Concrete Perspectives May 2020
CONCRETE NEWS
FEBEFLOOR Hollowcore brochure
FEBEFLOOR, the association of Belgian manufacturers of hollowcore elements, have published a new brochure on www.febefloor.be. In addition to constructional aspects, attention is being paid to assembly, the environment, sustainability, quality, BENOR and CE. Also, the appendix contains useful graphs of the prestressed elements.
FEBEFLOOR is a grouping of manufacturers of hollowcore elements within FEBE. The association monitors technical developments, including standardization, and promotes the high-quality products manufactured by its members.
CEMBUREAU publishes its new Roadmap
CEMBUREAU has recently published its new Roadmap setting out their vision for carbon neutrality along the cement-concrete value chain by 2050.
The Roadmap looks at how CO2 emissions can be reduced by acting at each stage of the value chain – clinker, cement, concrete, construction and (re)carbonation. It quantifies the role of each technology in providing CO2 emissions savings, making concrete political and technical recommendations to support this objective.
To get there, the sector will need decisive political actions from the EU, including:
- The development of a pan-European CO2 transportation and storage network;
- Decisive action on circular economy to support the use of non-recyclable waste and biomass waste in cement production;
- Ambitious policies to reduce European building’s CO2 footprint, based on a life-cycle approach, that incentivise the market uptake of low-carbon cements;
- A level playing field on carbon, regulatory certainty and an ambitious industrial transformation agenda.
By 2030, CEMBUREAU aspires to be in line with the Paris Agreement’s two degrees scenario, reducing CO2 emissions by 30% for cement and 40% down the value chain.
Read the full Roadmap here.
Read the Executive Summary here.
EU-OSHA guidance “COVID-19: Back to the workplace”
Following the COVID-2019 pandemic, most of the Member States of the European Union (EU) have put in place a number of measures, including those affecting workplaces, to fight the spread of the disease. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) has just issued “COVID-19 Return-to-Work Guidance for Retail, Construction, Manufacturing and Package Delivery Industries”. The guidelines cover risk assessment and appropriate measures, worker participation, care for sick workers, planning and learning of best practice, and information for workers and sectors. The instructions provide answers such as how to minimise exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace, how to update their risk assessment and how to care for sick workers in general.
For further information check the websites of EU-OSHA or your national OSH authority or institute.
BIBM NEWS
Public consultation and feedback
Energy efficiency in buildings – consultation on ‘renovation wave’ initiative
BIBM provided feedback on the European Commission Communication – “Renovation wave” initiative for the building sector. A high proportion of buildings in the EU are energy inefficient. Finding strategies to change this can lower CO2 emissions, in line with EU climate objectives. The ‘renovation wave’ initiative, part of the EU’s Green Deal, would optimise building renovation across the bloc, including by encouraging investment and financing. This consultation aims to gather stakeholder feedback on the types of buildings the initiative should focus on (social housing, schools and hospitals are already covered).
Upcoming: Public consultation
European Climate Pact
BIBM is responding to the public consultation on the future European Climate Pact. The European Commission’s European Green Deal is the new growth strategy for an EU economy that is sustainable, cleaner, safer and healthier. The engagement of the public is critical to instil a new climate culture, awareness and motivation for climate action, bringing together citizens, industry, civil society and authorities at all levels. To achieve this, the Commission will consult the public and interested stakeholders in order to launch a “Climate Pact” in the 3rd quarter of 2020. The roadmap can be found here.
Public consultation – feedback period: March 4 – extended to June 17, 2020
2030 Climate Target Plan
BIBM is responding to the public consultation on the Climate 2030 target action plan. The EU aims to become climate-neutral (net zero greenhouse gas emissions) by 2050. To achieve this, it will propose a cut in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 50% to 55% for 2030 from 1990 levels, rather than at least 40% currently, including an amendment to the recently proposed European Climate Law. The initiative will also assess the economic, social and environmental impacts and possible policy measures.
Public consultation – feedback period: March 31 – June 23, 2020
Consultation on the renewed sustainable finance strategy
The aim of this public consultation is to collect the views and opinions of interested parties in order to inform the Commissions renewed strategy on sustainable finance.
Building on the 2018 Action Plan on financing sustainable growth, the renewed sustainable finance strategy will provide a roadmap with new actions to increase private investment in sustainable projects and activities to support the different actions set out in the European Green Deal and to manage and integrate climate and environmental risks into our financial system. The initiative will also provide additional enabling frameworks for the European Green Deal Investment Plan.
Public consultation – feedback period: April 8 – extended to July 15, 2020
BIBM becomes partner of parliamentary intergroup
BIBM joins as partner of the European Parliament’s newly formed intergroup ‘’Sustainable, Long-Term Investments & Competitive European Industry ‘’ for the legislature 2019-2024. Providing its expertise and advice, BIBM will support the intergroup on the future of industry and long-term investments in Europe.
On February 13, 2020, the Sustainable, Long Term Investments & Competitive European Industry Intergroup was officially established for the first time and launched at the constitutive meeting in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The Intergroup will contribute to the implementation of a sustainable EU industrial strategy and the Green Deal and show the importance of the role of European industries in the energy transition.
