European Laminate Producers Seek Green Status

Bielefeld, Germany, Aug. 21, 2008--European laminate flooring producers are going on the offensive to prove the sustainability of their products.

The European Producers of Laminate Flooring (EPLF) has been involved in an EU project to develop rules and standards on assessing the sustainability of flooring.

The rules and standards, known as Product Category Rules (PCR) have now been published on the website of the German Institute of Building and Environment at www.bau-umwelt.de.

PCRs contain the regulations for creating an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which describes the life cycle of a product, from manufacture, through its use and to disposal.

EPDs, a tool for architects and planners to measure the ecological performance of construction materials, also include a statement about use of resources, energy balance and carbon emissions.

The EPLF said EPDs for laminate flooring would be drawn up over the coming months.

“Through these, the EPLF member companies will fulfil their ecological and social responsibility before being officially required to do so through European Standards,” said the EPLF.