Why a category 1 or 2 environmental declaration in the Dutch Environmental Database?
A category 1 or 2 environmental declaration in the Dutch Environmental Database makes your product visible in environmental performance calculations for buildings and infrastructure. This means your product becomes part of the basis for design choices and procurement decisions.
For producers, this not only provides insight into environmental impact, but also a stronger position in a market where sustainability is becoming increasingly important.
A category 1 or 2 environmental declaration contains validated environmental data for a product or product group, based on a life cycle assessment (LCA). This data is used in environmental performance calculations for construction works. Categories 1 and 2 make it possible to calculate with data that matches a specific product or a representative product group, rather than generic data. For producers, a category 1 or 2 environmental declaration means their product is more visible to designers and developers. For product groups for which no data is yet available, the Compensation Scheme Filling the Gaps supports the development of new environmental data.
Why is it a good idea to have a category 1 or 2 environmental declaration made now?
There are several reasons for producers to invest in a category 1 or 2 environmental declaration.
- Your product becomes visible in environmental performance calculations
- You substantiate the environmental impact with validated data
- You increase applicability in procurement procedures and projects
- You gain insight into your own product chain and opportunities for improvement
- You prepare for stricter sustainability requirements
The demand for substantiated environmental data is growing. Environmental performance plays an increasingly important role in legislation, procurement and design decisions. Without validated data, a product may be less easily included in these considerations.
Would you like your product to be included in the Dutch Environmental Database? Start by having a life cycle assessment (LCA) drawn up and register your environmental declaration.
Read more about your product in the Dutch Environmental Database
What is needed to calculate environmental performance?
To calculate environmental performance, environmental data of the construction products used is required. This environmental data can be found in the Dutch Environmental Database. The data is collected by carrying out a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the product. This LCA is drawn up by an LCA practitioner, covering areas such as raw material extraction, transport, production, use and end-of-life processing.
Once the LCA has been completed, the LCA practitioner or producer can submit the data to Stichting NMD. After the data is entered in the Dutch Environmental Database, it is verified by an LCA reviewer recognised by the NMD.
What is an environmental declaration?
There are three categories of environmental declarations in the NMD
Category 1
Product-specific data from a manufacturer, based on a verified LCA and reviewed.
Category 2
Data for a product group, representative of multiple producers and also reviewed.
Category 3
Non-proprietary data from Stichting NMD. Generic data, used when no specific or average data is available. 30% uplift factor applies.
Filling the gaps: where no data is yet available
For some product groups, no or insufficient environmental data is yet available in the Dutch Environmental Database. These are referred to as 'gaps' (witte vlekken). To fill these gaps, the Compensation Scheme Filling the Gaps has been developed. This scheme supports the preparation of new environmental declarations for product groups where no representative data is yet available. For producers, this offers the opportunity not only to make their product visible, but also to actively contribute to improving data coverage within the Dutch Environmental Database.
Use in calculation tools
The environmental data from the Dutch Environmental Database is used in calculation tools for environmental performance calculations. This makes the environmental impact of buildings and infrastructure transparent and substantiated. The more specific the data, the more accurate the outcome of the calculation.
What does this mean for you?
As a producer, the quality and availability of your environmental data determines to what extent your product is included in calculations and decisions.
A category 1 or 2 environmental declaration ensures that your product:
- Is included in calculations
- Can be compared with alternatives
- Provides insight into performance and potential for improvement
Frequently askes questions Environmental performance calculation
The Environmental Performance of Buildings (MPG) calculates the environmental impact of the materials used in a building, expressed as a single score. The lower the score, the lower the environmental impact.
The MPG is mandatory under the Environmental Buildings Decree (Bbl) for new homes, offices with a floor area of 100 m² or more, and as of 1 July 2026 also for utility buildings such as schools, shops and healthcare facilities. The environmental performance calculation must comply with the Assessment Method for Environmental Performance of Buildings. This allows the environmental performance of an entire building to be determined based on the performance of the products and elements that make up the building. The calculation can be carried out using calculation tools validated by Stichting NMD.
The EPB is used to calculate the environmental performance of structures. The environmental performance is an important measure of the sustainability of a structure.
Calculating environmental performance is mandatory in the building and civil engineering sector under the Building Decree. In the civil engineering sector, we see more and more clients including environmental performance as an award criterion in tenders.
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