&and its &osition in the e>&ort mar(ets! ' study *y Schenc( ("#$#) identifies the following I(ey ingredientsJ for a strong EP% &rogrammeG
conformance with the international standards on EP%s and ,:'s that would ensure the com&ara*ility and recognition of the EP%s develo&ed under the &rogrammeO government &rogrammes ena*ling a&&ro&riate legislation a strong life cycle inventory &rogramme and national standardisationO active &artici&ation of the industry in the develo&ment of sector=s&ecific P:7sO higher education &rogrammes develo& the necessary ,:'.EP% com&etencies (incl! relevant research) and N6< &rogrammes for education of the general &u*licO coo&eration with other EP% &rogrammes!

The international and Euro&ean standards and their res&ective re-uirements were investigated in detail in the cha&ter 8! The same sections also &artly cover the im&ortance and the re-uirements for the mutual coo&eration and harmonisation *etween the &rogrammes and the recent initiatives for harmonisation and mutual recognition were discussed in the section E!E! The as&ects related to government &olicies and &rogrammes in ,atvia industry initiatives and the status of education &rogrammes and com&etences are discussed in the ne>t sections of this cha&ter! Prior to e>&loring these as&ects a short and general introduction the national economy and the state of environmental matters in the country is given in the section @!"!

2.2.?e' facts about Latvia

The national economy of ,atvia is a strongly service=*ased economy the main sectors *eing trade financial services real estate o&erations and construction! The un*alanced structure of the economy led to a large economic decline caused *y the glo*al financial crisis in the &eriod "##AM"#$# (:entral Statistical ;ureau n!d!)! In "#$$ the 6%P increased with 8 8N and this was mainly due to the growth in construction industry (W$" CN) manufacturing industry (W$$ @N) trade (WA @N) and trans&ortation and logistics (WA #N) (i*id)! '&art from the financial downturn in the &eriod "##A="#$# the ,atvian economy is characterised *y strong economic growth (increase in 6%P) *ut low &urchasing &ower &arity (Eurostat "#$$)!

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The construction industry in &articular was continuously growing since $BB8O however it was heavily affected *y the financial crisis in "##B when its share of 6%P dro&&ed *y around "@N (:entral Statistical ;ureau n!d!)! In the later years the industry has started to recover and in "#$$ the construction industry accounted for close to AN of the 6%P which is again a&&roaching the &re=crisis level (:entral Statistical ;ureau "#$$)! The national economy is largely *ased on small and medium=si5ed enter&rises! In "##B BB 8N of all enter&rises felt into this category M A" EN *eing micro=enter&rises $CN = small enter&rises and " BN = medium=si5ed enter&rises (Ministry of Economics "#$"a)! This is an im&ortant factor with regards to the EP% develo&ment *ecause the high costs the amount of wor( and re-uired s&ecific com&etences needed to conduct an ,:' and create an EP% has *een identified as a ma+or o*stacle for SMEs to use EP%s (Yac(risson et al! "##A)! In "#$$ ,atvia was ran(ed as the "nd greenest country in the world according to the Environmental Performance Inde> (EPI) *y ]ale UniversityO the trend results for "#$" show that ,atvia will (ee& its &osition (EPI "#$")! 's flattering as it may sound the closer ins&ection of the methodology *ehind the inde> (EPI "#$$) indicates that the high ran(ing is not due to thought=out long=term &olicies and &roactive environmental initiatives *ut rather *ecause of the chosen indicators and rating criteria that allows ,atvia to score that high *ased the countryLs geogra&hical location (f! e>! access to drin(ing water water -uantity) lac( of industrial activities (f! e>! indicators related to :<" emissions and air -uality) the hydro&ower=*ased electricity and the large &ro&ortion (X8EN) of land covered *y forests! Thus there is no e>ternal (or internal) &ressure towards more sustaina*le develo&ment largely *ecause ^we +ust ha&&en to *e greenJ!

2.".+nviron#ental #anage#ent ractices

's to the environmental management tools used in ,atvia the management system certification is relatively well=(nown and a&&lied though it is rarely re-uired or used in for e>am&le green &u*lic &rocurement or &rocurement &rocesses in the &rivate sector! 'ccording to the data from ,atvian 'ssociation for Duality $"" organisations are certified to *e in com&liance with IS< $C##$G"##C ("A of them are construction com&anies) and @ organisations are verified to conform to EM'S (,1' "##B)! These num*ers do not include organi5ations and sites that have *een certified *y foreign certification *odies! Newer data on the e>isting certifications are not availa*le *ecause the 'ssociation sto&&ed o&erating in "##B due to the lac( of financial su&&ort and unfortunately no other organisation has overta(en its function of u&dating the data*ase of certified organisations!

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There is no aggregated information on the use of Ty&e II environmental claims *ut environmental &roduct la*elling of Ty&e I is somewhat (nown! The most commonly used environmental la*els in ,atvia include (Ya20 *r_v_*a "##A)G
EU <rganic )arming la*elO )S: = )orest Stewardshi& :ouncil la*elO ,atvi+as e(o&rodu(ts (,atvian eco=la*el)O ;ra mil+oval (Sweden)O Nordic SwanO EU=flower (EU eco=la*el)O ;lue 'ngel (6ermany)!

Ty&e III environmental declarations (EP%s) *ased on life cycle assessments (,:') are largely un(nown in ,atvia! Some large international com&anies refer to EP%s in their environmental &olicy statements M for e>am&le ';; ("#$$) &romises to develo& EP%s for its main &roducts and 7uu((i has &u*lished C EP%s on the com&any we*site with the com&any logo only and with no a&&arent inde&endent verification ("#$#)! In general however ,atvia has no &ractical e>&erience with the ,:' methodology and assessment.verification.certification of the assessed environmental im&acts construction &roducts and services and construction wor(s (12avi34 "#$$)! The new :onstruction Product 7egulation thus re&resents a challenge! 9hile the *asic &rocedure for :E=mar(ing of &roducts and assessment of their technical and functional &ro&erties remains largely the same the 7egulation introduces a new re-uirement for sustaina*le use of natural resources and refers to the usage of EP%s when availa*le (7egulation No ?#8."#$$ "#$$)! :urrently construction &roducts in ,atvia are mostly assessed for their conformity with technical safety and &erformance re-uirements! The national laws and regulations are harmoni5ed with the EU :onstruction Products %irective AB.$#E.EE: and the assessment &rocedures are in accordance with this %irective (Ministry of Economics "#$$)!

P a g e | 74

2.$.Fra#e(ork for construction industr' and sustainable construction

2.$.1. Polic' docu#ents and legislative fra#e(ork

The relevant &olicy documents include (Sau(a "#$$)G

,atvian National %evelo&ment Plan "##@="#$? that defines sustaina*le develo&ment as Ian integrated and *alanced develo&ment of societyLs welfare as well as of the environment and economy which satisfies inha*itantsL current social and economic needs and also ensures o*servance of environmental re-uirements (without de&riving future generations of the a*ility to satisfy their needs) and &reservation of *iological diversityJ (,N%P "##E)O :onstruction Industry 6uidelines "#$$="#$8 (draft document *y the Ministry of Economics)O 6eneral Princi&les for :onstruction Policy (includes a &rinci&le on environmentally= friendly com&etitive and sustaina*le construction)!

