PEP ecopassport® program is pleased to announce the signature of the Convention between its association and French authorities, which recognize our capacity to accredite and manage PEP verifiers.

3 questions to Emmanuel ACCHIARDI, Assistant Director DHUP

1) In one year, the 2017/07/01, will enter in application the french decree relative to environmental claims of equipments (…) included in buildings. What elements have prevailed in the introduction of this decree?

Indeed, with the decree of 2013/12/23, the french government issued a regulation which frames the environmental claims of construction products and equipment used in the building.

The aim is threefold. First of all, the fight against the practice of "green-washing" by imposing a multi-statement based on the principles of life-cycle assessment. Then, encourage and enable actors to capitalize on good practices developed on a voluntary basis. Finally, build the first building block of the environmental performance of buildings.

This regulation is in force since January 2014, but its application to electric, electronic and HVAC equipment has been deferred to 2017/07/01. This deadline has been set to reflect the more recent nature of the involvement of this sector in the process environmental claims, while maintaining a strong focus and encouraging the efforts of stakeholders to establish appropriate and robust programs.

2) Which role does the verifier of environmental claims?

The goal is the content of statements, in order to have the most accurate and most updated data possible, including the design of structures. In accordance with the decree of 2015/08/31, the verification focused on several parameters such as the functional unit, the lifespan of the product, the collection and selection of data, allocations and flows materials made by the declarant, etc.

The verifier must establish a certificate, and the issue will be mentioned in the INIES base and the french regulatory database. It skill is governed by an organism, which carry a verification program and have an agreement with the country.

I am pleased to note that a year before the regulatory deadline, and at the launch of the testing of carbon-energy label for new buildings, both historically involved agencies have signed such an agreement, namely INIES and PEP ecopasseport®.

3) An environmental statement based on a whole life-cycle assessment and verified by third party are appropriate answers to the needs of the markets?

The requirement for independent and third part verification also come into force on 2017/07/01. This deadline of July 2017 closed the transitional period established since the entry into force of Decree of 2013/12/23 and up the regulatory framework consistent with the principles and requirements of the reference standard EN ISO 14025. Beyond coaching the allegations, guaranteeing healthy competition and non-biased and non-misleading information to users, the current issue of the policy for the building is to continue the process performed on the environmental labeling of construction products and to operationalize this environmental assessment on the scale of the building. In order to be at the level to these challenges and actually meet the expectations of an environmental transition in which France is now engaged, it is essential to have declarations made on robust and duly verified repositories.