The partners in the Sustainable Concrete initiative have issued invites to the second conference since the initiative was launched in 2019. And there is plenty to talk about. The demand for sustainable construction is rising steeply, and from 2023 there will be a requirement that new construction sites over 1,000 square meters will be limited to emitting a maximum of 12 kg of CO2 per square meter.
10 million tons per year
Each year, approximately ten million tonnes of concrete are produced in Denmark, and concrete is one of Denmark’s favourite building materials. There is still little data in the area, but Aalborg Portland calculates concrete’s share of construction’s total CO2 footprint at around a quarter. In another analysis from Danish Bricks, Danish Concrete, and The Heat Insulation Association, concrete makes up between 15 – 40% of the total embedded CO2 in building materials. The construction climate partnership estimates that construction accounts for around 30 per cent of total Danish CO2 emissions.
The contribution of the concrete industry
The conference will be held on 24 November in Industriens Hus in Copenhagen. Here, some of Sustainable Concrete’s partner companies and organizations will give an update on the concrete industry’s contribution to meeting the Danish 70 per cent target.
Climate requirements and wishes for the future
At the conference, the Housing and Planning Agency’s deputy director, Lise Aaen Kobberholm, will talk about the new climate requirements that will become part of the building regulations from 2023. Hans-Bo Hylding, director of the FB group, will give input from the builder’s side about what is wanted away from the concrete industry in the future.
Innovation in cement
There is also a presentation from Professor John Provis from the University of Sheffield, who researches cement. He will talk about how innovation within cement can be a step towards more sustainable concrete production. The cement, to a large extent, is decisive for the concrete’s CO2 footprint.
Data on CO2 footprint
Harpa Birgisdottir, a professor at Aalborg University, is one of the researchers behind the analyses that form the basis of the new sustainability requirements in building regulations. She talks about the analyses, the results, and the data available about the concrete’s CO2 footprint.
Presentation from the concrete industry
There will also be presentations from the concrete industry. The Norwegian Institute of Technology will talk about 3D-printed concrete structures and the savings the technology can contribute. There will also be a presentation on CO2 capture during cement production by Cementir Holding. Troels Dam Madsen from Henning Larsen’s design studio will talk about material-saving constructions through design optimization and optimized consumption of concrete.
The conference, aptly named Made In (more) Sustainable Concrete, is organized by Danish Concrete, Danish Concrete Association, We Build Denmark, DTU, Technological Institute and Aalborg Portland.
