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

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 the 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.

Agenda

09.30 – Welcome coffee
10.00 – Introduction by the moderator, Sonja van Renssen
10.05 – Welcome and opening remarks from Ken McKnight, CEMBUREAU President
10.10 – Interview on the EU climate policy with Kurt Vandenberghe, Director General, DG CLIMA
10.40 – 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
• Kate Geraghty, Sustainable Development, Head of Circular Economy, Holcim
• Sorcha Edwards, Secretary General, Housing Europe
• Johannes Kreißig, Chief Executive Officer, German Sustainable Building Council

11.55 – Q&A session
12.10 – Closing remarks from Koen Coppenholle, CEMBUREAU CEO
12.15 – Networking lunch