The legislative framewor( for construction industry in ,atvia includes the following legal actsG
the :onstruction lawO the 6eneral :onstruction 7egulationsO :a*inet 7egulation No $A$ on Procedures for the :onformity 'ssessment of :onstruction Products in the 7egulated S&hereO regulations issued *y the local munici&alities (locally *inding)!

The very *ase of the construction regulation system in ,atvia is the onstruction 9aw that was ado&ted *y Saeima (the ,atvian Parliament) in $BB8O it a&&lies to all ty&es of structures! The ,aw determines and regulates the mutual relations rights and res&onsi*ilities among the actors involved in the construction &rocess as well as the lia*ility for the end=result and areas of res&onsi*ility *etween the state and local authorities (The :onstruction ,aw $BB8)! 'ccording to the :onstruction ,aw the general su&ervision and coordination of construction is &erformed *y the Ministry of Economics which also develo&s an integrated national &olicy on construction and ensures its im&lementation (i*id)! ' new :onstruction law has *een under develo&ment for many years! The current draft of the new :onstruction law states C main &rinci&les of construction wor(s including the &rinci&le of sustaina*le construction! However there are no further inter&retations on how this &rinci&le is going to *e im&lemented and followed=u& (Ministry of Economics "#$"*)!

P a g e | 75

)urther the overall construction &rocedural rules are &rescri*ed in the 8eneral onstruction Regulations ado&ted in $BB@! These 7egulations &rescri*e the re-uirements for the &re&aration and develo&ment of the *uilding design and the re-uirements for the &erformance of construction wor( as well as the demolition of structures (6eneral :onstruction 7egulations $BB@)! )urther the :a*inet of Ministers issues more s&ecific 7egulations and ,atvian ;uilding :odes (national construction standards) = these are the "nd level legal acts! The ?rd level legal acts are regulations issued *y the local munici&alities! These are *inding for all actors in construction &rocess within the &articular munici&ality! In order to control and su&ervise construction &rocess at the munici&al level the local munici&alities shall set u& the onstruction >oard (The :onstruction ,aw $BB8)! 's already mentioned in &art UUU sustaina*le construction is one of the si> mar(ets in the ,ead Mar(et Initiative *y the Euro&ean :ommission! <ne of the activities within this focus area was screening of national *uilding regulations in order to assess whether and how the EU mem*er states regulated sustaina*le construction whether and how these regulations were enforced what &u*lic and &rivate initiatives were &resent etc! (Euro&ean :ommission %6 Enter&rise and Industry "#$")! The screening of ,atvian *uilding regulations (Euro&ean :ommission "#$$) indicated the following as&ects regarding the current situation of sustaina*le construction in the countryG
,ac( of &olitical will and commitment M sustaina*le construction is low on &olitical agenda at all levels of government (lac( of resources other &riorities)O No coordination of actors in the construction su&&ly chainO ,ac( of information on sustaina*ility for all the actors involved in the construction industryO Inade-uate incentives and regulations lac( of targets and ada&ted standards for im&lementation of sustaina*le construction!

Though environmentally friendly construction rational use of natural resources sustaina*ility of construction etc! are mentioned in the &olicy documents and legal acts including the :onstruction law these remains as general &hrases and no actual initiatives or enforcement mechanisms are set u& and im&lemented (;a`*auers $E!#@!"#$")! The general trend to *e followed *y ,atvia is that the national *uilding standards and 7egulations issued *y the :a*inet of Ministers should *e harmonised with the EU legislation and *ased on the :EN standards (Euro&ean :ommission "#$$)! ;y now ,atvia has ado&ted the suite of the :EN.T:?8# standards on Sustainability of construction works as national standards (Ya(uta+evs "@!#@!"#$"!)O however there are no further &lans or vision as how to im&lement these and how to ena*le local

P a g e | 76

manufacturers of construction &roducts to meet the re-uirements for the information on the environmental and sustaina*ility as&ects as laid out in the :onstruction Products 7egulation!

2.$.2. Aut!orities and notified institutions

'ccording to the :onstruction ,aw the general su&ervision and coordination of construction industry is &erformed *y the Ministry of Economics which also develo&s an integrated national &olicy on construction and ensures its im&lementation (The :onstruction ,aw $BB8)! The Ministry of Economics also coordinates and su&ervises the systems of national standardi5ation and accreditation! 7egarding the testing and certification of construction &roducts there are four notified testing la*oratories and three notified certification *odies (Egle "#$") Meanwhile the sustaina*ility and environmental issues including climate change &olicy and green &u*lic &rocurement are under the authority of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and 7egional %evelo&ment (Ministry of Environmental Protection and 7egional %evelo&ment n!d!) and although the new :onstruction Products 7egulations &oses an interdisci&linary challenge to *e solved *y the e>&erts from *oth organisations no such efforts of coo&eration are yet &resent!

2.$.". LCA8+P, co# etences in Latvia

The (ey com&etences necessary for the EP% develo&ment are e>&ertise in ,:' and more general (nowledge and understanding a*out environmental management and accounting (main &rinci&les availa*le standards etc!)! The ,atvian universities that offer academic study &rogrammes in environmental science are listed in Ta*le $8!
Ta*le $8! Study &rogrammes in environmental science at the ,atvian universities (Higher Education Duality Evaluation :entre "#$")

4ni3ersity

Progra##e na#e

&ecei3ed degree ;achelorLs degree in natural sciences ;achelorLs degree in environmental sciences ;achelorLs degree in environmental sciences ;achelorLs degree in natural sciences MasterLs degree in environmental engineering MasterLs degree in environmental

Bachelor-level programmes ,augavpils @niversity Environmental science 9atvia @niversity of Environmental science ;griculture Riga $echnical @niversity Environmental science @niversity of 9atvia Master-level programmes 9atvia @niversity of ;griculture Riga $echnical @niversity Environmental science Environmental engineering Environmental science

P a g e | 77
sciences MasterLs degree in natural sciences MasterLs degree in environmental sciences %octorLs degree in engineering %octorLs degree in environmental engineering %octorLs degree in environmental engineering %octorLs degree in environmental sciences

@niversity of 9atvia @niversity of 9atvia PhD programmes 9atvia @niversity of ;griculture ReAekne @niversity ollege Riga $echnical @niversity @niversity of 9atvia

Environmental science Environmental management Environmental engineering Environmental engineering Environmental science Environmental science

Most of these &rogrammes are either strongly focused on *iology.environmental science or engineering courses thus they generally lac( a trans=disci&linary &ers&ective! 9hile the *asic &rinci&les of environmental management are taught at several universities the only university offering an introductory course in ,:' is 7iga Technical University (7TU) where the master=level introductory course is taught to $st year master students! The course is worth ? E:TS$ credits and has ">C8 minute lectures &er wee(! It aims to e>&lain the main &rinci&les and contents of the IS< $C#C# and to give students a general understanding a*out ,:' the methodology *ehind the most widely a&&lied environmental im&act categories (7TU "#$")! The *asic calculations are carried out using MS E>celO SimaPro and :M,:' (,:' software tool from ,eiden University) are mainly used for demonstrations only so the course remains somewhat theoretical! Students interested in ,:' can do an ,:' for their master thesisO so far " students have used this o&&ortunity (;a`*auers $E!#@!"#$"!) ' study on the current situation and future &ers&ectives of teaching ,:' at 7TU indicated that in order to im&rove studentsL com&etences in this field and their a*ility to &erform ,:'s inde&endently it is necessary to e>&and the course giving more time for &ractical e>ercises and the actual wor( with ,:' software (Simanovs(a "##B)!

