EN 16908:2017/FprA1

Cement and building lime - Environmental product declarations - Product category rules complementary to EN 15804

The general scope of the core product category rules (PCR) is given in EN 15804:2012+A1:2013, Clause 1.
This PCR is primarily intended for the creation of cradle-to-gate EPDs of cement and building lime.
In other respects, the scope is as in EN 15804.

Zement und Baukalk - Umweltproduktdeklarationen - Produktkategorieregeln in Ergänzung zu EN 15804

Ciment et chaux de construction - Déclarations environnementales sur les produits - Règles de catégorie de produits complémentaires de l’EN 15804

No scope available

Cement in gradbeno apno - Okoljske deklaracije za proizvode - Pravila za kategorije proizvodov, ki dopolnjujejo EN 15804

General Information

• Status: Not Published
• Publication Date: 09-Jun-2022
• Withdrawal Date: 11-Sep-2022
• ICS: 91.010.99 - Other aspects
• ICS: 91.100.10 - Cement. Gypsum. Lime. Mortar
• Technical Committee: CEN/TC 51 - Cement and building limes
• Drafting Committee: CEN/TC 51/WG 6 - Definitions and terminology of cement
• Current Stage: 5060 - Closure of Vote - Formal Approval
• Start Date: 09-Dec-2021
• Due Date: 26-May-2022
• Completion Date: 09-Dec-2021
• Directive: 305/2011 - Regulation (eu) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 march 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing council directive 89/106/eec
• Mandate: M/355 - Programming mandate addrssed to the European standardisatio organisations for the elaboration of european standards to identify and reduce crime risk in products and services
• Ref Project: SIST EN 16908:2017/kprA1:2021 - Cement and building lime - Environmental product declarations - Product category rules complementary to EN 15804

Relations

• Merged Into: EN 16908:2017+A1:2022 - Cement and building lime - Environmental product declarations - Product category rules complementary to EN 15804
• Effective Date: 18-Jan-2023
• Amends: EN 16908:2017 - Cement and building lime - Environmental product declarations - Product category rules complementary to EN 15804
• Effective Date: 10-Mar-2020

Overview

EN 16908:2017/FprA1 is a European standard developed by CEN that defines the Product Category Rules (PCR) for creating Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) specifically for cement and building lime. This standard complements the core rules established in EN 15804:2012+A2:2019, which governs sustainability assessments and environmental declarations for construction products.

The primary focus of EN 16908 is to provide clear and harmonized guidelines for preparing cradle-to-gate EPDs-covering environmental impacts from raw material extraction through manufacturing-of cement and building lime products. As such, the standard enables manufacturers and stakeholders to communicate environmental performance transparently, supporting sustainable construction initiatives across Europe.

Key Topics

• Scope and Application
  EN 16908 applies to the creation of EPDs for cement and building lime as intermediate products within the construction sector. It clarifies that these materials:

  • Are physically integrated with other products during installation and cannot be separated at end-of-life,
  • Undergo physical or chemical transformation that makes them no longer identifiable post-use,
  • Do not contain biogenic carbon, exempting them from declaring certain life cycle modules related to end-of-life stages.

• Alignment with EN 15804:2012+A2:2019
  This standard updates key references from the earlier EN 15804:2012+A1:2013 to the more recent EN 15804:2012+A2:2019, ensuring consistency with the latest life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies and impact indicators.

• Environmental Impact Indicators
  Cement and lime EPDs must declare specific additional impact categories beyond core indicators, including:

  • Particulate Matter emissions,
  • Ionizing radiation affecting human health.

  Conversely, indicators such as eco-toxicity and human toxicity (cancer and non-cancer effects) are excluded due to high uncertainties.

• Declared Unit and Functional Unit
  Since cement and building lime are intermediate products without standalone functionality, EPDs use a declared unit rather than a functional unit, as defined in EN 15804.

• Data Quality and Allocation Procedures
  The standard specifies rigorous data quality requirements and provides allocation procedures for reuse, recycling, and recovery aligned with the overarching EN 15804 principles, enhancing the reliability of environmental assessments.

• Biogenic Carbon Content
  Cement and building lime are considered free of biogenic carbon, but any packaging containing biogenic carbon must be declared separately.

• End of Life Considerations
  Due to their transformation and integration in construction, cement and lime are exempt from declaring modules related to end-of-life impacts (C1 to C4 and module D).

Applications

EN 16908 is vital for:

• Manufacturers of cement and building lime wanting to create verified EPDs that comply with European sustainability requirements.
• Environmental consultants and LCA practitioners conducting product assessments and sustainability reporting in the construction industry.
• Construction companies and specifiers seeking transparent, comparable environmental data to guide sustainable material selection.
• Regulatory bodies and certification schemes requiring standardized environmental documentation according to European standards.

The standard supports sustainable construction goals, enables compliance with green building certifications, and promotes circular economy principles through careful definition of environmental impacts and resource use.

