Concrete Perspectives September 2019
CONCRETE NEWS
FEBE celebrates the 50th anniversary of its magazine ‘BETON’
This year, FEBE (Belgian Precast Concrete Federation) marks the 50th anniversary of its magazine ‘BETON’. It is a bilingual (FR/NL) trade magazine which sets out to promote the use of precast concrete. ‘BETON’ is the information source that provides solutions and inspiration for a wide cross section of building professionals: architects, design agencies, engineers, construction companies, concrete manufacturers, governments and anyone interested in precast concrete. It also provides information on how to maximize the potential of the world’s most widely used construction material. ‘BETON’ is published four times a year (March, June, September and December). The total circulation is currently 15.000 copies per issue. You can find the September edition and previous issues of ‘BETON’ magazine here.
‘100 from the 20th selection’ launched in Roskilde, Denmark
The official launch of the ‘100 from the 20th selection’ interactive website, made by the EU funded project InnovaConcrete, took place on September 30 at the Viking Ship Hall in Roskilde, Denmark. The event, organized by the project partners ICOMOS and DOCOMOMO Iberico and sponsored by Dansk Beton, aims to present a new interactive website developed by the International ICT company, Techedge. The website shows a selection of 100 buildings from the 20th century spanning all 28 countries in the European Union, illustrating the importance of architectural heritage built using concrete. The main objective is to transmit the relevance of this heritage to society at large through a selection of buildings that showcase different uses of concrete and technologies, along with an explanation of their cultural and patrimonial importance. InnovaConcrete Selection of Significant 20th-Century Heritage Sites in Europe is available here.
The British Precast Drainage Association (BPDA) concern over uncertified drainage products
The British Precast Drainage Association (BPDA) has discovered that a range of imported precast concrete drainage products such as manhole rings, manhole covers, seating rings, corbels and gully raisers are being placed in the UK market without visible proof of third-party verification or assessment of conformity to relevant European and British standards. As a result, customers can have no confidence in the performance of such products. Third party verification systems are crucial to the precast concrete industry as they ensure a product’s quality, durability and safe performance in service. British Precast, the federation trade body which includes BPDA and a number of other precast concrete product associations, issued a Press Release on Monday, September 2, about precast drainage products placed in the UK market without any visible proof of conformity to relevant provisions of British standards or sufficient Declaration of Performance as required by relevant European Standards. The press release can be found here.
BIBM NEWS
Public consultation and feedback – September
Industrial emissions – evaluating the EU rules
BIBM responded to the public consultation on the evaluation of the Industrial Emissions Directive 2010/75/EU (IED). This evaluation will assess how the EU rules are working and whether they benefit the public and industry. It is against the following five key evaluation criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value. The roadmap of the evaluation process can be found here.
EU taxonomy for sustainable activities
BIBM provided feedback on TEG (Technical expert group on sustainable finance) report on EU Taxonomy. Stakeholders were invited to provide feedback until September 16 on the proposed climate change mitigation activities, climate change adaptation principles and criteria, usability of the proposed taxonomy and future development of the taxonomy. The TEG is analysing now the responses and will advise the Commission on how to take the feedback forward.
BIBM Congress – Seven months ahead
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:
- Finalisation of program – September
- Early bird tickets for exhibitors’ registration CLOSED
- Opening of the registration for participants: end of summer 2019
BIBM Wastewater Engineering group meeting, Sweden, September 10-11
On September 11, the BIBM Wastewater Engineering group participated in a meeting and a site visit to the Starka Betongindustrier (precast concrete plant) in Södra Sandby (near Malmo/Lund), Sweden.