2.$.$. Potential for sustainable construction in Latvia

The initiative for the develo&ment of the methods for sustaina*ility evaluation in the construction industry currently comes from the *usiness actors and non= governmental organisations (as has often *een the case for the esta*lishment of EP% &rogrammes in Euro&e)! The main drivers for such interest are long=term vision and e>&ort strategies es&ecially for larger com&anies (Sau(a "8!#@!"#$"!) The e>&ort=
$

E:TS M credit &oints in the Euro&ean :redit Transfer System

P a g e | 78

oriented com&anies are starting to show interest in the tools li(e car*on foot&rint and environmental &roduct declarations (;a`*auers $E!#@!"#$"!) There are two non=governmental organisations (associations of construction com&anies and *uilding material &roducers) in ,atvia whose main o*+ective is to address the environmental and sustaina*ility issues faced *y the industry! The first one $he 8reen ?o!e %BaCDs !D=as& was esta*lished in "##E while the other one $he 9atvian Sustainable onstruction ouncil %9S & is an initiative of $he 8reen ?o!e. The ,S:: was founded in late "#$# together with the most active su&&orters of the sustaina*le construction &ractices from within the industry itself! The organisation is currently strongly focused on the ado&tion and a&&lying of the ;7EE'M evaluation and certification scheme for sustaina*ility assessment of *uildings in ,atvia (,S:: "#$#)! 'lthough the main focus area of the ,S:: is the assessment of entire *uildings and construction wor(s the organisation is very su&&ortive of the new re-uirements in the :onstruction Products 7egulation as the consistent and relia*le information a*out the environmental im&acts of construction &roducts would further facilitate and ease the assessments of *uildings and construction wor(s (Sau(a "C!#@!"#$"!) In addition the ,atvian 'ssociation of :ivil Engineers (,':E) has regularly organised seminars a*out the &otential of sustaina*le construction use of sustaina*le construction materials construction regulation trends in Euro&e and other related to&ics (,E:' "#$")! In general however the demand for sustaina*le construction within ,atvia is still very low due to the lac( of information and (nowledge a*out the su*+ect as well as the lac( of a&&ro&riate s(ills (:onstruction Industry 6uidelines draft document "#$$)! The term Isustaina*le constructionJ is often related to the a&&lication of the newest energy technologies and activities related to energy efficiency (i*id)! The two ma+or &ro*lems identified in the draft document of the 6uidelines areG
the high initial cost of new technologies (life cycle cost of *uilding and construction is rarely ta(en into account)O insufficient s(ills and (nowledge a*out sustaina*le construction among the industry &rofessionals as well as insufficient awareness a*out the &rinci&les and *enefits of sustaina*le construction among the general &u*lic!

)inally the green &u*lic &rocurement that would very well serve as a way to introduce more sustaina*le &roduction and consum&tion &atterns has not really wor(ed out in ,atvia! 'lthough the documents and guidelines on 6PP e>ist these are very rarely a&&lied and the contract is granted *ased on the *id with the lowest &rice i!e! the lowest initial cost (;a`*auers $E!#@!"#$"!)! This is in most cases due to the following reasons (Ya(uta+evs "@!#@!"#$"!)G

P a g e | 79 authorities do not &lan in the long=termO the financial resources are allocated to a s&ecific short=term &eriodO there is a lac( of sim&le environmental criteria that would *e easy to a&&ly and that would allow for easy com&arisons (in &articular criteria *ased on ,:' methodology re-uire significant amount of time and resources ma(ing it difficult to a&&ly *y small and medium=si5ed com&anies)O lac( of necessary s(ills for &re&aring green &rocurement documents!

P a g e | 80

9. ,iscussion and conclusion

%evelo&ment of a national EP% &rogramme is a long=term commitment associated with significant time and financial resources! The o*+ective of this study has therefore *een to investigate the feasi*ility of the esta*lishment of such &rogramme in ,atvia! This was done *y conducting a literature review consisting of analysis of the relevant *ac(ground theoryO the investigation of relevant &olicies framewor(s and legal actsO analysis and com&arisons of international and Euro&ean standards and &ractices for develo&ment and o&eration of EP% &rogrammes and creation and verification of EP%s! The -ualitative interviews with the re&resentative e>&erts from the ,atvian industry authorities and academia were conducted in order to e>&lore and understand the national conte>t for addressing the environmental and sustaina*ility issues! The study has identified three main *arriers for the sustaina*le construction in ,atviaG
the lac( of &olitical will to engage &roactively in sustaina*le constructionO the lac( of meaningful coo&eration among the various sta(eholders (manufacturers su&&liers authorities academia and other) long=term strategies systems a&&roach and life cycle &ers&ective are unfortunately rather un&o&ular conce&ts in ,atvia!

'&art from im&eding the develo&ment of sustaina*le construction &ractices these issues also significantly slow the &rocess of ac-uiring new environmental assessment tools li(e EP%s! <ther challenges though seemingly easier to overcome includeG
shortage of com&etences necessary for ,:'s and the develo&ment of EP%s insufficient (nowledge a*out the &rinci&les and *enefits of sustaina*le construction as well as lac( of the s(ills among the industry &rofessionals!O

Ta(ing this as well as the recent develo&ments towards a common Euro&ean E:<= EP% &latform the suggestion is to hold the horses regarding the esta*lishment of another national &rogramme! Instead an a&&ro&riate solution for the time *eing could the develo&ment of a contact=consultancy &oint that &rovides information and consultation for the interested &arties and can act as a mediator *etween the interested organisation (manufacturer) and another well=esta*lished EP% &rogramme if necessary! The aim is not to develo& a national &rogramme for the

P a g e | 81

sa(e of having one *ut first of all to &rovide the Iwindow of o&&ortunityJ for those organisations interested in develo&ing EP%s for their &roducts! )rom the EP% &rogrammes investigated in detail it is the 6erman I;U &rogramme and the Swedish International EP% System that are the most internationally=oriented &rogrammes that welcome declaration holders from various countries! 9hile the general &rogramme instructions of the Swedish &rogramme are still under review and the new version will not *e availa*le until /anuary "#$? the I;U &rogramme has already aligned its &rogramme instructions and P:7 for *uilding related &roducts and services with the new EN $8A#C M a factor that is im&ortant for ,atvia as an EU country! ;oth &rogrammes are well=esta*lished with a long and continuous e>&erience in EP%s for construction &roducts es&ecially the 6erman I;U &rogramme! It is also the main driving force *ehind the Euro&ean EP% &rogramme initiative a very &romising initiative that would not only facilitate the harmonisation and recognition *etween the e>isting &rogrammes *ut ho&efully also ma(e it easier for the countries without national EP% &rogrammes to o*tain EP%s for their &roducts!