The Bureau of the Intergroup is composed of three Co-chairs: Simona Bonafè (S&D), Maria da Graça Carvalho (EPP) and Dominique Riquet (Renew). A considerable number of MEPs (more than 100) decided to join the Intergroup as well.
BIBM Congress – November 15-17, 2020
Due to the recent COVID-19 developments and in order to protect the health of our participants, exhibitors and speakers, BIBM, host of this years congress, and BCF, the organizer, have decided to reschedule #BIBMCongress2020 to November 15 – 17, 2020.
Registrations for both, stands and tickets, can be made as usual. We are already looking forward to welcoming you in Copenhagen at the end of this year and to enjoy networking and future driven lessons.
We confide in your help to raise awareness within your clients and stakeholders, through organising “national” visits, providing possible exhibitors and sharing the available promotional material.
REGISTRATION DEADLINES/UPDATES:
- BIBM Congress is rescheduled to November 15-17, 2020
- Congress Delegate online registration and price list here
- Download the final program here
- The BIBM Congress 2020’ official slogan: “The Future of European Construction – Precast Excellence in Nordic Countries”
- LinkedIn and Twitter BIBM Congress hashtag: #BIBMCongress2020 (please follow the hashtag to keep up with related images and posts)
- Learn more about the Speakers and Exhibitors on the Building Congress Forum LinkedIn page here
- Deadline abstract submission for the Speakers: August 21, 2020 (the Speakers are invited to send 1 to 2 pages summary of their presentation to mh@bibm.eu)
- VEEP Final Conference at BIBM Congress (BIBM delegates can choose the option of Workshop in the registration process; the fee for non-delegates is 120 €). Register and find the final agenda here. (Program->VEEP Workshop)
BIBM JUNE – JULY 2020 AGENDA
| JUNE | JULY |
| 3: BIBM CC WG Green Book 2-3 Confcall | 1: EU/DG GROW Q&A session on CPR revision Confcall |
| 4: CEN/TC 350 WG 3 Product level Confcall | 1/2 : CEN/TC 104 SC1 and Plenary Confcall |
| 4: CEMBUREAU Cementing the EGD: The Road to 2050 Webinar | |
| 9: CPE WG on CPR Confcall | |
| 10: CPE Digitalisation webinar p. 1 | |
| 11: SBS CPR revision group Confcall | |
| 15: BIBM Environment Commission Confcall | |
| 16: BIBM Technical Commission Confcall | |
| 17: EU/DG GROW Construction 2020 – High Level Forum Webinar | |
| 17: BIBM CC WG Green Book 4-5 Confcall | |
| 18: BIBM AhG Eurocode 2 Confcall | |
| 18: CPE General Assembly Confcall | |
| 19: ECP TF Fire and Eurocodes Confcall | |
| 22: SeRaMCo Webinar | |
| 22: ECP Board Meeting and GA Confcall | |
| 24: CEN/TC 250 SC2 meeting Confcall | |
| 24: CPE Digitalisation webinar p. 2 | |
| 24: Deloitte Study on circular economy principles for buildings’ design Webinar | |
| 26: CEN/TC 229 EP Common Rules Confcall | |
| 30: CEN/TC 229 WG5 Product Category Rules Confcall |
BIBM PARTNERS NEWS
SeRaMCo webinar
The SeRaMCo project will held its first webinar on June 22, 2020 (10:30-12:00). The webinar will try to answer the question whether the recycling of construction and demolition waste will pave the way to a circular economy of construction materials. Alessio Rimoldi (BIBM) will give a keynote on the following topic: “Concrete and the challenge of a low-carbon, sustainable and circular construction: Will precast concrete still be used in 2050?”.
The project will be extended until March 15, 2021. SeRaMCo’s expected outputs are cement and concrete precast products (CPPs) from up to 100% recycled aggregates, comparable to conventional products both in terms of costs and quality, and ready for commercialization in North-Western Europe (NWE) countries.
SeRaMCo is testing its end-products in three pilot areas, namely City of Seraing (Belgium), City of Saarlouis (Germany) and Region of Moseille (France). Following the testing phase, previously developed business models, supporting the supply chain of the new market niche and establishing ecosystem with stakeholders active in the field, will be put in place.
You can register to the webinar here.
2nd International Conference on Circularity in the Built Environment (CiBEn)
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the 2nd international conference on Circularity in the Built Environment (CiBEn) has been postponed to 2021. CiBEn aims at becoming a major point of contact between researchers, engineers and practitioners in the area of green and sustainable construction.
Eight main topics embracing all different aspects related to the theme of circularity in the built environment and sustainable construction materials will be dealt with:
- CDW Recycling Technologies.
- Sustainable Construction Materials.
- Digitalization & Circularity.
- Circular Design.
- Circular Management.
- Social Circular Economy.
- Standards, Policy Legislation.
- Circular Design from Product to Cities.
Join VEEP team and register here (update: registration will be open in December 2020).
