September 2026
EN 15804, the core European standard governing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), currently fails to recognize permanent carbon removals from biochar in construction materials. The standard treats all biogenic carbon as temporary storage that is released at end‑of‑life — an assumption appropriate for wood‑based materials but scientifically incorrect for biochar embedded in durable matrices such as concrete. This misalignment prevents construction products containing biochar from reporting their true negative emissions and contradicts the permanence criteria already established under the EU’s Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Regulation (CRCF).
Biochar Europe calls for a targeted revision of EN 15804 to align climate accounting with modern science and EU policy. The association argues that permanent carbon removals must be differentiated from temporary biogenic storage and transparently credited within EPDs. To ensure integrity, any recognition of permanent removals must include full value‑chain quantification, independent third‑party auditing, and public registry disclosure. Without these updates, high‑integrity carbon removal technologies — including biochar — remain undervalued and hindered in market adoption.
The consequences for the biochar sector are significant. Under the current rules, biochar’s permanent carbon storage is neutralized in EPD calculations, obscuring its climate benefit and limiting its role in decarbonizing the construction sector. Biochar Europe urges companies, policymakers, and national standards bodies to support amendments to EN 15804, integrate CRCF‑certified removals into whole‑life carbon assessments, and ensure future building regulations recognize durable carbon storage in construction products.
Read the full open letter here: EN 15804 must accurately credit biochar-based permanent carbon removals