OPINION
revised, but this process will take several years. Construction products placed
on the market and CE marked in accordance with the CPD prior to 1 July 2013 are deemed to comply with the CPR. A manufacturer may draw up a DoP based on a Certificate or Declaration of Conformity that was issued before 1 July 2013, and CE mark against that. Some products covered by
hENs may have been placed on the UK market before 1 July 2013 without a CE marking, because of the way the CPD was interpreted in the UK. Products already on the shelves or supplied to end users will not need to be withdrawn, but the same items manufactured and supplied after 1 July must be CE marked. For those already CE marking under the CPD, the transition should be straightforward. In theory manufacturers
who did not previously CE mark products should have the test results and conformity assessment data, as they should still comply with the harmonised standard. In
practice it may prove a little more complex, and they would be well advised to review their arrangements for compliance with the CPR as soon as possible.
l CIBSE is forming a task group to look at the implications of the CPR and CE marking for manufacturers in the services sector. For more information contact technical@
cibse.org.
References Essential reading
A guidance note has been published by the Construction Products Association (CPA), assisted by the British Board of Agrément, British Standards Institution and FBE Management Limited and in consultation with the Trading Standards Institute. Visit the CPA website at http://
www.constructionproducts.
org.uk/?eID=dam_frontend_ push&docID=1441&filename=CPR_ V7.pdf The author is grateful for the assistance of CPA deputy director John Tebbit, in preparing this article.
Footnote
This article is intended as a guide. The regulation is directly applicable in UK law and neither this article nor its author purport to offer any definitive legal interpretations.
l HYWEL DAVIES is technical director of CIBSE
www.cibse.org
MANUFACTURER’S VIEWPOINT
The Pinpoint project will direct users to the best sustainability tools, guidance and case studies. Martin Fahey of Mitsubishi Electric says it will sort the wheat from the chaff
Mitsubishi Electric is on a mission to stimulate debate about how we can all play a part in reducing the impact of our built environment, in terms of energy use and carbon emissions. We are doing this because, as a manufacturer, we have an important role to play in reducing the impact of our own operations, and it is only through collaboration that we will achieve anywhere near the ambitious targets that have been set. We are also
choosing to do this through the pages of this journal because of the important role of CIBSE members. We have been an active member of the UK Green Building Council for a while because we believe this is another way of sharing knowledge and experience.
HARMONISED TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Harmonised technical
specifications under the CPR are harmonised European Standards published by the European Standardisation body CEN/ CENELEC or European Technical Approvals.
The specification defines EEA-wide methods of assessing and declaring all performance characteristics required by regulation in any member state that affects the ability of the product to meet the seven basic requirements for construction works, which are: 1. Mechanical resistance and stability
2. Safety in case of fire 3. Hygiene, health and environment 4. Safety and accessibility in use 5. Protection against noise 6. Energy economy and heat retention
7. Sustainable use of natural resources.
European product standards may also address unregulated
characteristics that are included for commercial reasons, such as aesthetic characteristics. The harmonised characteristics covered by CE marking under the CPR are listed in an Informative Annex (Annex ZA), in all hENs. This details the regulated requirements, clauses in the standard in which they are addressed and any separate supporting documents such as test standards. Section ZA.1 of the Annex is a checklist of all the requirements for CE marking for the product, and how they can be met. Parts of the standard not referenced in ZA.1 are termed ‘voluntary’ or ‘non-harmonised’. If a hEN cannot be produced or foreseen within a reasonable deadline, or for a product that deviates from the scope of an hEN, an ETA may be issued on the basis of a European Assessment Document. The ETA will include a section similar to Annex ZA.1 in a hEN.
The recent announcement by the UK-Green Building Council (UK-GRB) of the new Pinpoint project (
www.ukgbc.org/content/ pinpoint) is an excellent example of how a collaborative approach can help address the issues of how we create new buildings and refurbish existing ones so that they are more efficient, have lower carbon footprints and incorporate renewable power.
and, of course, we see direct links with our own Green
www.cibsejournal.com
Pinpoint is a new online platform that allows users to search, filter and post reviews about sustainability tools, courses, benchmarks and case studies. The project has been spurred on by the proliferation of sustainability information available, and Pinpoint aims to help users get to the right information within a few clicks. The timing of the launch seems ideal, as there are some good parallels between Department of Energy and Climate Change’s recently published energy efficiency strategy1
Gateway approach, especially the energy hierarchy that we embrace as part of that approach.
Pinpoint will get users to the information within a few clicks
That is why we have joined with other leading companies such as Marks and Spencer, Wates Group and EPR Architects to sponsor the project, so that the industry ends up with a sustainability search tool to help built environment professionals navigate to the best resources and metrics available. Pinpoint has been developed with the help of an industry task group that scoped what information was currently available and decided how best to present it in an
easy-to-use format.
Building on the work of this task group, which was sponsored by BAM and Morgan Sindall, an advisory group is helping the project take shape, with the intention of launching in Spring 2013 – in time for Ecobuild. With the majority of existing buildings likely to be in use for decades, establishing a way of accessing all that is best and most sustainable should help everyone understand and address issues.
Martin Fahey is sustainable solutions manager at Mitsubishi Electric. Join the debate by visiting the Green Gateway LinkedIn group, or following Martin’s Twitter account (@green_ gateway), which offers followers a chance to receive up-to-the-minute news and views from those within and outside the industry, including key opinion leaders.
1
DECC Energy Efficiency strategy
www.decc.gov.uk
SPONSORED BY
January 2013 CIBSE Journal
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