PRESS
Press
13 April 2011
The beginning of this year's EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) was marked by the launch conference of the multilingual sustainable construction glossary. This new glossary was formally introduced on the 11th April, at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), in partnership with the Architects Council of Europe (ACE) and the European Concrete Platform (ECP). Through collaboration on this groundbreaking project, they have created a new, multilingual, dictionary style publication.
Click here to download the publication in English, French, German and Spanish
EESC President Staffan Nilsson launched the glossary. The conference was also attended by the director of the ACE, Adrian Joyce and Bernd Wolschner, president of the ECP. Vice President of the EESC Anna Maria Darmanin also participated in the conference, and the event was hosted by Section President Stéphane Buffetaut. There were discussions involving contributions from many experts in the field of sustainable construction, including non-governmental and national representatives, supplemented by senior officials from the European Commission.
This project is in response to the growing need for more sustainable construction, and the need to provide greater clarity on the new concepts, phrases and terms that are being increasingly used across Europe. This glossary combines these terms together into an effective, concise and easily accessible tool. The original English wiki version was launched during 2010 and is already being utilised by the construction sector, policy-makers at national and European levels and for communications, education and training.
Click here to download the publication in English, French, German and Spanish
About the partners:
European Concrete Platform
The European Concrete Platform ASBL (ECP) is a European association incorporated as a non-profit association under Belgian law. Its objective is to study and promote all aspects of concrete for construction. The members of the European Concrete Platform are European branch associations representing the concrete industry and the constituents thereof.
European Economic and Social Committee
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a consultative body of the European Union. Its 344 members belong to economic, social and civic organisations in the 27 Member States. The EESC enables its members to take part in the process of formulating EU policies and decisions. Around 800 people work for the EESC and assist its members.
Architects’ Council of Europe
The Architects' Council of Europe (ACE) is the European organisation representing the architectural profession at European level. Its growing membership consists of member organisations, which are the nationally representative regulatory and professional bodies of all European Union (EU) Member States, Accession States, Switzerland and Norway. Through them, it represents the interests of about 520,000 architects.
Media contacts & publication requests:
European Concrete Platform: Jessica Johnson This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , +32 2 234 10 45
European Economic and Social Committee: Martin Schneider This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , +32 2 546 82 70
Architects Council of Europe: Adrian Joyce This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , +32 2 543 11 49
23 February 2011
Join us on 11 April!
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), encouraged by the big success of its European Cycling Lexicon, has joined forces with the equally successful common language project on terminology for sustainable construction, led by the Architects Council of Europe (ACE and the European Concrete Platform (ECP). Together, we will be launching a new, multilingual, dictionary-type publication: the Sustainable Construction Glossary. Given the recent call of the EU Commission for more efforts on energy efficiency and the prominent place this issue had at the special Energy Summit in February 2011, the new publication comes at a particularly important moment. In response to the need for more sustainable construction, new concepts, phrases, terms and expressions are being used in the construction field across Europe. These concepts are aimed at improving the environmental, social and economic impact of the industry and its outputs. Together with its two partner organisations, ACE and ECP, the EESC took on the translation of this groundbreaking project with the objective to gather together these terms and establish a ‘working’, concise and easily accessible glossary of the concepts currently in use. The purpose of the new publication is to ensure a common understanding of the terminology used within the framework of sustainable construction and it should become a tool for disseminating information about sustainable construction across the EU. The original English wiki version was launched during the 2010 EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) and is already being used by the construction sector, by policy-makers at national and European levels and for communications, educational and training purposes within the sectors directly concerned.
EESC President Staffan Nilsson will launch the multilingual versions of the Sustainable Construction Glossary at an event on Monday 11 April 2011, right at the start of the EUSEW. The paper version of the glossary will be published in English, French, German and Spanish, while the versions covering the other EU languages will be posted online on the EESC website. The programme of the event is targeted at construction and real estate specialists, as well as policy makers, staff of local, regional, national and European public administration, environmental associations, media representatives and the general public.
More information and registration: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
18 February 2011
Life is so concrete!
On June 16th and 17th 2011 , the 20th congress of the European Federation of the Precast Concrete Industry will be held at the Intercontinental Carlton in Cannes (France), and will be attended by all the stakeholders in the industry, from manufacturers to suppliers, specifiers, contractors, and users.
The event is one not to be missed, with meetings and discussions covering all the latest developments and future prospects of an industry firmly step with society.
Registrations are open now!
You can go on our website for any information regarding the conferences, the program, the exhibition... You can also book your hotel online. Please note that you can book a room in the Carlton hotel until 28 February.
02 December 2010
On 17 November 2010 the European Construction Forum (ECF), in which the ECP participates, stressed the essential role of the construction sector in ensuring a prosperous future for Europe. In these times of serious challenges that range from the consequences of the economic and financial crisis through to the global issue of climate change and its impact on humanity, it highlighted that the construction sector stands out as a sector which, given the opportunity, resources and regulatory framework, will be a significant contributor to the establishment of sustainable prosperity in the European Union.
At an event in the European Parliament, and in the manifesto launched on that occasion, the ECF indicated that investment in construction creates approximately three times as much new economic activity in the wider economy. In addition, and in relation to the challenges facing European society, it is widely recognised that buildings account for approximately 36% of all greenhouse gas emissions and over 40% of primary energy consumption in the EU. It is clear to the actors in the sector, and to policy-makers at European level, that work on improving the energy efficiency of the existing building stock in Europe is key to accelerating economic recovery as well as an essential element of any strategy to significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the EU, whilst ensuring security of supply and reducing dependency on imported energy.