P a g e | 82

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P a g e | 83

:EN n!d!=a! 9ead Market -nitiative. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!cen!eu.cen.Sectors.Sectors.:onstruction.Sustaina*le:onstruction.Pages.,ea dN"#mar(et!as&>b ['ccessed $8 /une "#$"\! :EN n!d!=*! ;bout us! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!cen!eu.cen.a*outus.&ages.default!as&>b ['ccessed $8 /une "#$"\! :EN n!d!=c! E<H$ 410 6 Structure! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!cen!eu.cen.Sectors.Technical:ommittees9or(sho&s.:ENTechnical:ommittee s.Pages.T:Struc!as&>T&aramdCA$A?#etitled:EN.T:N"#?8#b ['ccessed $A /une "#$"\! :entral Statistical ;ureau "#$$! -ekIAe!es kopprodukts 20//.gada 4.ceturksnF palielinD=ies par 2.2J. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!cs*!gov!lv.noti(umi.ie(s5emes=(o&&rodu(ts= "#$$gada=?cetur(sni=&alielina+ies=&ar=EE=?"$B#!htmlb ['ccessed $E March "#$"\! :entral Statistical ;ureau n!d!! Statistics ,atabase! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..cs*!gov!lv.en.dati.statistics=data*ase=?#8#$!htmlb ['ccessed $E March "#$"\! :hristo&her M! "#$$! 9ogistics K supply chain !anage!ent! ,ondonG )inancial Times Prentice Hall! :ostello '!'! Schenc( 7! "##B! Environ!ental +roduct ,eclarations and +roduct ategory Rules! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..yosemite!e&a!gov.7$#.E:<:<MM!NS).*A*@c?Ba$#?a"?8#AA"8Ec?e##@aCddB.a88 aBEd"d#a?C8#cAA"8@E$"##@Ce8?$.f)I,E.,:'N"#EP%N"#9e*inarN"#?!&dfb ['ccessed "# '&ril "#$"\! :onstruction ,aw $BB8! [online\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..www!li(umi!lv.doc!&h&Tidd?E8?$b ['ccessed "C /uly "#$"\! :ouncil %irective AB.$#E.EE: $BAB! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..eur= le>!euro&a!eu.,e>UriServ.,e>UriServ!doTurid</G,G$BABG#C#G##$"G##"EGENGP%)b ['ccessed ?# /uly "#$"\! :urran M!'! "##A! ,ife=:ycle 'ssessment. ?u!an Ecology# &&! "$EA="$@C! %anish Energy 'gency n!d! +R contact points in other Me!ber States [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!danishc&rcontact&oint!d(.contact&ointsgingothergmem*erstatesb ['ccessed $@ /uly "#$"\! E: Institute for Environment and Sustaina*ility "#$$! ;nalysis of Existing Environ!ental footprint Methodologies for +roducts and .rganiAations" Reco!!endations# Rationale# and ;lign!ent [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..ec!euro&a!eu.environment.eussd.&df.%elivera*le!&dfb ['ccessed $# /uly "#$"\! Egle I "#$". Regulas <r.401H20// pa!atprasFbas attiecFbD uA bLv!ateriDlu ilgtspM=Fbu [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!*uvin5enierusavieni*a!lv.inde>!&h&To&tiondcomgcontenteviewdarticleeidd$$ #"?$G7egulas=Nr=?#8="#$$=&amat&rasN:CN';*as=attiecN:CN';*N:CNA$=u5=

P a g e | 84 *N:8N';vmateriN:CNA$lu=ilgts&N:CNB?+N:CN';*uecatidd8?GseminarieItemiddC?b ['ccessed "@ /uly "#$"\! El(ington /! $BB?! :oming clean G The rise and rise of the cor&orate environmental re&ort! >usiness Strategy and the Environ!ent "(") &&! C"MCC! El(ington /! $BBA! annibals with forks " the triple botto! line of the 2/st century business! 6a*riola Island ;!:! G New Society Pu*lishers! EP%=Norge "#$"! Referat fra Nrs!Ote i E+,6<orge /5. =uni 20/2. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!e&d=norge!no.article!&h&TarticleI%d$"$$ecategoryI%d$AAb ['ccessed "" /uly "#$"\! EP%=Norge "#$$! Eeileder for utarbeidelse av !il=Odeklaras=oner. SINTE) ;yggfors(! EP%=Norge n!d! E+,6<orge. Ponline\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..www!e&d= norge!no.category!&h&TcategoryI%d?E"b ['ccessed "" /uly "#$"\! EPI "#$"! E+- Rankings! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..e&i!yale!edu.e&i"#$".ran(ingsb ['ccessed #C 'ugust "#$"\! EPI "#$$! ;ppendix -" -ndicator +rofiles! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..e&i!yale!edu.sites.default.files.downloads.a&&endi>#$gindicator=&rofiles!&dfb ['ccessed #C 'ugust "#$"\! Eri(sson! E! Neven <!: "##B! :ater footprint! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!sis!se.&df.8g9aterg)oot&rintg:arl=<ttogNeven!&df b ['ccessed ?# /uly "#$"\! Euro&ean :ommission "#$"a! Sustainable ,evelop!ent. European Sustainable onsu!ption and +roduction +olicies [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..ec!euro&a!eu.environment.eussd.esc&gen!htmb ['ccessed $C /une "#$"\! Euro&ean :ommission "#$"*! :hat are E@ regulationsQ [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..ec!euro&a!eu.euglaw.introduction.whatgregulationgen!htmb ['ccessed $@ /une "#$"\! Euro&ean :ommission "#$"c. $ransition fro! the onstruction +roducts ,irective % +,& to the onstruction +roducts Regulation % +R& [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..ec!euro&a!eu.enter&rise.sectors.construction.legislation.transition.inde>gen!htmb ['ccessed $@ /une "#$"\! Euro&ean :ommission "#$"d! $ransition onstruction +roducts Regulation [online\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..ec!euro&a!eu.enter&rise.sectors.construction.legislation.inde>gen!htmb ['ccessed $@ /une "#$"\! Euro&ean :ommission "#$$! <ational building regulations. 9atvia 7 country report! [online\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..ec!euro&a!eu.enter&rise.sectors.construction.files.com&et.national= *uilding=regulations.&rc=lvgen!&dfb ['ccessed #8 /uly "#$"\!

