On 22 November 2016, Construction Products Europe organised a workshop featuring the European Commission and three EU-funded projects, to highlight current and future work.
ACR+ participated presenting the FISSAC project which aims to develop a methodology and software platform to support industrial symbiosis networks and to replicate pilot schemes at local and regional levels. Moreover two other projects were presented: HISER, which aims to develop and demonstrate novel cost-effective holistic for increased recovery of raw materials from ever more complex Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste; and Buildings As Material Banks (BAMB), which aims to optimise the effective use of resources, specifically materials, along the whole lifecycle of buildings.
The European Commission conducted a study on pre-demolition and renovation audits, addressing current practices and key factors, examining amongst others regulatory, technical, and economic conditions in the EU-28. The final results of this study will be presented on 9 December 2016 in Brussels.
Additionally, the Commission recently introduced a Construction and Demolition Waste Protocol. These non-binding guidelines to the industry aim to increase confidence in the C&D waste management process and the trust in the quality of C&D recycled material. Moreover, the ongoing study entitled “Resource Efficient Use of Mixed Waste” analyses the situations of C&D waste management across all member states. Country factsheets, published in September 2015, include information on the legal and economic framework, good practices, and statistics. The final report is due early 2017.
Finally, the Commission plans on developing a framework on the environmental performance of buildings, with core indicators, to act as a reporting tool for the sector and hopefully be used as a support for Green Public Procurement. The framework should work as a module in existing certification schemes so that they will be comparable for those same indicators.
Presentations are available on the event website: www.construction-products.eu
