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Modern Building Alliance

MBA

The Modern Building Alliance explains why a holistic, data-based and performance oriented approach is key to advancing fire safety, and its aims to inspire improvements in fire safety practices across Europe.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Adam Jarubas (Member of the European Parliament) and European Chemical Industry Council and

15 Nov 2023 · EFSW2023: Taking stock of progress on fire safety – what should the Commission and Parliament do to improve fire safety in Europe?

Response to Review of the Construction Products Regulation

8 Jul 2022

The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) is key to ensure fire safety in buildings – any review must keep the current safeguards The Modern Building Alliance (MBA): - welcomes the CPR review proposal as it confirms the fundamentals of the internal market legislation. - supports market continuity with consistent harmonised implementation of testing and classification standards. - seeks to ensure that the proposal does not bring discontinuity to the basic requirements covering fire performance. - supports all provisions aiming to: - Improve the quality and compliance of products – increase market surveillance - Ensure smooth operation and efficiency of the single market Harmonised technical specifications must be developed in full collaboration with experts from the European Standardisation Organisations The Modern Building Alliance (MBA) welcomes the fact that the fundamentals of this internal market legislation are confirmed in the Commission’s review proposal. We support that the proposal does not bring discontinuity to the basic requirements covering fire performance. The members of MBA generally support the proposed new provisions related to notifying authorities, technical assistance bodies, market surveillance authorities and requirements of cooperation between countries. Such provisions support the efficiency of the single market by ensuring construction products are properly tested before being placed on the market but also that afterwards, the national market surveillance is effective and of high quality. With regards to the development of harmonised technical specifications via the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), the Modern Building Alliance would like to emphasise that industry participation in CEN committees (such as TC127, TC350, TC88, TC128, etc) continues to be essential to develop coherent, fit for purpose and applicable documents. Therefore, the new measure in this review proposal to confer power to the European Commission to draft harmonised technical specifications in case CEN is not delivering on time and quality, could potentially bring discontinuity in the marketplace. The members of MBA advocate for the safety of construction products and for fire safety in the construction works. The design, manufacturing and the placing of products on the market is essential, in the implementation of the CPR. MBA members are paying attention to the proposed changes of the CPR, with regards to fire safety, in its interconnection of existing European harmonised standards, the national building codes and other elements. Over time, the CPR has brought significant improvements across the EU for the fire safety of buildings. Standards for fire safety are now comparable between member states. This means that a buyer, a designer or a builder can easily compare the fire performance of construction products via harmonised tests and classifications regardless of the country of origin. Together with improved national fire safety measures, the number of fire fatalities in Europe has significantly decreased over the years. However, more still needs to be done, including on digitalisation. The CPR is only one ingredient to ensure fire safety in buildings Further improvements can be achieved in Europe by supporting a holistic view of fire safety. Such a holistic approach must cover the 7 layers of fire safety in buildings (prevention, detection, early suppression, evacuation, compartmentation, structural safety and fire-fighting). To allow and support integration into building codes defining building installation and organisational requirements, the EU standards need to deliver the basis for such an approach (please see the B.I.O framework for more details: https://www.modernbuildingalliance.eu/b-i-o-framework). Want to learn more about the Modern Building Alliance? https://www.modernbuildingalliance.eu/
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Response to Revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU

24 Mar 2022

The Modern Building Alliance, an alliance of companies and trade associations representing the plastics industry in construction, welcomes the proposal of recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) published on the 15th December. The text sets the vision for achieving a zero-emission building stock by 2050. The new provisions on Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPs), the extension of Long-Term Renovation Strategies via National Building Renovation Plans give a better clarity on how Member States could achieve their energy and climate objectives. We believe the Energy Efficiency First principle should be strengthened throughout the text and must remain the basic principle in building renovation. Specific considerations on fire safety: The text mentions ‘deep renovation for energy efficiency purpose is a prime opportunity to address other aspects such as living conditions of vulnerable households, increase climate resilience, resilience against disaster risks including seismic resilience, fire safety, the removal of hazardous substances including asbestos, and accessibility for person with disabilities.’ We fully support this statement and believe that when it is about fire safety, the text could go a step further by recommending addressing fire safety via the involvement of qualified professionals (fire safety engineers) and expertise to be involved at all steps of the building lifetime (building design and construction and also renovation and maintenance phases). The involvement of relevant expertise is the best way to ‘certify the delivered construction and renovation works meet the designed energy performance, with the minimum energy performance requirements,’ and to ensure the quality and compliance of the construction as well as its fire safety. Article 20 is related to inspections and focuses on heating, ventilation and air conditioning. The EPBD should not limit the inspections to HVAC systems. It should include proposals to set inspection regimes for electrical installations, since according to the FEEDS*, 30 % of domestic and 50 % of domestic accidental fires have an electrical source . The recast of the EPBD is an unmissable opportunity to consider building renovation in a holistic way. The Renovation Wave initiated by the European Commission to reach the climate objectives set by the European Green Deal will massively boost the renovation of the EU building stock and has the opportunity to keep citizens fire safe. The Modern Building Alliance is committed to work with policy makers and stakeholders to ensure that all opportunities are taken to ensure a performant, affordable and safe renovation wave. * Source: FEEDS(Forum for European Electrical Safety): https://www.feedsnet.org/#h.p_yx4F7usI0
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Response to Revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU

22 Mar 2021

Decarbonisation of the building stock must be based on a deep reduction of energy consumption as it is the very first step in achieving the renovation wave that is part of the European Commission’ Green Deal agenda. We call EU policy makers to support an ambitious Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and to further recognise the instrumental role of buildings in achieving the EU’s climate goals in all climate-related policies and strategies. Due to their performance, durability, weathering resistance, low maintenance, cost-effectiveness, light weight and design flexibility, plastic insulation materials are a solution of choice for retrofitting the largely inefficient European building stock. Based on the above, the Modern Building Alliance supports the Option 2: Non regulatory measures and the Option 3: Amend the EPBD to translate the actions proposed in the Renovation Wave and the increased ambition towards building decarbonisation into legislation. All new or revised measures of the EPBD should be directed towards extensive energy renovation and reinforce the political direction for the coming decades. The Modern Building Alliance is calling for an EPBD revision that is ambitious in terms of: • Depth of renovation: priority should be given to the renovation of the ‘building envelope’ (Energy Efficiency First principle) as a complete and effective thermal insulation renovation saves any kind of energies (from fossil to renewable origins) • The full deployment of Energy Performance Certificates to the market with their possible use in building renovation passports; • Increasing renovation rate: instruments to encourage or ensure energy renovation works, including targets, progress indicators, financing and the introduction of Minimum Energy Performance Standards, must be in place to reduce the energy consumption of the building stock as required to meet the EU climate and energy efficiency targets. • Requirement of the involvement of accredited fire safety experts - as it is already the case with energy expert – in renovation processes as well as in regular fire and electrical safety inspections to ensure the quality, compliance and safety of buildings. Deep energy renovation will help to achieve high quality performance of the building stock but is also an opportunity to improve other key dimensions of the environment in which we live: health and comfort, reduced energy poverty, creation of jobs and economic growth, and fire safety. Achieving net zero carbon and circular buildings is an ambition that requires many solutions, such as high-performance insulation, resource efficient materials, renewable energy and energy storage technologies. These innovations can entail not only fire risks but also opportunities. Fire safety must neither lag behind nor impede this evolution. It must accompany it. Such renovation works should consider a holistic approach of fire safety with the following 7 layers: prevention, detection, early suppression, evacuation, compartmentation, structural safety and fire-fighting. The MBA also believes that a revised EPBD offers the opportunity to embed fire safety competency into an EU legislation. Skilled and competent professionals with clear roles and responsibilities, who are involved during the buildings’ design, construction and maintenance phases will ensure a safe transformation of the building stock. To know more: https://www.modernbuildingalliance.eu/fire-safety-skills-competency Renovation is also, for example, an opportunity to upgrade old electrical installations and to install fire detection systems, alarms and suppression systems. This would prove benefits at a time when building infrastructure is deemed to become more integrated with sustainable mobility solutions like private and public electro mobility.
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Response to Review of the Construction Products Regulation

18 Aug 2020

Summary : the Construction Products Regulation (CPR), together with several other elements such as national building codes & regulations, plays an essential role for the safety of construction works, including for fire safety of buildings. Any change considered must carefully assess the potential safety impact and the potential for improvement which can mainly be found in better implementation and enforcement. Modern Building Alliance therefore supports preferably option A (no legislative changes), radically rejects option E (repealing the CPR) and calls for strengthening quality, compliance and enforcement by developing fire safety competencies. Please find the details of our position in the attached file.
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Response to A new Circular Economy Action Plan

16 Jan 2020

Modern Building Alliance welcomes the new circular economy action plan and the particular attention given to building and construction. Improving the sustainability of European buildings, newly built or renovated, is indeed an essential component of the EU’s drive for a resource efficient and decarbonised Europe. The Modern Building Alliance believes the below enhancements could lead to a more sustainable building stock: 1- Assessment of the environmental impact of construction should be based on a lifecycle analysis performed at the building level. Environmental impacts go beyond GHG emissions and include repercussions on air, land and water, and range from raw material extraction, the manufacturing of products and equipment to transport, construction techniques and the way we deal with the end of life of the building components. A material neutral, performance based and life cycle-oriented approach will improve the sustainability of buildings. 2- Buildings are meant to last decades and 80% of today’s European building stock will still be in use in 2050. In the case of construction, performance of the system components and durability of such performance should go hand in hand and be seen together as an essential part of buildings’ contribution to a more resource-efficient economy. 3- Support for “Level(s)”, an EU initiative aimed at bringing tools to assess the sustainability of our buildings and making a clear contribution to broader European environmental policy objectives. More : https://www.modernbuildingalliance.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Modern-Building-Alliance-position-paper-on-sustainable-construction.pdf
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