More information: www.ecf.be
25 March 2010
Brussels, 24 March 2010 – ‘Achieving intelligent energy in cities by speaking the same language’ was the theme of the event jointly organised today by the Architects Council of Europe and the European Concrete Platform. The two organisations also launched the results of the ‘Common Language’ project.
“There is a need for a holistic approach to sustainable construction and we have thus aimed to show leadership in this field” stated Selma Harrington, President of ACE.
Bernd Wolschner, President of the ECP, added “This project aims to improve understanding and awareness of all actors and policy-makers”.
How can intelligent energy be implemented in cities if we do not speak the same language? ACE and ECP have worked together on a freely available web-based tool, the aim of which is to bring to an end the confusion that reigns when authorities, policy-makers, consumers, planners and the construction industry as a whole are talking about sustainable construction. This tool will also contribute towards facilitating knowledge transfer, and thus to the achievement of intelligent energy in cities.
During the conference, this tool was presented together with a clear example of its usage. The tool is available in wiki format from here: www.sccommonlanguage.eu
The presentations given during the conference can be downloaded from here
This project is a joint initiative by the Architects Council of Europe and the European Concrete Platform. For more information on the project, please contact
Jessica Johnson: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
09 March 2010
LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER!
Join us on 20 May in Brussels for a joint Architects Council of Europe and European Concrete Platform entitled “Do you Speak Sustainable Construction?”.
Background: A great deal of activity is focussed on sustainable development issues across the EU. In relation to this the Commission is developing initiatives on sustainable construction as a sub-set of its campaign for sustainable production and sustainable consumption. For example, Sustainable Construction is an EU Lead Market Initiative (LMI) – with a plan to promote the benefits and develop skills and capacities for the future; and the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive revision is under way; also TC 350 continues to make progress on new European standards.
In this regard, the ACE and ECP established a joint project with the aim of producing a toolkit referred to as a Common Language for Sustainable Construction. The purpose of this tool is to ensure a common understanding of the terminology used within the framework of sustainable construction. It is intended that the finalised version, to be launched on 24 March, be used by the construction sector, by policy-makers at national and European levels and for communications, educational and training purposes within the sectors directly concerned. At the heart of the toolkit is a glossary of terms currently in use in sustainable construction, and it is important that this glossary is as up-to-date, relevant and helpful as possible.
Objective: This event will allow politicians & city planners; clients and property developers; architects & engineers; product manufacturers & materials suppliers; contractors and specialist sub-contractors; facilities managers & users to meet and understand the current thinking on: low/zero energy; low/zero carbon buildings; homes and offices; low carbon infrastructure; recycling of buildings and materials; design of buildings and space between buildings; the design of passive house buildings and the use of recycled materials; embedded energy in materials; the use of marks to recognise responsibly sourced materials.
A block booking of hotel rooms has been made. These are available on a first come, first served basis. The booking is open until 19 April, after which all remaining rooms will be released. Rooms can be booked either by filling in the room booking form below, or via their online reservation system.
If you would like additional information about the content of the event, please contact Jessica Johnson This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
For practical details please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
06 January 2010
Do you speak sustainable construction? Achieving intelligent energy in cities by speaking the same language
How can intelligent energy be implemented in cities if we do not speak the same language? By presenting our new freely available web-based tool together with a clear example of its usage, knowledge transfer will be facilitated and thus contribute to the achievement of intelligent energy in cities. The aim is to bring to an end the confusion that reigns when authorities, policy-makers, consumers, planners and the construction industry as a whole are talking about sustainable construction.Programme
Presentations
Welcome – Selma Harrington (ACE) & Bernd Wolschner (ECP)
A common language in an EU context: view from the Commission – Liisa Koskimaki (DG Energy)
Do you Speak Sustainable Construction? – Adrian Joyce (ACE)
Contribution to the sustainable city of the future – Philip Stein (URBACT II)
A multi-stakeholder collaboration - Mike Gilbert (Langstone Consulting)
Let’s talk sustainable construction - Adrian Joyce & Mike Gilbert
Spreading the word: your role – Jessica Johnson (ECP)
Concluding remarks: the way forward – Sven Dammann (EESC)
More information: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
17 November 2009
A joint project between the Architects Council of Europe (ACE) and the European Concrete Platform (ECP) is currently ongoing, with the aim of producing a toolkit refered to as a Common Language for Sustainable Construction. The purpose of this tool is to ensure a common understanding of the terminology used within the framework of sustainable construction. It is intended that the finalised version will be used by the construction sector, by policy-makers at national and European levels and for communications, educational and training purposes within the sectors directly concerned.
We therefore take this opportunity to invite you to join our Wiki at:
www.sccommonlanguage.eu
19 February 2009
On 11 February 2009, the European Concrete Platform (ECP) highlighted the numerous sustainable advantages of concrete as a building material during the Sustainable Energy Week organised by the European Union. Devoting a session to energy-efficient buildings, the ECP demonstrated that concrete buildings and infrastructure works are part of the solution to achieve the EU energy and CO² saving targets.
14 October 2008
The European Concrete Platform fully supports the theme of this year’s World Standards Day: Intelligent and sustainable buildings. Concrete has a major role to play in this regard due to its numerous attributes, including its high thermal comfort.