The first session of the meeting was dedicated to strategic discussions on gaining competitive advantages towards plastic solutions. The following topics have been discussed between Alessio Rimoldi, Stefan Karvonen (MEAG, Sweden), Julian West (Trelleborg, UK), Sogge Johnsen (Basal, Norway) and the others: upgrade standards as support to the market (Reference Service Life, the Environmental Product Declaration – EPDs), sharing intelligence on threats and success stories (life assessment of sealings), marketing/technical issues (press release – follow-up). The second part of the meeting was about European issues and the organisation of the BIBM Congress 2020. Alessio Rimoldi and Magdalena Herbik (BIBM) have talked about construction standards (issues and ways forward), recent developments in the EU water directives (Water Framework Directive, EU Floods Directive, Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive), BIBM Congress (session on “Landscape and infrastructure”) and further BIBM monitoring and advocacy.
BIBM would like to thank to Stefan Karvonen and Starka Betongindustrier for hosting the meeting and to Mika Tulimaa (Rudus Oy, Finland) for inviting us to the next BIBM Wastewater Engineering group meeting 2020 to Helsinki.
BIBM SEPTEMBER – DECEMBER AGENDA
| OCTOBER | NOVEMBER | DECEMBER |
| 3-4: 2nd AHWG Hard covering products Event Brussels | 12: BIBM Board Meeting Dublin, Ireland 14: Seramco Annual Conference Nancy, France | 3: BIBM Technical Commission Brussels |
| 9: Construction Products Europe TF Implementation of the CPR Brussels | 20: Construction Products Europe Extraordinary General Assembly Brussels | 4: Concrete Initiative 2019 Concrete Dialogue Brussels |
| 14-15: BIBM Directors Meeting CERIB (France) | 21: European Concrete Platform Task Force Fire & Eurocodes Brussels | 5: BIBM Communication Commission Brussels |
| 14-16: VEEP General Assembly Madrid (Spain) | 27: European Concrete Platform Board Meeting Brussels | |
| 15: NEPSI Technical Committee Update of the Good Practice Guide (GPG) Brussels | ||
| 18: CEN/TC 229 WG4 – Editorial panel Common Rules Brussels | ||
| 22-24: RE4 General Assembly and Workshop Bari (Italy) | ||
| 23: BIBM Environment Commission Brussels 29: CEN event on circular economy Materials – Value chains for circular economy: metal, wood, plastic and concrete Brussels |
BIBM PARTNERS NEWS
INDUSTRY4EUROPE
The Industry4Europe coalition will soon submit to Valdis Dombrovskis (EC Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, Executive Vice-President-designate, ‘An Economy that Works for People’, @VDombrovskis), Margrethe Vestager (European Commissioner for Competition, Executive Vice-President-designate, ‘A Europe fit for the Digital Age’, @vestager) and Sylvie Goulard (Commissioner Nominee – EU’s interior market, @GoulardSylvie) its Joint Paper with recommendations for an ambitious long-term strategy for Europe’s industrial future*. The Joint Paper has been prepared following the decision taken during the Industry4Europe Plenary Session of last February and is the result of 6 months of intensive and constructive work within 7 thematic Working Groups, led by 14 co-Rapporteurs.
*In March 2019 the European Council has invited the European Commission to “present, by the end of 2019, a long-term vision for the EU’s industrial future, with concrete measures to implement it”, addressing “the challenges European industry faces and touching upon all relevant policy areas” in its Conclusions.
*In July 2019, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated in her political guidelines that she will put forward her plan for a future-ready economy/new industrial strategy. Recently, she confirmed the preparation by the Commission of a “comprehensive long-term strategy for Europe’s industrial future”.
CEMBUREAU signs a joint statement for an ambitious Horizon Europe Programme
The European Cement Association (CEMBUREAU) together with 92 other European associations representing key European research & innovation stakeholders, calls the EU Institutions to make research, development and innovation (RD&I) a priority within the next Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027. They call on the Council of the EU to raise the budget allocated to the Horizon Europe programme to at least €120 billion (in 2018 prices), of which at least 60% should be dedicated to the “Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness” pillar.
