The road to sustainability: making sense of EN 15804
Standards and regulations can feel like heavy going. So let us walk through why EN 15804 matters. The standard is largely unknown outside the industry, yet it plays a decisive part in construction when it comes to sustainability and protecting the environment.
EN 15804 is an essential tool for anyone trying to understand how construction products can be assessed for their environmental impact. In this walk through the standard you will find out what it is, what it is for, what it covers, and how it came about and changed over time.
EN 15804: purpose and definition
EN 15804 is a European standard that sets out a method for assessing the environmental impact of construction products across their whole life cycle. It is designed to help manufacturers demonstrate the environmental performance of their products, and to help buyers make better informed choices.
We support companies in producing their EPD in line with EN 15804.
How EN 15804 has evolved
EN 15804 was first published in 2012 by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN). It was developed out of a need to measure the environmental impact of construction products consistently and to a common method across Europe.
Over the years the standard has been revised several times to take account of technical progress and of what has been learned about environmental assessment. Those updates keep it relevant and workable for assessing the environmental impact of construction products.
The scope of EN 15804
EN 15804 applies to all construction products used in any phase of a building's life cycle, from construction through to demolition. That covers construction materials, building components, and even construction-related services such as installation and maintenance.
Put simply, if a product or a service is involved in building, operating or demolishing a building, it falls within the scope of EN 15804.
EN 15804 is the reference for every EPD produced. You can also read our article decoding life cycle assessment to get to grips with the subject.
Into the detail: what EN 15804 requires
The life of a product: life cycle stages and environmental indicators
EN 15804 splits a product's life cycle into several stages, from raw material extraction through to end of life. Each stage has its own environmental indicators, used to measure the product's environmental impact at that point.
Those indicators include greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, water use, waste production and impact on biodiversity, among others. Assessing them at every stage of the life cycle gives a complete picture of the product's environmental impact.
Information required for the environmental assessment
Carrying out an environmental assessment that complies with EN 15804 means gathering a large amount of information: data on the materials used, the manufacturing processes, the energy consumed, the emissions produced, the waste generated, and more besides.
Collecting all of it can look daunting, but it is the step that makes the assessment accurate and meaningful. It also surfaces the opportunities to improve the product's environmental performance.
Effect on product design
EN 15804 has a real effect on how construction products are designed, because it pushes manufacturers towards products with a minimal environmental impact across their whole life cycle.
In practice that can mean more durable materials, manufacturing processes that use less energy, or end of life strategies that cut waste. In this way the standard drives innovation and moves the construction industry onto a more sustainable path.
EN 15804 in practice: applications and implications
EN 15804 in the real world: use in the construction sector
EN 15804 is widely used in construction to assess the environmental impact of products. That can run from assessing a single material, a brick for instance, to assessing an entire building.
The standard is also used to produce Environmental Product Declarations, or EPDs, which are documents setting out detailed information on a product's environmental impact.
Economic and environmental effects of the standard
Applying EN 15804 can have significant effects both on the environment and on the economics of a business. On the environmental side, the standard helps reduce the impact of construction products by encouraging more sustainable practices across the product life cycle.
On the economic side, it can help companies save money by optimizing production processes and cutting resource consumption.
The last word on EN 15804
We have covered what the standard means, what it is for, what it covers and what it requires. We have also looked at how it is applied in construction, and how it shapes product design.
EN 15804 is a powerful instrument for advancing sustainability in construction. It provides a common method for assessing the environmental impact of construction products, while supporting innovation and the design of more sustainable ones. As the work of tackling climate change and greening the economy continues, the standard will remain an essential tool for getting there.
You can also read this article to go further on the subject.
Frequently asked questions
EN 15804 est la norme européenne qui définit les règles communes de calcul des déclarations environnementales (EPD/FDES) pour les produits de construction. Elle harmonise les indicateurs et les modules du cycle de vie, garantissant que deux fiches produits restent comparables sur une base méthodologique identique.
Elle sert de socle méthodologique aux FDES et EPD : elle fixe les catégories d'impact à déclarer, les étapes du cycle de vie (production, chantier, usage, fin de vie) et les règles de calcul. Sans elle, les déclarations environnementales des produits de construction ne seraient ni fiables ni comparables entre fabricants.
L'amendement +A2, publié en 2019, est la version aujourd'hui en vigueur. Il aligne la norme sur la méthode européenne PEF, ajoute des indicateurs (dont le potentiel de réchauffement biogénique) et rend obligatoires certains modules du cycle de vie. Les nouvelles FDES doivent être conformes à +A2.
La norme encadre toute déclaration environnementale de produit de construction commercialisé en Europe : une FDES ou EPD publiée doit s'y conformer. Elle devient déterminante dès qu'un produit est soumis à la RE2020 ou exigé dans un appel d'offres, où la FDES sert de preuve environnementale.