European & UK Standards & Regulations for Wood-Based Products
UK and EU regulations and performance-based standards for wood-based construction products cover:
- suitability for a specified purpose – harmonised European Standards and the Construction Products Regulation
- whether they have been legally harvested, see UKTR and European Timber Regulation
- sustainability of construction (EN 15804:2012+A2:2019) and can lay the framework for an Environmental Product Declaration
EN standards assess a product’s essential performance characteristics. This provides a technical and legal basis for manufacturers to use when testing the performance of their products, regardless of how they are manufactured. Learn more about selecting the right standard for your application.
Several APA member mills manufacture panel products which conform to the harmonised European standard EN 13986:2004+A1:2015. They can therefore be CE marked in accordance with the 2013 Construction Products Regulation (CPR). The CPR sets down new legal responsibilities for manufacturers, importers and suppliers. It is mandatory for all wood-based products to be CE marked and manufacturers must produce an official Declaration of Performance (DoP) about a specific product and the performance characteristics for its intended end-use.
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) provides information on a product’s environmental impact. The American Wood Council has already produced four EPD for softwood plywood, OSB, I-joists and LVL which are compatible with CPR requirements. More here.