RE4 on Euronews
Euronews, the European television news network, aimed to cover world news from a pan-European perspective, has recently cover RE4 work in a documentary called: “Rising from the rubble: how to turn construction waste into the building blocks of the future”. As the Euronews stated, the researchers at the European-backed project RE4 “hope that one day they’ll be able to create entire buildings made from recycled materials, including pre-fabricated panels that can be unbolted and reused elsewhere”. If the results are promising, the researchers will argue for a change in building regulations to allow for far greater use of recycled materials in new offices and homes.
3rd international symposium for Fire Safety of Facades
3rd international symposium for Fire Safety of Facades (#FSF2019) took place in Paris in September 25-27. The symposium, organised by the French CSTB (Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment), in partnership with RISE (the Research Institute of Sweden) was sponsored by Fire Safe Europe. The following topics have been discussed: facade materials and system behavior in fire, facade testing and fire propagation, facade testing and assessment methods, numerical modelling and case studies and risk management and regulation.
LIVE FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION
The von der Leyen Commission
On September 10, Ursula von der Leyen presented her team and the new structure of the next European Commission. At the heart of her work is the need to address the changes in climate, technology and demography that are transforming our societies and way of life. Von der Leyen promises to take bold action against climate change. The new College of Commissioners and the principles of the new main working methods reflect the priorities set out in her political guidelines and speech. Out of the eight Vice-Presidents, three Executive Vice-Presidents will serve a double function. For instance, Frans Timmermans (the first Executive Vice-President) will be in charge of the European Green Deal. He will also manage climate action policy, supported by DG CLIMA (Directorate-General for Climate Action). Timmermans’s hearing will be held on October 8,18:30 – 21:30, the lead committee: ENVI (Environment, Public Health and Food Safety).
Public hearings at the European Parliament
The Committee’s open hearings of the Commissioners-designate are set to take place in September and October (30/09 – 08/10). It is the second to last element in the process of establishing the new European leadership. Each of the individual Commissioners-nominees will face the European Parliament (EP) committee or committees. After that process, those committees will judge the candidates’ suitability for the role based on ‘their general competence, European commitment and personal independence’, as well as their ‘knowledge of their prospective portfolio and their communication skills’. The EP is expected to vote on the new Commission as a whole on 23 October. The new European Commission will take office on November 1.
Sylvie Goulard nominated as the EU’s interior market commissioner
Sylvie Goulard (born 06/12/1964, France) has been advisor to former EC President Romano Prodi from 2001 to 2004 and was elected MEP twice in 2009 and 2014. She was appointed Minister of the Armed Forces in France in 2017. Her responsibility is, among others, to contribute to a comprehensive long-term strategy for Europe’s industrial future (all aspects that affect industry and its competitiveness, from investment and public procurement to trade, skills, innovation and supporting SMEs) and to ensure that a new Circular Economy Action Plan feeds into the EU’s overall industrial strategy. The joint hearing of Commissioner-designate Sylvie Goulard by the ITRE (Industry, Research and Energy) and IMCO (Internal Market and Consumer Protection) Committees will be held on October 2 (14:30 –30-17:30).
UPDATE: Sylvie Goulard has been rejected by the European Parliament over job with a US think tank and party’s alleged misuse of EU funds.
European Parliament delegation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Climate Action Summits in New York
A delegation of ENVI and DEVE Members was in New York between 23 and 25 September to participate to the UN Summit on SDGs and the Climate Action Summit. The Climate Action Summit has been convened by UN SG António Guterres who called on all leaders to come up with concrete, realistic plans to enhance their nationally determined contributions by 2020, in line with reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent, and to net zero emissions by 2050. On 24 and 25 September, the SDG summit focused on actions to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
OUTSTANDING PRECAST CONCRETE PROJECTS
British Precast Best Practice Awards 2019
2019 Project Award Winner – Decomo UK, BBC Wales Headquarters
Decomo UK were awarded the Best Project Award for their outstanding work on the BBC Wales HQ project in Cardiff, Wales.
Copenhagen Architecture Festival CAFx 2019
Kalvebod Fælled Skole, Denmark, Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter, with precast concrete elements from Industri Beton
