Concrete Perspectives March 2015
Construction Sector
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On 27 February 2015, the European Concrete Platform (ECP) provided its contribution to the questionnaire on the green public procurement (GPP) criteria for office buildings currently developing by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.
European Concrete Platform – Green Public Procurement Criteria Comments
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On 3 March, Fire Safe Europe (FSEU) held a discussion with meeting of MEPs Against Cancer (MAC) in the European Parliament. FSEU called for the introduction of more stringent smoke toxicity regulations for construction materials.
- On 5 March, a high level policy conference took place about the Circular Economy. The Concrete Initiative and CEMBUREAU were sponsors of the event and they equally provided a speaker as well in the person of CEMBUREAU Chief Executive Koen Coppenholle.Also, The Concrete Initiative published a new blog prior to the event.
For further information, please visit the organiser, Forum Europe webpage dedicated to the event.
For reading the blog and the interactions during the conference, please visit The Concrete Initiative’s webpage.
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WAN Concrete in Architecture Award is now open, with a new subcategory for Low-carbon concrete building sponsored by the World Concrete Forum. The competition is open until 30 April 2015.
For further information, please visit the award’s website.
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The 2015 PCI Design Awards Site is now open, with two new international categories: Buildings and Bridges. Projects entered into these categories must be located in a country other than the U.S. or Canada. The PCI Certification requirement is temporarily waived for this category.
For further information, please visit the PCI Design Award Site.
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On 24 March, INGRESS, Industry Group on European Standardisation Strategy was officially created, of which BIBM is a member. The purpose of setting up INGRESS is to promote the common interests of industry in those areas of standardisation policy falling under Regulation 1025/2012; and to ensure that the principle driver of European standardisation should be market relevance.
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On 26 March, BUSINESSEUROPE hosted its second BUSINESSEUROPE Day. The conference drew the attention to the importance of viable business investments in the field of climate change, digitalisation and called for better regulation to unleash the single market. In his keynote speech, President Juncker emphasised the importance of businesses and published a list of 10 priorities to boost Investment, Growth and Employment.
BUSINESSEUROPE – event website
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European Responsible Housing Initiative (ERHIN) launched its website, http://www.responsiblehousing.eu/en/. Housing Europe stands behind the initiative, and BIBM was informed about this new initiative thanks to the good relationship it has with the Secretariat. The initiative aims at promoting “fair and ethical housing production and management which improves the economic and social conditions of local communities”.
Live from the European Union
European Environment – State and Outlook 2015 Report published
On 3 March, a new report was published by the European Environment Agency titled “European Environment — State and Outlook 2015 Report” (SOER). The report is an integrated assessment of Europe’s environment that includes data at global, regional and country levels. The paper calls for a new, broader package on the Circular Economy, a review of the EU Biodiversity Strategy, an action plan on Ocean Governance and a modified Air Quality package.
European Commission – Press Release
European Environmental Agency – State and Outlook 2005 Report
News in brief
Agenda
APRIL
14 April 2015
SAFECLADDING
Madrid, Spain
16-17 April 2015
CEN/TC 229
Berlin, Germany
20 April 2015
INGRESS meeting
Brussels, Belgium
22 April 2015
SG13 (Notified Bodies) meeting
Barcelona, Spain
23 April 2015
HOLCOFIRE Steering Group
Brussels, Belgium
23 April 2015
The Concrete Initiative Thematic Lunch
(*attendance upon invitation only)
Brussels, Belgium
28 April 2015
BIBM Board meeting
Brussels, Belgium
29 April 2015
Environment Commission
Brussels, Belgium
MAY
5-6 May 2015
CEN/TC 104/SC 1
Brussels, Belgium
6-7 May 2015
CEN/TC 104
Brussels, Belgium
11 May 2015
ECP TF Fire and Eurocodes
(confcall)
12 May 2015
ECP TF Sustainable Concrete
(confcall)
18 May 2015
AhG Concrete Initiative
Brussels, Belgium
19 May 2015
BIBM Communication Commission
Brussels, Belgium
28 May 2015
NEPSI Campaign launch meeting
Brussels, Belgium
JUNE
1-2 June 2015
ECP Board meeting & General Assembly
Brussels, Belgium
3 June 2015
CPE CPR working group
Brussels, Belgium
9 June 2015
CPE General Assembly
Brussels, Belgium
16 June 2015
BIBM General Assembly
Leiden, Netherlands
24 June 2015
NEPSI Council
Brussels, Belgium
25 June 2015
The Concrete Initiative Thematic Lunch
(*attendance upon invitation only)
Brussels, Belgium
To the Newsletter of Construction Products Europe (former CEPMC), please follow this link.
To read the Newsletter of CEMBUREAU, please follow this link. You can also subscribe directly following this link http://www.cembureau.eu/newsletter/subscriptions.
To read the Quarterly Newsletter of The Concrete Initiative, please follow this link.
List of Acronyms
ACE – Architects’ Council of Europe
CPE – Construction Product Europe
CPR – Construction Products Regulation
ECP – European Concrete Platform
EIB – European Investment Bank
LIFE Programme – is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action
TF – Task Force
AhG – Ad-hoc Group