Documentation requirements for environmental assessments  

Publication date: 2023-09-19 

Implementation date: 2023-11-01 

Document compilation

Responsibility for correct information in documents attached to the application 

• You who apply for an assessment are responsible for ensuring that the assessment documents, information, and data are correct. You are also responsible for providing feedback if information/documentation linked to the item/product changes.

• Our mission at Byggvarubedömningen is to make independent assessments, which means that we cannot help with producing assessment documents. The role of Byggvarubedömningen is to carefully review documents and, as far as possible, identify any deficiencies, as well as get back to you if there is a need for update or additional documents.

Assessment-based documents

Building products declaration

A building product declaration according to the industry standard eBVD or equivalent template with a full declaration of chemical content is required for assessment. The following formats are accepted:

• eBVD2015 and later versions of eBVD,
• iBVD correspondent to eBVD2015 or later versions of eBVD

If you do not have a building product declaration, you can use our template:

• Byggvarubedömningen's digital application template which automatically generates a building product declaration according to eBVD2015 (free when applying for an assessment).

Please observe that:

• An approved building product declaration is written in Swedish or English, the data is current, and the declaration is not dated further back than 1 year at the time of application.
• Reporting of chemical content must be done in accordance with Byggvarubedömningen’s reporting requirements for chemical content. The reported content always needs to be reconciled with our requirements, regardless of which template is used. The product/item is assessed as delivered to the construction site.
• BVD 3 is an older format of building product declaration that is no longer approved.
• An EPD is not approved for reporting chemical content (does not have the same reporting requirements), not only a safety data sheet (as we have other requirements), nor product fact sheets, etc.   
• Safety data sheets are mandatory to attach when assessing chemical products and are publicly displayed on the product card. A safety data sheet must be in Swedish and comply with the CLP Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 with updates.

Byggvarubedömningen’s certificate of substance content and concentrations

In order to achieve the assessment-level Recommended for chemical content, a correctly completed certificate of substance content and concentrations is required to certify compliance with the requirements for chemical content. 

The certificate can also be used to verify that the accounting requirements for chemical content, regardless of assessment level, are complied with when a different building product declaration than those described above is used. This applies to a building product declaration prepared by a company that is carried out according to eBVD2015 or later. It must be clear from the template which format it corresponds to. 

Please note that the certificate of substance content and concentrations cannot be dated earlier than the building product declaration the certificate supplements when applying.

Safety data sheets, SDS
Safety data sheets are mandatory to attach when assessing chemical products and are publicly displayed on the product card. A safety data sheet must be in Swedish and comply with the CLP Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 with updates.

Please observe that:

• According to the European Chemicals Agency's guidelines for the preparation of safety data sheets, safety data sheets should be reviewed regularly and updated as necessary by someone with the right expertise.
• As safety data sheets should be updated as necessary, this means that assessments may also need to be updated. 

For more information on safety data sheets, see references below.

Environmental Product Declaration, EPD 
If an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) exists, it is beneficial to attach it to the assessment. We accept EPDs according to standard EN 15804 that have a valid date, usually an EPD is valid for 3-5 years. There are presently two current standards: SS-EN 15804:2012+A1:2013 and SS-EN 15804:2012+A2:2019/AC:2021. For more information on the possibility of better assessment, see our criteria document. For increased customer benefit, climate data from EPDs are reflected on the product card.

Certificate/analysis report of emissions
The criterion covers items/products containing organic material/organic substances that are located inside the vapor barrier and therefore may come into contact with indoor air, such as: wallboards, floor coverings, sealants, paints, wallpaper, adhesives and fillers. Permanently installed furnishings such as cabinets and doors are also subject to emission requirements.

Approved documentation is an analysis report or certificate with information on TVOC content and EU-LCI values. The attached documentation must show emissions of TVOC measured after 28 days. Testing must have been carried out in accordance with standard EN 16516, or alternatively according to standard method ISO 16000-9 in combination with standard methods ISO 16000-6 and ISO 16000-3. A certificate must be valid at the time of application. A certificate without an expiration date or a report must not be older than 8 years at the time of application. It must be stated that the certificate or report applies to the assessed product/product, i.e. there must be a clear connection between the document and the product/product.

Certificate concearning sustainable forestry
Affects assessment towards level Recommended for products containing wood raw material equivalent to 2 wt% or more and is mandatory for products with wood species/origin in the CITES appendix for endangered species. A valid date must appear on the FSC or PEFC certificate or for other third-party audited systems that include chain-of-custody certificates. The licence number must appear on the documentation submitted.

Certificate of compliance with RoHS Directive
Documentation of CE marking/certificate of compliance with the latest version of the RoHS Directive (2011/65/EU) is mandatory for electronic products.

Operation and maintenance related documents
Product specific documents are valued by users but are not a requirement for assessment, for example:

• Assembly instructions
• Declaration of performance
• Technical data sheet
• Operation and maintenance instructions 

Do you need help with the preparation of assessment documentation?
For help with preparing documentation and or applications for assessment, we refer you to two consulting companies with extensive experience of working with both assessment documentation and applications for Byggvarubedömningen's assessments: 

Goodpoint AB: Info@goodpoint.se 
VEGA Systems AB: Info@vegaab.se 

References and links

Byggvarubedömningen’s declaration template equivalent to eBVD 2015, reporting requirements and criteria documents can be downloaded here: https://byggvarubedomningen.se/bedomningar/dokument/#Chapter 

Instructions and template for eBVD 2015:
https://byggmaterialindustrierna.se/anvisningar-och-mall-till-ebvd2015/

Echa’s guidence on the compliation of safety data sheets:
https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/2324906/sds_en.pdf/01c29e23-2cbe-49c0-aca7-72f22e101e20

Kemikalieinspektionen’s website: https://www.kemi.se/en

Directive 2011/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (RoHS):
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02011L0065-20230901