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Last changed: 12/01/12
Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg are currently the leaders in green public procurement. All three have incorporated environmental protection into their public contracting laws. Overall, not all German Länder are already utilizing the full range of possibilities to legally ensure green public procurement. This is the result of a report on the contracting rules applied in the 16 German Länder. The report recommends that there should be clear provisions and practical guidelines for administration.
The German federal government seeks to establish a system of requirements and incentives at the EU level which supports the best and most energy-efficient products available on the market. Therefore, the Federal Environment Agency has developed a so-called top runner approach in a concept paper. The paper illustrates how the mix of policy instruments available in the EU can be improved. One means is to extend to other products the mandatory energy efficiency labeling currently limited to only a few products.
Chemicals which can damage the environment or health are periodically found in consumer products. UBA commissioned a study to determine which substances and regulations are relevant in toys, electrical and electronic equipment, and floor and wall coverings. Some substances are not as yet regulated at all, although products often contain pollutants in a lack of compliance with existing legislation.
The amended EU Regulation laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products will provide for information for consumers. Starting July 2013 construction products with CE marking must also include a declaration about any substances of very high concern they contain. The new regulations apply to all construction products traded on the European Single Market, e.g. carpeting, wall covering, or concrete components.
Improvements in environmental issues are expected to be accepted soon with new European provisions for the marketing of construction products. A compromise proposal is now available and one of the topics of the plenary in the European Parliament on January 17th 2011. The UBA welcomes the instruments for the integration of environmental protection into the regulation included in the compromise proposal.
The use of nanoparticles in products is on the rise. UBA had four of the following products tested: fabrics, house paint, car tyres, and diesel fuel. Result: They release nanoparticles in the course of their life cycles, which is problematic insofar as particle uptake can pose a risk to human health. The study reveals there is a serious lack of knowledge on the subject. Appropriate measuring methods by which nanoparticles in the environment can be detected and identified, for example, are still lacking.
Construction products that are entitled to carry the CE marking may be freely marketed in the European Economic Area. With the CE marking the manufacturer attests that the product complies with the legislation on dangerous substances in the area where it is traded. The European Commission now provides for a database that should help the manufacturers to get an overview on which regulations are valid where. The first Member States, Germany among them, have now made the data on their provisions available.
The Blue Angel for low-noise and fuel-saving tyres now has even higher standards, thereby anticipating the limit values that will be in force throughout the EU as of 2012. All this is in the name of protecting human health and the environment—and it also happens to be good for the purse. Blue Angel tyres can save car drivers about 50 euros’ worth in fuel per year.
At the ninth meeting of the Network of Heads of European Environmental Protection Agencies, held 24/25 September 2007 in Zagreb (Croatia), a group of members of the network endorsed a discussion paper on the revision of the Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC). These member agencies underline the importance of the European Union (EU) adequately addressing the environmental and health impacts of the construction sector. The discussion paper makes proposals to benefit the environment and the better regulation agenda of the European Commission as well as European enterprises in the construction sector.
The brochure wants to encourage companies to take greater advantage of instruments such as product labelling and declaration as a way to communicate environmental information and to document in this way their responsibility for human health and the environment.
Can an office chair or a coffee pot save energy and resources? Indeed they can – provided they are developed according to ecodesign principles. These principles are about a product’s materials, whether it can be readily repaired and recycled, and how it can be used. Businesses and (amateur) designers can enter their products and ideas in the Bundespreis Ecodesign contest up until 30 April 2012. The BMU and UBA are tendering the contest for the first time.
Reliable information on leaching of hazardous substances will soon be part of the standard data set that customers can expect to get from the manufacturers of construction products. Research work conducted in assignment of UBA shows that a new European test method is a solid basis for ascertaining the safety of construction products for soil and groundwater.
Use of the conventional refrigerant R134a in mobile air conditioning in passenger cars and small commercial vehicles has been banned since 1 January 2011. The ban initially applies to new vehicle types, and the EU will neither authorise nor will individual member states grant an operation permit if vehicles use climate-effective refrigerants with a global warming potential (GWP) of more than 150 such as R134a. Any retrofitting with the substance is also prohibited, as regulated by EU Directive 2006/40/EC. The automotive industry intends to replace the substance with the flammable fluorinated refrigerant 1234yf instead of the natural refrigerant CO2 which was favoured for a long time. Does this pose a solution to a problem or perhaps a solution with problems? Unlike CO2, 1234yf harbours risks for human health and the environment.
The group of so-called F-gases are 100 to 24,000 more harmful to the climate than CO2. UBA sees a necessity for unequivocal, internationally binding regulation so as to prevent a worldwide surge in emissions of F-gases. An updated UBA report illustrates prevention measures and how to substitute these F-gases.
On the first Blue Angel Day, BMU, UBA and the Environmental Label Jury were providing information and talking about the Blue Angel of the future with more than 100 delegates from industry and commerce as well as environmental and consumer associations. UBA President Jochen Flasbarth and Jury Chairman Dr. Volker Teichert encouraged commerce and industry to put the Blue Angel label on more energy-saving and climate-friendly products.
Tests carried out by the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) on behalf of UBA have reconfirmed the following: in the event of a vehicle fire, there are risks posed to the environment and health by the refrigerant tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf) which the automobile industry has spoken out in favour of using in the future. UBA therefore now reasserts its recommendation that CO2 be used as a refrigerant instead. CO2 is far more compatible with the environment and has been operating successfully in an UBA staff car for over a year.
When there is a fire involving chemicals, fuels or plastics it is often extinguished with foams which contain fluorine. Although this is effective, it is unfortunately not free of risk to the environment. Fluorinated chemicals are very persistent, and some can even exert toxic effect on the human body. A new flyer offers advice on how fire brigades can choose appropriate extinguishing agents and how best to dispose of polluted extinguishing water. The flyer was issued jointly by the Federal Environment Agency, German Fire Protection Association, and the Federal Association of Technical Fire Protection (bvfa).
Are you the public official in charge of procuring notebooks that do not cost too much, save energy and are quiet as well? Public tenders on the procurement of environmentally friendly notebooks are often quite complicated due to associated legislation. Some light has now been shed on the darkness by the ITK-Beschaffung.de procurement website featured in German, English and French, as well as a new guideline.
Commercial refrigeration systems are one of the major sources of HFC emissions in Germany. The study provides a comprehensive overview of HFC-free systems and equipment for supermarkets offered and used in Europe including information about the energy efficiency and economics of these systems in comparison to conventional systems. It shows that refrigeration systems that contain natural refrigerants have the best climate balance of all currently available technologies.