P a g e | 85 Euro&ean :ommission %6 Enter&rise and Industry "#$"! -ndustrial -nnovation. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..ec!euro&a!eu.enter&rise.&olicies.innovation.&olicy.lead=mar(et= initiative.b ['ccessed $C /une "#$"\! Euro&ean :ommission %6 Environment "#$"a! :hat is -ntegrated +roduct +olicyQ. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..ec!euro&a!eu.environment.i&&.integrated&&!htmb ['ccessed $C /une "#$"\! Euro&ean :ommission %6 Environment "#$"*! :hat is 8++Q [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..ec!euro&a!eu.environment.g&&.whatgen!htmb ['ccessed $8 /une "#$"\! Euro&ean :ommission "##@! 9ead Market -nitiative for Europe [online\ 'vaila*le atG aec!euro&a!eu.enter&rise.&olicies.innovation.&olicy.lead=mar(et= initiative.files.actiong&langconstructiongen!&dfb ['ccessed $C /une "#$"\! Eurostat "#$$! Purchasing Power Parities! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..e&&!eurostat!ec!euro&a!eu.&ortal.&age.&ortal.&urchasingg&owerg&arities.introduc tionb ['ccessed $@ /une "#$"\! )et '! M! "##E! Environ!ental Manage!ent and orporate Social Responsibility# the challenges in a globaliAed world UIII :IE<M )ortele5a :E! ;ra5il! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!a*e&ro!org!*r.ar-uivos.we*sites.C.'nni(g)et!&dfb ['ccessed $C )e*ruary "#$"\! )et M!'! "#$#! ,andmar(s for sustaina*ility M conte>t and conce&ts for environmental management and :S7 for sustaina*le *usiness! [,ecture notes\ $-R0/51 Environ!ental Manage!ent and orporate Social Responsibility. NTNU un&u*lished! )in(*einer M! "##B! :ar*on foot&rinting Mo&&ortunities and threats! -nternational =ournal 9ife ycle ;ssess!ent! Fol! $C (") &&!B$=BC! )olsom 7!H! ,a(e 7!;! Nanda F!P! $BBE! Euro&ean Union law after MaastrichtG a &ractical guide for lawyers outside the common mar(et! The HagueG 1luwer ,aw International! )ortes /! "##B! 8reen Supply hain Manage!ent" ; 9iterature Review. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!*usiness!otago!ac!n5.mgmt.research.omgr.#Bfortes!&dfb ['ccessed $$ '&ril "#$"\! )reeman 7!E! $BAC! Strategic !anage!ent " ; stakeholder approach! ;ostonG Pitman! )uller S! "#$#! 9ife6 ycle ost ;nalysis %9 ;&. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!w*dg!org.resources.lcca!&h&b ['ccessed "8 March "#$"\! von 6ei*ler /! et al! "##E! 'ccounting for the Social %imension of Sustaina*ilityG E>&eriences from the ;iotechnology Industry! >usiness Strategy and the Environ!ent $8 &&!??CM?CE! Handfield 7! et al! "##8! Integrating Environmental Management and Su&&ly :hain Strategies! >usiness Strategy and the Environ!ent $C &&!$M$B! Hertwich E! "#$#! ;ssessing the Environ!ental -!pacts of onsu!ption and +roduction +riority +roducts and Materials. UNEP

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Higher Education Duality Evaluation :entre "#$"! %ata*ase search! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!ai(nc!lv.lv.search!&h&Tne>td"#este&d$#e&eecd$e&reci5id"e(artotd?e(artot "d$eraditdCeme(dvideefilialesd$b ['ccessed $@ /uly "#$"\! Holme! $BB$! Metode valg og !etode bruk! <ttaG Tano 's! Hu&&es 6! et al! "##C! 9ife ycle osting and the Environ!ent! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!rivm!nl.milieu&ortaal.images.7e&ortN"#,::N"#'&rilN"#N"#"##CN"#final!& dfb ['ccessed $? '&ril "#$"\! Hum*ert S! "##B! -S. standard on :ater footprint" +rinciples# Require!ents and 8uidance. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..ceowatermandate!org.files.wc.Se*astiengHum*ertgEcointesys!&dfb ['ccessed $8 /uly "#$"\! Hum*ert S! n!d! -S. /0002" water footprint! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!multioneattitude!com.u&load.docs.iso$C#CE=summary=eng!&dfb ['ccessed $8 /uly "#$"\! I;U "#$"! Me!bership *ee Regulations [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..*au= umwelt!de.download.:]@ea$a"cU$?A?"BB$aeBUC?*E.Mem*ershi&gfeegregulationsg"#$"g ggenglish!&dfb ['ccessed "? /uly "#$"\! I;U "#$$! 8eneral +rinciples for the E+, progra!!e of the -ntitute onstruction and Environ!ent e.E. %->@&! [internal document\ 1onigswinterG I;U I;U "#$$*. European E+, +latfor! )E .( agreed! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..*au= umwelt!de.h&C"8?.Euro&ean=EP%=Platform=E:<=agreed!htmb ['ccessed #" 'ugust "#$"\! I;U n!d! -nstitut >auen und @!welt. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..*au= umwelt!de.h&".Home!htmb ['ccessed ?# /uly "#$"\! IES "#$"a! -ntroducing the -nternational E+,S Syste!. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!environdec!com.%ocuments.<therN"#documents.Engels(gEP%gfoldergslutve rsion!&dfb ['ccessed #8 /uly "#$"\! IES "#$"*! 8eneral +rogra!!e instructions# draft version! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!environdec!com.Page)iles.BEA.6PIN"#%raftN"#versionN"#"#$"#8$C!&dfb ['ccessed #8 /uly "#$"\! IES "#$"c! Me!bership in the -nternational E+, Syste!! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!environdec!com.en.The=EP%=system.Mem*er= <rganisations.h!U;AI;-P79t-b ['ccessed #8 /uly "#$"\! IES "#$"d! +rogra!!e -nstructions! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!environdec!com.en.The=EP%=system.Programme= Instructions.h!U;AIE-P79t& b ['ccessed #8 /uly "#$"\! IES "#$"e! :hat is the cost for developing E+,Q [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!environdec!com.en.:reating=EP%.)'D.h"#" b ['ccessed $" /une "#$"\!

