Concrete perspectives June 2014
Construction sector
- Presentations of the BIBM Congress are available on www.bibmcongress.eu
- CEN, the European Committee for Standardisation held a Construction Sector Network Conference on 18 June 2014. The conference was sponsored by Construction Products Europe and it had a very busy schedule with lots of presentations. The presentations are now all downloadable on the conference’s website: http://www.buildingtestexpo.com/open-technical-forum-2014
- Two new blog entries about the Delegate Act of CPR is available on the website of Construction Products Europe http://constructionproductsblog.eu
- Commission approves acquisition of Cemex West by Holcim in the building materials sector
European Commission- Press Release
- As part of the European Commission’s Energy Efficiency Plan, the BUILD UP Skills initiative has been providing aid for the training of craftspeople and other on-site workers in the building sector on the topics of energy efficiency and renewable energy. The achievements of the first phase are now published. BUILD UP Skills – overview and achievements Phase 1
Live from the European Union
Italy takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union
On 1 July 2014 Italy took over the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Presidency priorities are:
- Youth unemployment and transnational mobility of workers
- Migrant emergency in the Mediterranean
- Competitiveness and SMEs access to finance
- EU energy and climate framework 2030
Website of the Italian Presidency of the Council of EU
New Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020
On 6 June 2014, the European Commission presented a new Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2014-2020. The new framework identifies the main challenges and strategic objectives and presents key actions to deal with them.
The three main challenges are:
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to improve implementation of existing health and safety rules, in particular by enhancing the capacity of micro and small enterprises to put in place effective and efficient risk prevention strategies
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to improve the prevention of work-related diseases by tackling new and emerging risks without neglecting existing risks
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to take account of the ageing of the EU’s workforce
This framework will be review in 2016 to register the improvements and take into account the results of the on-going comprehensive evaluation of the EU occupational health and safety legislation which will be available by the end of 2015.
European Sustainable Energy Week 2014
The European Sustainable Energy Week took place on 23-27 June 2014. On 24 June, Dominique Ristori, the Director General of DG Energy opened the EUSEW2014 by emphasising the importance of the building sector to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. He also underlined the significance of trainings and skilled workforce to face the challenges of the housing sector.
A panel discussion was held about Smart Cities and Communities and Innovative Local Funding Schemes. Effective communication among central-regional-local governments and consumers was mentioned as a key to reduce energy consumption and implement new schemes. Several best examples were presented from all over Europe such as Belgium, Spain, Ukraine and Italy.
On 25th June, sessions were hold about issues such as “Financing energy renovation of buildings with Cohesion Policy funding”; “How to make energy efficient buildings more visible and more attractive to citizens “organised by EuroACE. Further sessions covered subjects such as energy labels and energy efficiency policy for buildings along the supply chain.
On 26th June, Building Performance Institute Europe (BPIE) organised two sessions about the importance of the cooperation with policymakers in order to deliver more nearly –zero energy buildings.
All in all, the whole energy week reflected the fact, that the building sector is a key player in EU’s energy and climate policy 2030. Some great presentations enlightened a different angle to the well-known issue of buildings, and showed that behind the buildings, there are families and lives at stake, whose needs are changing and their voice should be listened in order to achieve EU energy goals and social well-being. Therefore, BIBM echoes, that a “one-fits-for-all” solution is not a solution for each and every homes and offices. Assessments should be done before each renovation project to see if renovation or rebuilding is the more cost-efficient solution on a long-term.
For further information please visit the event’s website: http://www.eusew.eu/
News in brief
Agenda
SEPTEMBER
17 September 2014
BIBM Board
Brussels, Belgium
30 September 2014
BIBM Communication Commission
Brussels, Belgium
OCTOBER
7 October 2014
ECP Task Force Fire and Eurocodes
Brussels, Belgium
9 October 2014
SG13 Notified Bodies
Tbd
10 October 2014
Technical Commission
Brussels, Belgium
22 October 2014
H&S Committee and webinar
Brussels, Belgium
29 October 2014
Environmental Commission
Brussels, Belgium
NOVEMBER
6 November 2014
ECP Board meeting
Brussels, Belgium
18 November 2014
CPE CPR meeting
Brussels, Belgium
19 November 2014 (tbc)
The Concrete Initiative – Launch in the Parliament
Brussels, Belgium
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