In the context of the European Commission study for the development of common EU indicators for the environmental performance of buildings, the Commission launched a public consultation on the first draft indicators proposals. The public consultation closed on 7 October and below you can see a summary of Cerame-Unie reply:

• The EU framework of indicators shall be based on the 3 pillars of sustainability: social, economic and environmental. These 3 pillars shall be weighted equally;

• The general methodology should be based on existing environmental, social and economic standards from CEN/TC350. Additional indicators could be used to complement the environmental assessment;

•  The assessment should always have a cradle-to-grave LCA approach that takes into account all stages of the life cycle of the building. Narrowing stages could be misleading;

• The indicator “Operational and embodied Global Warming Potential” is already part of the indicator “Cradle-to-grave LCA”. It is import to ensure that the environmental impact related to CO₂ emissions is only declared one time. Double counting should be avoided;

• Recyclability, deconstruction and waste are part of the “Cradle-to-grave LCA” indicator and should not be considered standalone indicators;

• Indicators on indoor air quality should reflect in-situ measurement.