Corporate Responsibility

Ordinance 305/2011, also known as the CPR (Construction Products Regulation), is an European Union regulation on construction products. It classifies construction products and sets the rules for their testing methods. It officially came into effect on 1 July 2013. With regard to the fire safety of cables and wires, the ordinance is based on the harmonised European standard EN 50575:2014, which was implemented on 1 July 2016.

A product covered by the CPR is defined as "any product or kit which is manufactured and placed on the market for incorporation in a permanent manner in construction works or parts thereof and the performance of which affects the quality of the construction works with regard to the basic requirements for construction works". According to this definition, all cables and wires intended to be permanently installed in buildings should be classified as construction products. Permanently, i.e. as opposed to installations that are intentionally installed temporarily.

A Declaration of Performance (DoP) is a document issued for products covered by a harmonised European Standard or complying with a European Technical Assessment issued for them. A copy of this declaration must be supplied with the product in electronic or paper form (on request).

The manufacturer must keep the Declaration of Performance and the technical documentation for 10 years.

The CE marking is placed on the labels of products for which the manufacturer has drawn up a Declaration of Performance (DoP). The product can only be CE marked if the conformity procedure has been successfully completed. The CE mark on a product confirms that it has been assigned to the appropriate Euroclass. This reassures the user that the high fire safety criteria have been met and documented and that the Euroclass is clearly identifiable.

Cables are tested for their flammability properties according to established standards and assigned to Euroclasses. The current CPR directive defines a division into seven classes, namely Aca, B1ca, B2ca, Cca, Dca, Eca, Fca, where class Aca is the class of 'non-flammable cables' and class F is categorised as 'does not meet the requirements of class E'. Halogen-free cables with low smoke emission and no corrosive combustion products are particularly suitable for preventing the spread of fire and limiting the release of gases during combustion. Thanks to their properties, cables of this type allow efficient evacuation in the event of a fire and do not damage electronic equipment installed in a burning building. In the lower classes, traditional cable materials, including PVC, are permitted.

The CPR specifies that for products covered by the regulation, the manufacturer is the direct producer or the importer if production takes place outside the EU. The manufacturer is obliged to issue a DoP (DoP), CE marking and, where appropriate, provide the necessary documentation of the tests carried out. The manufacturer also determines what additional information should accompany the product, e.g. information on hazardous substances subject to registration under REACH, operating instructions, etc. It is the responsibility of designers, architects, contractors and local authorities to ensure that the properties of a particular product are suitable for a particular application.

Despite standardised testing and classification methods across the EU, the nature of the application remains subject to national regulations and standards. Each EU country may, but is not required to, establish its own classification methods according to national regulations or other classifications. At the time of the entry into force of the CPR Directive in Poland, the classification of cables according to their use had not yet been published. As soon as this information becomes available, it will be published on our website.

Yes, but only for products that are not covered by the CPR.