On October 20 -21 INSYSME project consortium will meet in Pavia for the 37th Month Meeting. The meeting is hosted by the University of Pavia, UNIPV. More information can be found here.
News on INSYSME
First patent was granted to a member of the INSYSME project Consortium! The patent was granted by the Greek Patent Office to Xalkis and it protects the innovative brick unit developed within the project, in joint cooperation with NTUA. For more information follow the link.
2016 TBE Congress, Luzern
Tiles and bricks executives from across Europe met in Luzern, Switzerland on 23 and 24 June for the 2016 TBE Congress, which was hosted by the Swiss Bricks and Tiles Association, swissbrick.ch.
The Congress started on Thursday 23 June with the Masonry Product Group. Among others a report on the INSYSME project and its progress update was presented. Members attended the TBE Joint Environmental and Technical Working Group and TBE Roofing Tiles Product Group in the afternoon to gain comprehensive overview of the activities undertaken during the last year. That evening members enjoyed a cocktail and a gala dinner in the picaresque location at the board of the Luzern Lake.
Friday 24 June was dedicated to the TBE Executive Committee and TBE General Assembly.
The TBE General Assembly presented a good occasion to review the last year’s actions and anticipate upcoming activities. Thanks to TBE members, electronic brochures on the advantages of pitched roofs and clay masonry products were implemented at national level and used in meetings with builders and architects and at fairs. Important developments related to the EU climate and energy policy, such as the on-going revision of the post 2020 EU ETS Directive, were debated.
TBE members discussed also the new upcoming activities and challenges for the next year such as the many sustainable construction and technical dossiers, the Circular Economy package as well as the Cumulative Cost Assessment study undertaken for the ceramic industry.
Thank you to this years’ sponsors: SABO and Capaccioli.
MEP MORIN-CHARTIER VISITS FRENCH ROOF TILES COMPANY
On 27 May 2016, French MEP Elisabeth Morin-Chartier met with Cerame-Unie and the French Federation of Roof Tiles and Bricks member Terreal in Roumazières-Loubert, France. The meeting included a visit of the Terreal tiles plant where MEP Morin-Chartier learned about tiles production and innovation in terms of energy efficiency. Moreover, Terreal exchanged views with MEP Morin-Chartier, a member of Employment and Social Affairs Committee at the European Parliament, on important issues for the ceramics industry such as jobs & industries in the European Union, energy efficiency, Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), competitiveness and China’s market economy status (MES).
INSYSME at IBMAC
The 16th International Brick and Block Masonry Conference, the quadrennial event in the field of masonry construction, will take place in Padova, Italy on 26-30 June.
The conference topics focus on challenges, innovations, trends and ideas related to masonry, in both research and building practice. Special sessions will be organised on earthen masonry, bonding of composites to masonry, lime mortars, masonry infill walls and RC frames (INSYSME FP7 project).
For further information and registration visit the conference website.
2016 TBE Congress, Luzern
The 2016 TBE Congress will take place on 23-24 June in Luzern, Switzerland, hosted by the Association of the Swiss Clay Brick and Roofing Tile Industry, swissbrick.ch. Around 100 executives from tiles and bricks companies and associations from all over Europe will meet for two days to discuss such pressing issues as the Emissions Trading Scheme, Construction Products Regulation and Environmental Product Declarations.
Programme
Thursday, 23 June 2016 (full day)
- TBE Masonry PG
- TBE joint Environmental & Technical WG
- TBE Roof tiles PG
- Gala dinner
Friday, 24 June 2016 (half day)
- TBE Executive Committee
- TBE General Assembly
A programme will be organised for accompanying persons on both days.
Sponsors
Premium sponsors
BASIC SPONSORS
The TBE Congress is only open to TBE members and sponsors. In case of questions about the Congress or sponsorship opportunities please contact events[at]cerameunie.eu.
Debates on the EU ETS “tiering” proposal
On 4 May the EPP Group hosted a hearing on EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in the European Parliament, following the European Commission (EC) proposal for a revision of the ETS Directive for the fourth period (2021-2030).
MEPs, EC officials, researchers as well as representatives from energy organisations and industries discussed the Innovation Fund, Modernisation Fund, indirect costs and carbon leakage provisions.
The hearing also addressed the France-UK non-paper proposing the so-called “tiered approach”. Energy intensive industries published a statement on 19 April expressing their concerns regarding the “tiered approach” to free allocation under post-2020 EU ETS.
This approach would reserve free allowances for some sectors at the expense of others. The signatories state that the proposed “tiering” has no environmental or economic justification and ask for a framework that gives all sectors equal opportunities to compete and thrive in Europe.
Launch of BAMB2020
The EU-funded BAMB (Buildings as Materials Banks) project consortium brings 16 parties together to provide circular economy solutions to the building sector.
The BAMB stakeholder network was launched on 3 May in Brussels. Speakers introduced the concept of materials passports, which will provide the necessary information about materials, products and components for their circular use and the support of reversible building design. Within the scope of this project, 300 materials passports will be developed, as well as a software tool.
ECJ ruling on cross-sectoral correction factor
On 28 April the European Court of Justice declared invalid the maximum annual amount of free allowances for GHG determined by the Commission for the period 2013-2020.
The Court found that the ceiling used by the European Commission (EC) to determine the value of the cross-sectoral correction factor (CSCF) was too high, as the EC was required to refer only to the emissions of the installations included in the Community system from 2013 onwards. Consequently the Court deemed the CSCF invalid (Commission Decision 2013/448, Art. 4 and Annex 2).
The case was brought to the Court by companies that claimed they have received fewer allowances than they were entitled to (C-191/14 - Borealis Polyolefine).
The ruling will take effect after the EC recalculates the CSCF (with a deadline of 10 months) and will lead to the reduction of the total number of free allocations for industrial installations in the final years of the EU ETS phase III.
Read the ECJ press release.
NEEIP Forum 2016: Keeping the circular economy rolling
On 20 April, the European Non-Energy Extractive Industries (NEEIP) organised the 2016 Forum on the circular economy. The goal was to highlight what the industry has already achieved and what still remains to be done to obtain a circular economy that best serves society.
Renaud Batier, Cerame-Unie Director General, opened the event stressing that a circular economy needs primary and secondary raw materials. He pointed out that a lead resource efficiency indicator should not be imposed in the context of a circular economy and highlighted the need to further develop markets for secondary raw materials (full speech).
Speakers from the European Commission confirmed the continued importance of primary raw materials. Mr Schally confirmed that DG ENVI took stakeholders’ comments into account on the resource efficiency target. However, the Commission will still use the lead indicator to monitor the implementation of the circular economy at national level.
The NEEIP Forum is the annual event with high level representatives from the European Commission, European Parliament and other relevant EU institutions addressing topical policies currently under debate.