LIVE FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION
European Commission unveils its recovery plan
The von der Leyen Commission has recently proposed a €750 billion aid package to help Europe’s economic recovery from the fallout of COVID-19. The recovery fund would be embedded within the next Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 (MFF, long-term EU budget). An amendment to the current MFF (2014-2020) has been proposed as well to make €11.5 billion in funding available this year. The recovery package should provide real funding to help those hardest-hit, and focus on climate mitigation, digitalisation and a new health programme. The ‘green recovery’ plan is divided into several sections – including building renovation, renewables and hydrogen, and clean mobility.
With the recovery plan, the Commission now wants to achieve “faster and deeper renovation” of buildings, saying it is “a must for a net climate neutral EU and a clear win-win investment priority for a green, digital and fair recovery”. The EU “renovation wave” has already been announced for launch in September and will aim to triple the current renovation rate.
On the funding side, the Commission plans to launch a “European Renovation Financing Facility”, tentatively financed with €91 billion per annum and blended with other sources of funding to reach €350 billion in investment per year.
Priority will go first to public sector buildings, especially hospitals and schools as well as social housing and other forms of low income dwellings.
Energy efficiency in buildings – consultation on ‘renovation wave’ initiative – BIBM feedback
A new comprehensive strategy for a Sustainable Built Environment to be published in 2021
The European Commission (EC) will launch a “Strategy for a Sustainable Built Environment” by the end of 2020 (to be published in 2021). DG GROW “Circular Economy and Construction unit” (led by Fulvia Raffaelli) will draft the document. The “green construction” strategy could integrate the life cycle assessment (LCE) approach into public procurement (promoting circularity principles) and raise the recovery targets for construction and demolition waste (CDW). The initiative will ensure coherence across the relevant policy areas such as climate, energy and resource efficiency, management of CDW, accessibility, digitalisation and skills. With these principles in mind, the EC will:
• Address the sustainability of construction products through the announced Construction Product Regulation (CPR) revision, including introduction of recycled content requirements;
• Promote the durability and adaptability of buildings and develop digital logbooks for buildings;
• Use Level(s) to integrate LCE in public procurement and the EU sustainable finance framework and exploring the appropriateness of setting of carbon reduction targets and the potential of carbon storage;
• Consider a revision of material recovery targets for construction and demolition waste with special attention to insulation materials;
• Increase the use of excavated soils.
A new legislative proposal for a Sustainable Product Policy Framework
As part of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, the Commission intends to empower EU citizens with the possibility to make greener choices through the Sustainable Product Policy Framework. The Framework aims to change the linear pattern of production and consumption (“take-make-use-dispose”) with actions to make green products become the norm. The rules will also aim to reward manufacturers of products based on their sustainability performance and link high performance levels to incentives.
A new Sustainable Product Policy Framework includes three main building blocks – actions on product design, on empowering consumers and on more sustainable production processes.
The European Commission (EC) will propose to widen the Ecodesign Directive which would become the sustainable product policy, i.e. products that are climate-neutral, resource-efficient and that reduce waste.
As part of this legislative initiative, the EC will establish sustainability principles to regulate:
- durability, reusability, upgradability and reparability,
- presence of hazardous chemicals,
- energy and resource efficiency,
- recycled content,
- remanufacturing and high-quality recycling,
- carbon and environmental footprints,
- digitalisation of product information, including digital passports and tagging,
- linking high sustainability product performance to incentives.
When it comes to construction, the EC indicates that they will address high impact intermediary products such as steel, cement and chemicals. Other product groups will be identified based on their environmental impact and circularity potential. The tools that are referred to are the EU Ecolabel Regulation, the Product Environmental Footprint and the EU Green Public Procurement criteria with no further specific details.
EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 unveiled
The European Commission has adopted a new EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and an associated Action Plan – a comprehensive, ambitious, long-term plan for protecting nature and reversing the degradation of ecosystems.
It aims to put Europe’s biodiversity on a path to recovery by 2030 with benefits for people, the climate and the planet. In the post-COVID context, the Biodiversity Strategy aims to build our societies’ resilience to future threats such as climate change impacts, forest fires, food insecurity or disease outbreaks, including by protecting wildlife and fighting illegal wildlife trade.
As a core part of the European Green Deal, the Biodiversity Strategy will also support a green recovery following the pandemic, by :
- Establishing a larger EU-wide network of protected areas on land and at sea, building upon existing Natura 2000 areas, with strict protection for areas of very high biodiversity and climate value,
- An EU Nature Restoration Plan,
- A set of measures to enable the necessary transformative change,
- Measures to tackle the global biodiversity challenge.
OUTSTANDING PRECAST CONCRETE PROJECTS
Place Ste-Foy Parkades in Quebec City (2018), Canada
The design of the parking façade reflects the history of the City of Ste-Foy. The development of the modular façade units was based on precast concrete Eklips panels from Bétons Génial using high-performance fibre reinforced concrete [HPFRC], moved from calculations to achieve a high level of natural ventilation through the façade to the study of life-size samples. The whole system and its components is distinctive, aesthetic, efficient, durable and economically acceptable.
Owner: Ivanhoé Cambridge
Architect: Coarchitecture
Engineer: WSP
Contractor: Pomerleau
Precast Supplier: Bétons Génial