News

The new Italian decree updating the minimum environmental criteria (CAM) required by the Italian public tenders for the supply, rental and extension of the useful life of interior furniture has been published in the Official Gazette.
The GU n. 184 of 8 August 2022 reports the decree of 23.06.2022 which identifies the "New CAM", in force starting from the 6th December 2022.

This new provision is the result of a long work of consultation involving stakeholders, manufacturers, industrial associations, standardization bodies, laboratories and national authorities which have operated under the direction of the MITE Ministry of Ecological Transition. The new decree has been cleaned up of some obligations deemed obsolete or already mandatory, simplified in the analytical assessment part and updated with the recognition of further certification systems.

The main framework of the document follows the previous version. In the part relating to the supply of furniture, it provides for both minimum environmental criteria and reward criteria, both of which however according to a new declination.
A synthetic comparison between the two versions is available below:




Scrolling through the list of criteria a new approach in the section related to the analytical determinations is reported. In fact, for example, the evaluation of hazardous substances previously provided for in point 3.2.1 (in Ministerial Decree 11.01.17) is no longer required, as well as other controls, such as those relating to the physical requirements of the coatings, which are considered reward criteria in the updated version.

In addition to giving further emphasis to eco-design and the adoption of environmental management systems, the most significant updates of the "new CAM" consist of the following 2 points:

1.With regard to the emission of volatile organic compounds (4.1.4 CAM point), in addition to the evaluation of materials, components or semi-finished products, the new document introduces the possibility of:
- evaluate the finished product object of the supply;
- evaluate, based on the methodological approach of the UNI 11840 standard, a representative product of the entire family to which the product being supplied belongs.

Furthermore, the verification of the emission of volatile organic compounds of the materials composing the furniture is no longer a rewarding criterion but a necessary condition for being able to bid for supplies.
A rewarding score is then assigned to companies that offer furniture made with NAF (No Added Formaldehyde) certified panels, with very low formaldehyde emissions, i.e. panels produced with resins without the addition of formaldehyde.
 
2. With regard to the requirements of the final product, according to the verification methods as reported in 4.1.9 CAM point, the tests and test reports may refer to the finished product object of the supply or, again according to the methodological approach of the UNI 11840 standard, to the product representative of the entire family to which the product being supplied belongs.

The CATAS offer has been extended as well: to the laboratory tests (on the finished products, on surfaces, on VOC emissions), CATAS services are added for the identification of the representative sample of the family and the CAM conformity declaration for the products family.

Keep in touch with CATAS: soon on line, our next information seminar "focus CAM Furniture" will be soon on line!


For information:
Marco Righini
+39 0432 747258
righini@catas.com