Embrace digitalisation and sustainability or lose market share and clients; this was the message from Enrico Prandini, president of CECE, at this year’s summit.
In his opening speech, Prandini focused on the summit’s theme: From bricks to bytes - How innovative technologies contribute to a sustainable construction industry.
He called for a shift in the mindset of clients, contractors and manufacturers to grasp the business opportunities from a move towards sustainability and digitalisation that is surely affecting the construction sector.
“We all have to create the conditions for us and for future generations that allow living in a Europe whose environment is protected,” he told more than 170 attendees at the 60th anniversary event in October. “To ensure the economic growth and social stability, a sustainable approach towards construction is needed. We can only achieve this by actively digitising and optimising work processes in our industry.”
Emmanuelle Maire, head of unit for sustainable production within the European Commission’s DG Environment group, made clear that construction is a key economic sector as far as the new Green Deal for Europe is concerned. European commission president-elect Ursula von der Leyen announced the deal in September, saying that the goal was to have Europe become “the world’s first climate-neutral continent” by mid-century. Maire pointed out that there is a lot of work to do. The construction sector represents 40% of the energy consumption, produces 36% of CO2 emissions, consumes 50% of raw materials, produces 33% of generated waste and needs 33% of used fresh water.
Paul Surin, global lead for the built environment at IBM, said in his keynote speech that “we can design many things, but we still don’t trace them”. According to a poll as quoted by Surin, 42% of organisations have either no, or a limited, digital strategy. A holistic approach is the key to success where manufacturers must think about what happens at the end of a product’s life. A total transformation of enterprises, operations, products, experiences is necessary; all parties involved need to be connected.
During a following panel discussion Surin and several members – Menno de Jonge, director digital construction at Royal BAM Group, Eugenio Quintieri, secretary general at EBC, Thilo Juchem from the aggregates association UEPG and Alfredo Barrios de la Fuente, engine technical and sales director at Deutz Spain - agreed companies must embed data management within their organisations’ senior management. Some panellists also mentioned the need for more clarity concerning data sharing between the data generators, the owners and the manufacturer.
Tackling more specifically the issue of sustainability, attendees were treated to a video about rare animals and birds who find new homes in quarries. There is life after quarrying, noted Juchem, in his role as president of UEPG - Union Européenne des Producteurs de Granulats (European Aggregates Association), which represents the European aggregates industry in Brussels.
Leyla Acaroglu, a social scientist with strong environmentalist credentials, echoed Prandini’s call for the construction sector to change its mindset. The CECE industry should “disrupt itself” and redesign the way it does business, said Acaroglu. She has been acknowledged by the United Nations Environment Programme as a Champion of the Earth - an annual award to recognise outstanding environmental leaders from the public and private sectors.
The global construction sector should remain on guard against the worldwide threat of more tariffs on manufactured goods, as noted by participants in the summit’s Economic Forum. The forum’s theme: The Road To Conexpo - The Investment & Business Potential for Construction in North America – was examined, noting the issues to be tackled at the upcoming CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020 exhibition in the US.**
The chief executives of three CECE member companies exchanged their views on the main successes and challenges of mid-sized European companies entering and expanding their presence in North America. The CECE and the American Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) issued a joint statement that adopted a common stance for free trade and showed a united front against the escalation of tariffs.
**CONEXPO-CON/AGG, March 10-14 2020 in the US city of Las Vegas, is North America’s largest construction trade show representing asphalt, aggregates, concrete, earthmoving, lifting, mining, utilities and related industries. Registration is now open at www.conexpoconagg.com.
*Guy Woodford is editor of Aggregates Business Europe, a sister publication to World Highways. The CECE is the umbrella body for national organisations that represent and promote the European construction equipment and related industries. It has a secretariat in Brussels and National Association offices in the different countries.