Related Standards

• EN 15804:2012+A2:2019 – Core Product Category Rules for Environmental Product Declarations of construction products, providing the foundational sustainability framework.
• EN 16908:2017 (original edition) – The base standard complemented by amendment prA1:2021 to reflect updated references and technical clarifications.
• Other CEN standards under Technical Committee CEN/TC 51 related to cement, building lime, and associated products.

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By adhering to EN 16908:2017/FprA1, stakeholders in the cement and lime industry can ensure their environmental product declarations are robust, harmonized, and reflective of updated European sustainability assessment practices. This enhances transparency, fosters informed decision-making, and contributes to advancing sustainable construction across the region.

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST EN 16908:2017/oprA1:2021
01-marec-2021
Cement in gradbeno apno - Okoljske deklaracije za proizvode - Pravila za
kategorije proizvodov, ki dopolnjujejo EN 15804
Cement and building lime - Environmental product declarations - Product category rules
complementary to EN 15804
Zement und Baukalk - Umweltproduktdeklarationen - Produktkategorieregeln in
Ergänzung zu EN 15804
Ciment et chaux de construction - Déclarations environnementales sur les produits -
Règles de catégorie de produits complémentaires de l’EN 15804
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 16908:2017/prA1
ICS:
13.020.20 Okoljska ekonomija. Environmental economics.
Trajnostnost Sustainability
91.100.10 Cement. Mavec. Apno. Malta Cement. Gypsum. Lime.
Mortar
SIST EN 16908:2017/oprA1:2021 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

SIST EN 16908:2017/oprA1:2021
SIST EN 16908:2017/oprA1:2021
DRAFT
EUROPEAN STANDARD
EN 16908:2017
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
prA1
February 2021
ICS 91.010.99; 91.100.10
English Version
Cement and building lime - Environmental product
declarations - Product category rules complementary to
EN 15804
Ciment et chaux de construction - Déclarations Zement und Baukalk - Umweltproduktdeklarationen -
environnementales sur les produits - Règles de Produktkategorieregeln in Ergänzung zu EN 15804
catégorie de produits complémentaires de l'EN 15804
This draft amendment is submitted to CEN members for enquiry. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 51.

This draft amendment A1, if approved, will modify the European Standard EN 16908:2017. If this draft becomes an amendment,
CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for inclusion of
this amendment into the relevant national standard without any alteration.

This draft amendment was established by CEN in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other
language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and
United Kingdom.
Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are
aware and to provide supporting documentation.

Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without
notice and shall not be referred to as a European Standard.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2021 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 16908:2017/prA1:2021 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

SIST EN 16908:2017/oprA1:2021
EN 16908:2017/prA1:2021 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
1 Modification throughout the entire document . 4
2 Modification to Clause 2, "Normative references" . 4
3 Modification to 5.2 “Types of EPD with respect to life cycle stages covered” . 4
4 Modifications to 5.4 “Additional information” . 4
5 Addition of 6.3.1 “Functional or declared unit” . 5
6 Modification to 6.3.2 “Functional unit” . 5
7 Modification to 6.3.4 “Reference service life (RSL)” . 5
8 Modification to 6.3.8 “Data quality” . 5
9 Modification to 6.4.3.4 “Allocation procedure of reuse, recycling and recovery” . 5
10 Addition of 6.4.4 “Information on biogenic carbon content” . 6
11 Modification to 6.5 “Impact assessment” . 6
12 Modification to 7.2.3 “Parameters describing environmental impacts” . 6
13 Modification to 7.2.4 “Parameters describing resource use” . 6
14 Modification to 7.2.5 “Other environmental information describing different waste
categories and output flows” . 7
15 Modification to Annex C “Characterization factors for GWP, ODP, AP, EP, POCP and
ADP” . 7
16 Modification to Annex D “Application of the polluter pays principle” . 7
17 Addition of Annex D “End of life formulae” . 7
18 Addition of Annex E “Schemes to be applied for data quality assessment of generic
and specific data” . 8
19 Modifications to the Bibliography . 8

SIST EN 16908:2017/oprA1:2021
EN 16908:2017/prA1:2021 (E)
European foreword
This document (EN 16908:2017/prA1:2021) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 51
“Cement and building limes”, the secretariat of which is held by NBN.
This document is currently submitted to the CEN Enquiry.
This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CEN by the European Commission and the
European Free Trade Association.
SIST EN 16908:2017/oprA1:2021
EN 16908:2017/prA1:2021 (E)
1 Modification throughout the entire document
Replace “EN 15804” or “EN 15804:2012+A1:2013” with “EN 15804:2012+A2:2019”.
2 Modification to Clause 2, "Normative references"
Replace "As in EN 15804" with the following:
"The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 15804:2012+A2:2019, Sustainability of construction works — Environmental product declarations —
Core rules for the product category of construction products".
3 Modification to 5.2 “Types of EPD with respect to life cycle stages covered”
Add the following paragraph after “As in EN 15804:2012+A2:2019”:
“Cement and building lime fulfil the three conditions
— the
...