(1)

Under Regulation (EC) No 66/2010, the EU Ecolabel may be awarded to those products with a reduced environmental impact during their entire life cycle.

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 provides that specific EU Ecolabel criteria are to be established according to product groups.

(3)

Commission Decision 2009/607/EC (2) established criteria and related assessment and verification requirements for the product group ‘hard coverings’. The period of validity of those criteria and requirements has been extended to 30 June 2021 by Commission Decision (EU) 2017/2076 (3).

(4)

In order to better reflect best practice in the market for this expanded product group and to take account of innovations introduced in the intervening period, it is appropriate to establish a new set of criteria for ‘hard covering products’.

(5)

The EU Ecolabel Fitness check (4) of 30 June 2017, reviewing the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 66/2010, concluded on the need to develop a more strategic approach for the EU Ecolabel, also including the bundling of closely related product groups where appropriate.

(6)

In line with those conclusions and after consulting the European Union Ecolabelling Board (EUEB), it is appropriate to revise the criteria for the product group ‘hard coverings’ and to expand its scope to include other products used for similar primary purposes, which are made of the same materials and for which there is market interest.

(7)

The New Circular Economy Action Plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe (5) adopted on 11 March 2020 stipulates that the durability, recyclability and recycled content requirements will be more systematically included in the EU Ecolabel criteria.

(8)

In the production of natural stone and precast concrete products, a significant proportion of the environmental impacts are associated with specific supply chain actors, who currently have little or no direct incentive to comply with the EU Ecolabel criteria. After consulting the EUEB, it is appropriate to allow for the EU Ecolabel to also be awarded to intermediate business-to-business products in the natural stone sector (i.e. dimension stone blocks produced in quarries) and in the precast concrete sector (i.e. hydraulic binders produced in kilns or alternative cements). This will also facilitate assessment and verification by competent bodies when such intermediate products are sold to EU Ecolabel license holders.

(9)

After consulting the EUEB, it is appropriate to introduce mandatory and optional criteria requirements, as well as a scoring system. Points may be granted in case of compliance with optional requirements or according to how far an applicant goes beyond compliance with some mandatory requirements. For a product to be awarded the EU Ecolabel, it must both comply with all mandatory requirements and attain a total minimum number of points.

(10)

The scoring system offers a more flexible approach to obtaining the EU Ecolabel for the best environmental performing hard covering products on the market, allows for greater weighting to be applied to criteria that are associated with the product’s most significant environmental impacts, and both encourages and recognises continuous environmental improvement for license holders.

(11)

The EU Ecolabel criteria for hard covering products aim, in particular, at promoting products that have a lower environmental impact along their life cycle, are produced using material efficient and energy efficient processes, with reduced emissions to air, and reduced water consumption. Considering efforts towards climate neutrality and the decarbonisation of Union industry, limits have been set on process CO2 emissions for combustion processes, and the use of renewable electricity and the calculation of the carbon footprint are incentivised by the award of points. In order to contribute towards the transition to a more circular economy, the criteria set mandatory requirements on the reuse of process waste and incentivise the incorporation of recycled/secondary material content, where appropriate.

(12)

The EU Ecolabel criteria and related assessment and verification requirements for the product group should remain valid until 31 December 2028, taking into account the innovation cycle for the product group.

(13)

For reasons of legal certainty, Decision 2009/607/EC should be repealed.

(14)

A transitional period should be allowed for producers whose products have been awarded the EU Ecolabel for hard coverings on the basis of the criteria set out in Decision 2009/607/EC, so that they have sufficient time to adapt their products to comply with the new criteria and requirements. For a limited period after adoption of this Decision, producers should also be allowed to submit applications based either on the criteria established by Decision 2009/607/EC or on the new criteria established by this Decision. EU Ecolabel licences awarded in accordance with the criteria set out in the old Decision may be used for 12 months from the date of adoption of this Decision.

(15)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 66/2010,