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IES "##A! 8eneral +rogra!!e instructions! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!environdec!com.%ocuments.6PI.EP%ginstructionsg#A#""B!&dfb ['ccessed $" /une "#$"\! Ingwersen 9!9! Stevenson M!/! "#$"! :an we com&are the environmental &erformance of this &roduct to that oneT 'n u&date on the develo&ment of &roduct category rules and future challenges toward alignment! Tournal of leaner +roduction "C &&!$#"=$#A! International Institute for Sustaina*le %evelo&ment n!d! -ntegrated +roduct +olicy [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!iisd!org.*usiness.issues.i&&!as&>b ['ccessed $8 /une "#$"\! IS< "#$"a! RioU20. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!iso!org.iso.riog"#gforginggactiongwithgagreement!&dfb ['ccessed ?# /une "#$"\! IS< "#$"*! $ 15HS /3 Sustainability in buildings and civil engineering works! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!iso!org.iso.home.standardsgdevelo&ment.listgofgisogtechnicalgcommittees.i sogtechnicalgcommittee!htmTcommidd?""E"$b ['ccessed ?# /une "#$"\! IS< "#$"c! S.H,$R 2/542 >uilding construction 66 Sustainability in building construction 7 $er!inology. 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..www!iso!org.iso.cataloguegdetail!htmTcsnum*erdC#C??b ['ccessed ?# /une "#$"\! IS< "#$"d! -S.H,-S /0023 arbon footprint of products 66 Require!ents and guidelines for quantification and co!!unication 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!iso!org.iso.isogcatalogue.cataloguegtc.cataloguegdetail!htmTcsnum*erd8B8" $b ['ccessed ?# /une "#$"\! IS< "#$"e! -S.H , /0002 9ife cycle assess!ent 66 :ater footprint 66 Require!ents and guidelines. 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!iso!org.iso.cataloguegdetailTcsnum*erdC?"E?b ['ccessed ?# /une "#$"\! IS< "#$$a! -S. in figures. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!iso!org.iso.iso=in= figuresg"#$$!&dfb ['ccessed $@ /une "#$"\! IS< "##A! -S./1452"200G Sustainability in building construction 66 8eneral principles! 6enevaG IS<! IS< "##@! -S. 2/540" Sustainability in buidling construction 6 Environ!ental declaration of building products. 6enevaG IS<! IS< "##E! -S./0021"2002 Environ!ental labels and declarations type --- +rinciples and procedures! 6enevaG IS<! IS< "##Ea! -S. /0000" Environ!ental !anage!ent 9ife cycle assess!ent +rinciples and fra!ework! 6enevaG IS<! IS< "##E*! -S. /0000" Environ!ental !anage!ent 9ife cycle assess!ent Require!ents and guidelines! 6enevaG IS<!

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IS< "##C! -S. /000/" Environ!ental !anage!ent syste!s 6 Require!ents with guidance for use! 6enevaG IS<! IS< "###! -S. /0020" Environ!ental labels and declarations 6 8eneral principles! 6enevaG IS< IS< "##Ba! $he -S. /0000 fa!ily! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!iso!org.iso.theiso$C###familyg"##B!&dfb ['ccessed $@ /une "#$"\! IS< n!d! -nternational .rganiAation for StandardiAation! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!iso!org.iso.home!htmlb ['ccessed $@ /une "#$"\! 1lavins /! "#$$! ;ktuDlDs un gaidD!Ds iA!aiVas bLvindustri=as attFstFbas politikD Eiropas SavienFbD un 9atvi=D. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&sG..www!lvs!lv.lv.lvsnews.newsgEP!as&b ['ccessed $8 /uly "#$"\! 1oehler '! "##A! 9ater use in ,:'G managing the &lanetLs freshwater resources! -nt T 9ife ycle ;ssess# $?G &&!C8$MC88! 1othari :!7! "##C! Research Methodology" Methods and $echniques! %elhiG New 'ge International 1rigsvoll 6! )umo M! and Mor*iducci 7! "#$#! National and International Standardi5ation (International <rgani5ation for Standardi5ation and Euro&ean :ommittee for Standardi5ation) 7elevant for Sustaina*ility in :onstruction! Sustainability Fol " &&!?@@@= ?@B$! ,am*erton 6! "##8! Sustaina*ility accountingia *rief history and conce&tual framewor(! ;ccounting *oru! "B &&!@="E! ,atvian National %evelo&ment Plan "##E! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!latvi+a"#?#!lv.u&load.na&.nationalgdevelo&mentg&lang"##@="#$?geng!&dfb ['ccessed $A /uly "#$"\! ,atvi+as 1valit0tes 'soci0ci+a "##B! SertificMtie uAVM!u!i. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!l(a!lv.inde>!&h&Tmoduled:ertificatesb ['ccessed #@ /une "#$"\! ,E:' "#$"! 9>S se!inDri. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!*uvin5enierusavieni*a!lv.inde>!&h&To&tiondcomgcontenteviewdcategoryeidd 8?GseminarieItemidd?E b ['ccessed "E /uly "#$"\! ,ifset 7! 6raedel T!E! "##$! -ndustrial Ecology" 8oals and ,efinitions. In ?andbook for -ndustrial Ecology edited *y 7! U! 'yres and ,! 'yres! ;roo(fieldG Edward Elgar! ,S:: "#$#! 9atvi=as ilgtspM=Fgas bLvniecFbas pado!es dibinDIana. [online\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..www!i*&!lv.lv.arhivs."#$#.&adomes=di*inasana b ['ccessed $# /une "#$"\! MagerQy! M! "#$$! $he co!!unication of environ!ental i!pacts through environ!ental product declarations. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..ntnu!diva= &ortal!org.smash.record!+sfT&idddiva"GC@?8BBb ['ccessed #$ 'ugust "#$"\!

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McNamara :arter Ph%! $BBB! 8eneral 8uidelines for onducting -nterviews! [online\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..managementhel&!org.*usinessresearch.interviews!htmb ['ccessed $# May "#$"\! Ministry of Economics! "#$"a! @AVM!M=darbFba. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!em!gov!lv.em."nd.Tlngdlvecatd"??BCb ['ccessed #B /uly "#$"\! Ministry of Economics! "#$"*! <or!atFvo aktu pro=ekti! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..em!gov!lv.em."nd.Tcatd?#""Bb ['ccessed $C /uly "#$"\! Ministry of Economics! "#$$a! >LviAstrDdD=u!u atbilstFbas novMrtMIana! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!em!gov!lv.em."nd.Tcatd?#"?@b ['ccessed #B /uly "#$"\! Ministry of Environmental Protection and 7egional %evelo&ment n!d! BaCais publiskais iepirku!s. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!varam!gov!lv.lat.dar*i*asgveidi.5alaisg&u*lis(aisgie&ir(ums.b ['ccessed $C /uly "#$"\! New South 9ales Treasury "##C! $.$;9 ;SSE$ M;<;8EME<$. 9ife ycle osting 8uideline. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!treasury!nsw!gov!au.ggdata.assets.&dfgfile.###8.8#BB.lifegcyclegcostings!&d fb ['ccessed $? '&ril "#$"\! <liver P! "##C! :riting Wour $hesis. Second Edition! S'6E Study S(ills! ,ondon! Panthi! ,! "#$$! arbon *ootprint and Environ!ental ,ocu!entation of +roduct 6 ; ase ;nalysis on Road onstruction! ! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..ntnu!diva= &ortal!org.smash.record!+sfTsearchIdd$e&idddiva"GC@?E##b ['ccessed ?# /uly "#$"\! P:) 9orld )orum "#$". -S. /0023 7 arbon *ootprint of +roducts [online\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..www!&cf=world=forum!org.initiatives.international=standards.iso=$C#E@.b ['ccessed ?# /uly "#$"\! PE International "#$"! E+, standard E< /1G00 6 o!parable environ!ental infor!ation. [online\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..www!&e=international!com.com&any.newsroom.news= detail.article.e&d=standard=en=$8A#C=com&ara*le=environmental=information.b ['ccessed $# /uly "#$"\! PE International n!d! $rans6$as!an collaboration on develop!ent of an E+, sche!e! [online\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..www!&e=international!com.com&any.newsroom.news= detail.article.trans=tasman=colla*oration=on=develo&ment=of=an=e&d=scheme.b ['ccessed $# /uly "#$"\! Peters H! "#$$! Sustainability of construction products ;ssociationsX E+,s 7a solutionQ [online\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..www!arge!org.download."#$$.'76EgPetersgEP%s!&dfb ['ccessed $@ /uly "#$"\! 7egulation No ?#8."#$$! $he European +arlia!ent and the ouncil of Europe. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..eur=

