Manufacturer environmental data plays a key role in low‑carbon construction
18.05.2026
MagiCAD Group
Construction regulation across Europe is tightening, and the climate impact of buildings over their entire life cycle has become a permanent part of planning and decision‑making. For MEP manufacturers, this means that BIM‑compatible product data and reliable, verified environmental data are no longer optional. They directly influence which products are selected and on what basis.
Across the EU, low‑carbon construction, life‑cycle assessment and comparable environmental data are increasingly shaping both regulation and market expectations. While requirements vary between countries, the overall direction is clear: environmental performance and transparent product data are becoming decisive factors in building design and product selection.
Construction plays a key role in climate targets
Buildings and construction account for a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions across Europe. As a result, the construction sector has a central role in achieving both national and EU‑level climate targets.
In recent years, low‑carbon construction has progressed step by step towards more detailed and binding regulation. The focus has expanded beyond operational energy efficiency to include materials, technical systems and embodied carbon emissions over the entire life cycle of a building. This shift directly affects the type and level of product data designers need to support their decisions.
EU regulation is raising the bar
Low‑carbon construction across Europe is increasingly driven by EU‑level regulation. The revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is a key driver in this development, accelerating the transition towards a more harmonised approach to assessing the life‑cycle climate impact of buildings.
One of the most important outcomes of the revised EPBD is the alignment of Global Warming Potential (GWP) calculations across the EU. This creates a common framework for assessing life‑cycle carbon emissions and sets clearer expectations for comparable, transparent environmental data.
As a result, product‑specific and verified environmental data will become increasingly important in all European markets. For manufacturers, the message is clear: compliance and competitiveness will depend on the ability to provide reliable environmental data that can be used in design and assessment workflows.
Finland as an early example of how EU ambitions are implemented nationally
EU‑level requirements translate into practice through national legislation, and Finland provides a concrete example of how this transition is already taking shape.
With the introduction of its new Construction Act, life‑cycle carbon impacts have become a mandatory part of planning for new buildings in Finland. Designers are now required to assess not only operational emissions, but also emissions related to materials and building services systems.
For new buildings, this includes:
- a climate declaration, covering the building’s carbon footprint and carbon handprint over its life cycle, and demonstrating compliance with defined limit values
- a building product list documenting the products used in the project
Although current limit values are still relatively moderate, the direction is clear: design choices and product selection will play an increasingly important role as requirements tighten over time.
While national approaches naturally vary, similar regulatory developments are underway across Europe as countries align their frameworks with EU‑level objectives.
Manufacturer environmental data drives product selection
Climate declarations and building product lists rely heavily on traceable, structured product data. Generic emission factors and databases can provide a starting point, but they are not sufficient when project teams want to:
- distinguish between individual products
- optimise carbon performance at system level
- prepare for stricter limit values
At this stage, manufacturer‑specific environmental data becomes a decisive factor. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) provide verified and standardised information on a product’s environmental impacts across its life cycle. The GWP values derived from EPDs specifically quantify climate impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, expressed as CO₂ equivalents. These are complemented by broader life‑cycle data covering phases from manufacturing to use and recycling or end‑of‑life.
Without reliable, product‑specific data, designers are forced to rely on generic assumptions, which rarely reflect the true performance of individual products or support manufacturers’ competitive positioning.
BIM is the foundation for using environmental data
To be usable in real projects, environmental data must be available in a BIM‑compatible format within the design workflow. Stand‑alone PDF documentation is no longer sufficient.
BIM‑based product data enables:
- life‑cycle and carbon impact calculations as part of design
- comparison of alternative solutions
- direct transfer of data into building product lists and climate declarations
For manufacturers, BIM objects combined with embedded environmental data are therefore not just a technical detail, but a core requirement for remaining relevant in the market.
What manufacturers should do now
- Ensure visibility in MagiCAD Cloud
Make sure your products are easily accessible to designers within the MagiCAD Cloud platform. - Add environmental declarations to your products
Upload EPD documents to MagiCAD Cloud and ensure that product variants include accurate weight information. - Support design decisions with MagiCAD Cloud Environmental Data
EPD‑based GWP values deliver the greatest value when they are available already during the design phase.
Preparing for more competitive low‑carbon markets
Carbon limit values will tighten step by step in the coming years, and competition around low‑carbon solutions will intensify. Manufacturers that align environmental data, product models and product development with this transition early on will strengthen their competitive position.
Low‑carbon performance and energy efficiency become true competitive advantages only when they are transparently verifiable and usable within the design process.