The European Commission has, on 21/12/2005 proposed a new strategy on the prevention and recycling of waste. This long-term strategy aims to help Europe become a recycling society that seeks to avoid waste and uses waste as a resource. It will draw on the knowledge that the thematic strategy on resources, (also adopted) , will generate. As a first step, the Commission proposes revising the 1975 Waste Framework Directive to set recycling standards and to include an obligation for Member States to develop national waste prevention programmes. This revision will also merge, streamline and clarify legislation, contributing to better regulation. The waste and resources strategies are two of the seven 'thematic' strategies required under the 6th Environment Action Programme (2002-2012).
The Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), a member-sponsored program of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development was formed to help the cement industry to address the challenges of sustainable development. A group of major cement companies lead the initiative. The Initiative has since 1999 provided independent research on the status of the industry and the major sustainability issues it faces.
An interim progress report (7 June 2005) can be downloaded from the site. A full progress report is expected for 2007.
This thematic network has as general objective to promote the development of European networking in order to achieve a better co-ordination of efforts and a more rapid diffusion of results so as to ensure that research activity generates real innovation for construction and related industries.
By bringing together and collating results from European, national and regional RTD initiatives and following a pro-active Technology Watch approach, E-CORE seeks to become the electronic reference point in Europe for obtaining information on the state-of-the-art and the status of RTD in the construction sector. E-CORE further endeavours to facilitate dissemination of cutting edge technology and its implementation, to identify knowledge gaps and to advise on RTD strategies for the construction sector at the European level.
The Concrete Centre in UK was formed to fill a void in the marketing of concrete. The concrete industry is traditionally diverse and fragmented due to the wide variety of product and technologies, made possible by the versatility of the material. This diversity can be a powerful driver of innovation and development, but needs a focal point to ensure that the complexity and flexibility of this material are communicated as a competitive advantage. This is the role of The Concrete Centre, the new central development organisation for the concrete and cement sector. The Centre aims to assist all those who design and construct in concrete whether they work for national or local government, client bodies, architectural practices, civil and structural engineering consultancies, main and specialist contractors or housebuilders.
The website offers a lot of information on concrete, its use and its benefits.
Think green. Think Concrete!
Members of this American council are dedicated to improving the quality of the environment by working to increase awareness of the environmental aspects and benefits of concrete and concrete products. Simply put, the concrete industry wants to spread the news that concrete is one of the single most environmentally friendly construction products currently available.
The ECCO Reference Library contains nearly 2000 bibliographic references and abstracts on the environmental impacts of concrete and concrete construction. A tri-fold brochure, The surprising environmental benefits of concrete, briefly summarizes a few of the environmental advantages of concrete through every stage of manufacturing and use.