P a g e | 90 le>!euro&a!eu.,e>UriServ.,e>UriServ!doTurid</G,G"#$$G#AAG###8G##C?GENGP%)b ['ccessed "@ /uly "#$"\! 7T Environmenal %aclaration n!d! ontent and co!piling. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!rts!fi.ym&aristoseloste.contentgcom&iling!htmb ['ccessed #" /une "#$"\! 7TU "#$"! R$@ studi=u priekI!ets Y,AFves cikla analFAeY. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&sG..info!rtu!lv.rtu&u*.disc".&rint%isc!A?$B.E'S8#Cg%5ives=ci(la=anali5eg,ife=:ycle= 'nalysis!&dfb ['ccessed $E /uly "#$"\! 7uu((i "#$#! SertifikDti un apliecinD=u!i! [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!ruu((i!lv.Produ(ti=un=risina+umi.Sertifi(ati=un=a&liecina+umib ['ccessed #? 'ugust "#$"\! Sau(a Y! "#$$! -lgtspM=Fga bLvniecFba E@ nekusta!D FpaIu!a tirgus un E@ liku!doIanas kontekstD. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!*uvin5enierusavieni*a!lv.images.&re5entaci+as.ilgts&g*uvn!&dfb ['ccessed #? 'ugust "#$"\! Saunders M! ,ewis P! and Thornhill '! "##?! Research Methods for >usiness Students ?rd edition! HarlowG Pearson Education! Schaltegger S! and ;urritt 7! "###G onte!porary Environ!ental ;ccounting. -ssues# oncepts and +ractice! SheffieldG 6reenleaf Pu*lishing! Schenc( 7! "#$#! ; Road!ap to Environ!ental +roduct ,eclarations in the @nited States [online\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..lcacenter!org.&df.7oadma&=to=EP%s=in=the=US'!&dfb ['ccessed ?# /uly "#$"\! S:P.SIP 'ction Plan "##A. on the Sustainable onsu!ption and +roduction and Sustainable -ndustrial +olicy 6 ;ction +lan. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..eur= le>!euro&a!eu.,e>UriServ.,e>UriServ!doTurid:<MG"##AG#?B@G)INGENGP%)b ['ccessed $# May "#$"\! SET': Euro&e ,:' Steering :ommittee "##A! Standardisation efforts to measure greenhouse gases and Kcar*on foot&rintingL for &roducts! -nternation T of 9ife ycle ;ssess!ent $?=" &&!A@=AA Simanovs(a /! 7omagnoli )! Falters 1! ;a`*auers 6! $eaching of 9ife ycle ;ssess!ent in R$@ 7 urrent Situation and *uture +erspective .. ?rd International :onference SEnvironmental Science and Education in ,atvia and Euro&eG Education and Science for :limate :hange MitigationS G :onference Proceedings ,atvia 7iga <cto*er "? "##B! &&!A?= AC! Schmin(e E! "#$"! Mutual Recognition between Environdec and ->@ [online\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..www!environdec!com.Page)iles.B#$.MutualN"#7ecognitionN"#*etweenN"#Envrio ndecN"#andN"#I;UN"#=N"#EvaN"#Schminc(eN"#I;U!&dfb ['ccessed $@ /uly "#$"\! Smith! M! "#$"! Environ!ental product declarations for construction products! [online\ 'vaila*le atG

P a g e | 91 ahtt&G..www!then*s!com.to&ics.Environment.articles.environmentalProduct%eclarations: onstructionProducts!as&b ['ccessed $# /uly "#$"\! Testa )! and Iraldo )! "#$#! Shadows and lights of 6S:M (6reen Su&&ly :hain Management)G determinants and effects of these &ractices *ased on a multi=national study! Tournal of leaner +roduction! Fol!$A &&!B8?=BE"! Thomson I! "##@! Ma&&ing the terrain of sustaina*ility accounting! InG /! Unerman /! ;e**ington and ;! <L%wyer ed! "##@! Sustainability ;ccounting and ;ccountability. <>onG 7outledge! :h!$! Thorneus /! Massimo M! "#$"! -nternational E+, Syste! 7 past# present and future. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!environdec!com.Page)iles.B#$.InternationalN"#EP%N"#SystemN"#PastN"#P resentN"#andN"#)utureN"#=N"#/oa(imN"#ThorneusN"#=N"#MassimoN"#Marino!&dfb ['ccessed #8 /une "#$"\! UN:S% Secretariat and UN:T'% "#$$! R-.U20 -ssues >riefs. $rade and 8reen Econo!y. [online\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..www!uncsd"#$"!org.rio"#.content.documents.IssuesN"#;riefN"#$N"#= N"#TradeN"#andN"#6reenN"#EconomyN"#)IN',N"#MarN"#$$!&dfb ['ccessed $# May "#$"\! ]in 7!1! "##B! ase study research" design and !ethods! :aliforniaG Sage! Fis&0r_gie *jvnotei(umi $BB@. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!li(umi!lv.doc!&h&TiddC"A#@efromdoffb ['ccessed "C /uly "#$"\! FTT "##C! Methodology for o!piling Environ!ental ,eclarations for >uilding +roducts and ;ssessing Environ!ental -!pacts of >uildings. [online\ 'vaila*le atG a htt&G..virtual!vtt!fi.virtual.&ro+E.environ.e(a=re&ort="##E!&dfb ['ccessed #" /une "#$"\! 9eidema ;! P! Thrane M! :hristensen P! Schmidt /! and ,Q((e S! "##A! :ar*on )oot&rint! Tournal of -ndustrial Ecology $"G &&!?ME! 9essman H! "#$#! :ater *ootprint as an Environ!ental $ool. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!vtt!fi.files.events.6reengFTTgesity(setg#@$#$#.@g9essmang9atergfoot&rin t!&dfb ['ccessed #@ /uly "#$"\! 9hite 7! M! $BBC! Preface! In $he greening of industrial ecosyste!s edited *y ;! 7! 'llen*y and %! /! 7ichards! 9ashington %:G National 'cademy Press! 9in(ler ': Mc:uen=Metherell /7 "##A! :riting the Research +aper" ; ?andbook# @th Edition! 9adsworthG :engage ,earning 9orld 6;: "#$$! E@ Regulatory *ra!eworks in a <utshell. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!worldg*c!org.site".inde>!&h&.downloadgfile.view."@?.$$$.b ['ccessed #@ /uly "#$"\! Yac(risson et al! "##A! Ste&wise environmental &roduct declarationsG ten SME case studies! Tournal of leaner +roduction! Fol! $E ($@) &&! $A@"M$AAE!

