Cement Europe | Events

Cementing Europe’s Future: Buildings for a Net Zero Age

Date

24 October, 2023

Time

09:30 - 13:30 CET

Location

Town Hall Europe, Brussels

Date

24 October, 2023

Time

09:30 - 13:30 CET

Location

Town Hall Europe, Brussels

CEMBUREAU, the European Cement Association, is holding a half-day conference on the morning of 24th October at Town Hall Europe, in Brussels. Following the success of its previous annual conferences, this event aims to focus on the decarbonisation of European buildings and circularity in the construction value chain. The conference will provide a platform for EU policy makers and industry representatives to exchange ideas on the key policies to decarbonise the EU built environment.

The European Commission has recently launched a number of initiatives to decarbonise European buildings (Construction Products Regulation, Energy Performance in Buildings Directive, Transition Pathway for the Construction Ecosystem…), which are currently being discussed by the EU institutions. In addition, the debate over the role of embodied carbon – the carbon footprint of construction materials – is stronger than ever. The Commission is due to present its Whole Life Carbon Roadmap, looking at CO2 reduction along the lifecycle of buildings, in course of autumn 2023.

As the European cement industry, we have started our journey towards carbon neutrality by 2050 and published our Carbon Neutrality Roadmap in 2020. Our previous annual event in October 2022 focused on innovation, the decarbonisation of cement production and the regulatory framework to support these investments (EU ETS, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism). The intention of this year’s conference is to focus on the rest of our value chain – how can we improve the sustainability of cement/concrete when using it in the building? How can we reduce the carbon footprint of buildings throughout their lifecycle? How can circularity act as a key lever for decarbonisation?

This conference will discuss how policy frameworks can support the decarbonisation of European buildings between now and 2050.

The event is planned to take place at Town Hall Europe, in Brussels, as an in-person event. It will also be live streamed and recorded.

Agenda

09:30 - 10:00

Welcome coffee

10:00 - 10:05

Introduction by the moderator

10:05 - 10:10

Welcome and opening remarks

Ken McKnight, CEMBUREAU President

10:10 - 10:40

Interview on the climate policy

Kurt Vandenberghe, Director General, DG CLIMA

10:40 - 11:55

Panel discussion - Decarbonising EU buildings: towards a fully circular approach

Moderated by Sonja van Renssen

Dr Josefina Lindblom, Senior Policy Officer, Unit Circular Economy, Sustainable Production & Consumption (ENV.B.1), DG ENV
Marcos Ros Sempere, MEP, S&D, European Parliament
Eric Bourdon, Deputy CEO of VICAT Group in charge of Industry and Innovation
Sorcha Edwards, Secretary General, Housing Europe
Johannes Kreißig, Chief Executive Officer, German Sustainable Building Council

11:55 - 12:10

Q&A session

12:10 - 12:15

Closing remarks

Koen Coppenholle, CEMBUREAU CEO

12:15

Networking lunch

Confirmed Speakers

Kurt Vandenberghe

Director-General at DG CLIMA

Koen Coppenholle

CEMBUREAU Chief Executive

Ken McKnight

CEMBUREAU President

Sonja van Renssen

Editor-In-Chief, Energy Monitor

Dr Josefina Lindblom

Senior Policy Officer, Unit Circular Economy, Sustainable Production & Consumption (ENV.B.1), DG ENV

Marcos Ros Sempere

MEP, S&D, European Parliament

Eric Bourdon

Deputy CEO of VICAT Group in charge of Industry and Innovation

Sorcha Edwards

Secretary General, Housing Europe

Johannes Kreißig

Chief Executive Officer, German Sustainable Building Council