Ecodesign/Energy Labelling Review - EPDs

Introduction

The European Commission (Directorate‑General for Energy), hereafter DG ENER, has launched a study to develop harmonised methods for declaring the environmental impacts, in particular the whole‑life Global Warming Potential (GWP), of heating, cooling, ventilation and circulator products placed on the EU market. The harmonised methods and default values developed in this project will support the implementation of the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). The Directive requires all new buildings to report their whole‑life GWP from 2028 and will provide a common basis for future Ecodesign / ESPR requirements and related European standardisation work. The study covers heating, cooling, ventilation and circulator (HVAC) products typically used in residential and non‑residential buildings. It aims to ensure consistency with existing international and European life cycle assessment frameworks (such as EN 15804, EN 50693, ISO 14025 and the Product Environmental Footprint method). 

This webpage presents the study and provides access to all public documents and stakeholder consultation material prepared as part of the work, as well as practical information on meetings and opportunities to contribute.

What's New

Review

DG ENER is being supported in carrying out this study through a contract with Viegand Maagøe (contract manager) in association with VHK and DTI.

Policy context

The study takes place against the background of the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which will require all new buildings in the EU to report their whole‑life Global Warming Potential (GWP) from 2028. Heating, cooling, ventilation and circulator (HVAC) products account for a significant share of building‑related climate impacts, both in use and over the full life cycle. At the same time, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) and the Energy Labelling Framework Regulation provide complementary frameworks for setting product‑level requirements and for ensuring consistency with building‑level life cycle assessment. The study therefore seeks to develop harmonised rules for HVAC product declarations that are compatible with the existing LCA and EPD landscape, in particular EN 15804, EN 50693, ISO 14025 and the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method, and that can be used in future ESPR measures and related standardisation work.

Objectives

The main objective of the study is to develop harmonised methods for calculating and declaring the environmental impacts, especially the whole‑life GWP, of heating, cooling, ventilation and circulator products used in buildings across the EU. This includes, on the one hand, defining product‑specific rules and guidance for manufacturers on how to perform life‑cycle based GWP calculations, and on the other hand, delivering representative default GWP values for selected product categories and components that can be used in building‑level assessments where product‑specific data are not yet available. The work also aims to support future regulatory and standardisation activities by clarifying how HVAC product declarations can interface with EPBD requirements, national whole‑life carbon frameworks and existing EPD databases.

Methodology

The study is structured in several tasks. It starts with a scoping and framework definition phase, in which relevant stakeholders and national initiatives are mapped, the regulatory and methodological context is reviewed, and the product scope is defined in close coordination with the European Commission. On this basis, the study reviews and compares existing frameworks and schemes for environmental product declarations and footprint methods and proposes options for harmonisation for HVAC products. Methodological elements from PEF, EN 15804 and other standards are then integrated and adapted to HVAC‑specific conditions, e.g. end‑of‑life. Building on this, life‑cycle calculation methods and product category rules are developed for representative product groups, together with proposals on how these can be implemented through future Ecodesign/ESPR measures and supporting standards. Finally, EU‑relevant default GWP values are derived for selected materials, components and representative products, using the harmonised methodology. Throughout the study, stakeholder consultation will be carried out with manufacturers, industry associations, EPD programme operators, Member States, NGOs and other interested parties, using questionnaires, bilateral exchanges and meetings.

Timeline

The study will run for a period of approximately 16 months.

Documents

All public documents from the review are available in CircaBC. If you experience any difficulty downloading or opening a file, please contact harmoniseddeclarationsviegandmaagoe [dot] dk (harmoniseddeclarations[at]viegandmaagoe[dot]dk).

Directive (EU) 2024/1275 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 April 2024 on the energy performance of buildings

Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products

Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 laying down harmonised rules for the marketing of construction products

Commission Recommendation C(2021) 9332 of 16.12.2021 on the use of the Environmental Footprint methods to measure and communicate the life cycle environmental performance of products and organisations 

Meetings and registration

The meetings, once scheduled, will be announced in CircaBC and notified via email to all interested parties. Please register in CircaBC for receiving updates via email on the review process and invitations to stakeholder meetings.

If you want to register for information about this review, you can follow the instructions below:

Creating an EU Login

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For more information, you can also check out this EU Login FAQ page.

Receiving notifications from CircaBC

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