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Ya20 *r_v_*a "##A! Eko!arZM=u!s. [online\ 'vaila*le atG ahtt&G..www!5*=5eme!lv.e(o= mar(e+umib ['ccessed #@ /une "#$"\!

Personal co##!nication ;a`*auers 6! 7iga Technical University $E!#@!"#$"! 12avi34 /! 'S ,ode #C!#$!"#$"! Sau(a Y! ,atvian Sustaina*le :onstruction :ouncil "8!#@!"#$"! Ya(uta+evs M! Ministry of Economics "@!#@!"#$"!

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endices

)""endi: 1 +(e action "lan for ead Market )rea ;S!stainable $onstr!ction< (SourceG Euro&ean :ommission n!d!)

P a g e | 94 )""endi: 2 8ro# t(e $onstr!ction Prod!cts =irecti3e to t(e $onstr!ction Prod!cts &eg!lation2 +(e o3er3ie5 of t(e c(anges (SourceG Euro&ean :ommission "#$")

$onstr!ction Prod!cts =irecti3e Si#"lified "roced!res >$P& c(a"ter ?0@ Non=e>istent under the :P%

$onstr!ction Prod!cts &eg!lation

using e>isting data.test results to reduce the amount of necessary testingO (e!g! S9ithout Testing.9ithout )urther TestingS S:ascading testingS SShared Initial Ty&e TestingS) s&ecific a&&roach for micro=enter&rises

=eclaration of Perfor#ance >=oP@ Aar#onised ,!ro"ean standards

Non=e>istent under the :P% Intended use assumed in harmonised standards *ut not e>&licitly declared ET' Sa&&rovedS construction &roduct for intended uses

:om&ulsory when harmonised Euro&ean standard e>ists %eclaring intended use in %oP is o*ligatory

,!ro"ean +ec(nical )ssess#ent =oc!#ents >?ol!ntary ro!te for =oP@ 1bligations of econo#ic actors >$P& $(a"ter 000@ Prod!ct $ontact Points >$P& )rt6 10@

ET' assessed &roduct = test results &rovided without S+udgementS of fitness of use of &roduct in ET'

Indirect o*ligations

S&ecific o*ligations for manufacturers distri*utors and im&orters

None e>istent under the :P%

Mem*er States shall give information on rules and regulations for construction &roducts! These contact &oints have to *e esta*lished *y $ /uly "#$?! 'ssessed *y Mem*er State authorities against s&ecific criteria in the :P7

%otified bodies

Notified *y Mem*er State authorities

P a g e | 95

)""endi: 3 $(anges in t(e basic re'!ire#ents for constr!ction 5orksB (SourceG :ouncil %irective AB.$#E.EE: $BAB and 7egulation No ?#8."#$$ '&&endi> $ "#$$)
B ne5 a#end#ents and c(anges are #arked in red

16 Mec(anical &esistance and Stability The construction wor(s must *e designed and *uilt in such a way that the loadings that are lia*le to act on them during their construction and use will not lead to any of the followingG (a) colla&se of the whole or &art of the wor(s O (*) ma+or deformations to an inadmissi*le degree O (c) damage to other &arts of the construction wor(s or to fittings or installed e-ui&ment as a result of ma+or deformation of the load=*earing construction O (d) damage *y an event to an e>tent dis&ro&ortionate to the original cause! 26 Safety in $ase of 8ire The construction wor(s must *e designed and *uilt in such a way that in the event of an out*rea( of fireG (a) the load=*earing ca&acity of the construction wor(s can *e assumed for a s&ecific &eriod of time O (*) the generation and s&read of fire and smo(e within the construction wor(s are limited O (c) the s&read of fire to neigh*ouring construction wor(s is limited O (d) occu&ants can leave the construction wor(s or *e rescued *y other means O (e) the safety of rescue teams is ta(en into consideration! 36 Aygiene, Aealt( and t(e ,n3iron#ent The construction wor(s must *e designed and *uilt in such a way that they will throughout their life cycle not *e a threat to the hygiene or health and safety of wor(ers occu&ants or neigh*ours nor have an e>ceedingly high im&act over their entire life cycle on the environmental -uality or on the climate during their construction use and demolition in &articular as a result of any of the followingG (a) the giving=off of to>ic gas O (*) the emission of dangerous su*stances volatile organic com&ounds (F<:Ls) greenhouse gases or dangerous &articles into indoor or outdoor air O (c) the emission of dangerous radiation O (d) the release of dangerous su*stances into ground water marine waters surface waters or soil O (e) the release of dangerous su*stances into drin(ing water or su*stances which have an otherwise negative im&act on drin(ing water O (f) faulty discharge of waste water emission of flue gases or faulty dis&osal of solid or li-uid waste O (g) dam&ness in &arts of the construction wor(s or on surfaces within the construction wor(s! 46 Safety and )ccessibility in 4se The construction wor(s must *e designed and *uilt in such a way that they do not &resent unacce&ta*le ris(s of accidents or damage in service or in o&eration such as sli&&ing falling collision *urns electrocution in+ury from e>&losion and *urglaries! In &articular construction wor(s must *e designed and *uilt ta(ing into consideration accessi*ility and use for disa*led &ersons!

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56 Protection against %oise The construction wor(s must *e designed and *uilt in such a way that noise &erceived *y the occu&ants or &eo&le near*y is (e&t to a level that will not threaten their health and will allow them to slee& rest and wor( in satisfactory conditions! 66 ,nergy ,cono#y and Aeat &etention The construction wor(s and their heating cooling lighting and ventilation installations must *e designed and *uilt in such a way that the amount of energy they re-uire in use shall *e low when account is ta(en of the occu&ants and of the climatic conditions of the location! :onstruction wor(s must also *e energy=efficient using as little energy as &ossi*le during their construction and dismantling! 76 S!stainable 4se of %at!ral &eso!rces The construction wor(s must *e designed *uilt and demolished in such a way that the use of natural resources is sustaina*le and in &articular ensure the followingG (a) re=use or recycla*ility of the construction wor(s their materials and &arts after demolition O (*) dura*ility of the construction wor(s O (c) use of environmentally com&ati*le raw and secondary materials in the construction wor(s!