28.2.2023
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 75/161
1.16.
The EESC expresses concern because, in general, national regulations allow the use of contaminated waste under roads (contaminated with old tar, PCB, PCP, asbestos, old mineral wool up to a certain percentage); or they are placed in special landfills.
Construction and demolition waste accounts for more than a third of all waste generated in the EU (2).
There are some areas where there are different conflicting concerns, for example, if the subsoil from road construction and other infrastructure is not used as a large repository for construction waste.
1.17.
The EESC expresses its concern at the fact that preparation for reuse, re-manufacturing and recycling require design, facilitating the separation of components and materials in the recycling phase and avoiding mixed or intricate materials and that all of this will massively expose workers to these substances.
EU-OSHA encourages companies that have proposed innovative solutions to such problems, for example, ‘Remove hazardous solvents from the analysis of reclaimed material in the road construction and repair sector’.
That is why the EESC considers that these essential aspects for safety and health at work must be taken into account in the new regulation.
The EESC believes that it must ensure not only jobs and economic progress, but also socio-economic and environmental improvements on the basis of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles and the relevant regulation.
1.18.
The EESC considers that the proposal needs to be significantly revised if it is to achieve its main objectives.
2.
General comments 2.1.
The Commission’s 2016 implementation report on the CPR identified certain deficiencies in its implementation.
The CPR evaluation, the opinions of the REFIT platform and the feedback from Member States and stakeholders clearly pointed out the shortcomings of the framework, which hampers the functioning of the single market for construction products and therefore does not achieves the objectives of the CPR.
2.2.
The European Green Deal Communication (3), the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Renovation Wave Communication (4) highlighted the role of CPR as part of efforts towards energy and resource efficient buildings and renovations, and to address the sustainability of construction products and the shift towards a circular economy.
The proposal for a revised Directive on the energy performance of buildings (5) highlighted the importance of GHG emissions from the lifecycle of buildings and construction materials in calculating the global warming potential of new buildings after 2030.
2.3.
The EU Forestry Strategy and the Communication on the sustainable carbon cycle (6) announced, in the context of the revision of the Construction Products Regulation, the development of a methodology and robust and transparent standard for quantifying the climate benefits of building products and carbon capture and utilisation.
2.4.
Both the European Parliament and the Council have called for action to promote the circularity of construction products, address barriers in the single market for construction products and contribute to the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy action plan.
2.5.
The two broad objectives of the CPR review are (1) to achieve a well-functioning single market for construction products and (2) to contribute to the goals of the green and digital transition, in particular the modern, efficient market in the use of resources and competition.
2.6.
The CPR significantly limits the possibilities of the sector to declare, in a consistent and harmonised way, the performance of its products and to differentiate products with respect to climate, environmental and sustainability performance.
It also significantly limits the possibilities for Member States to set national requirements for buildings or to include criteria in public procurement on sustainability objectives without jeopardising the functioning of the single market.
(2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/topics/waste-and-recycling/construction-and-demolition-waste_en COM(2019) 640 final.
COM(2020) 662 final.
COM(2021) 802 final.
COM(2021) 800 final.