Contruction Climate Challenge e-newsletter
EDITORIAL
Martin Weissburg

"The CCC initiative is starting to build momentum"

MARTIN WEISSBURG
Volvo Construction Equipment President

Dear Reader,
The CCC research program
is up and running.

International consensus on the need for climate action has never been so strong.

Last month, the Volvo Group renewed its partnership with WWF, confirming its commitment to the Climate Savers program to reduce its carbon-dioxide emissions, not only from its products and manufacturing but also to provide leadership on reducing emissions throughout the transport sector. The agreement entails important commitments to action by the Group and one of the commitments is the continuation and strengthening of the Construction Climate Challenge (CCC), initiative launched in June by Volvo Construction Equipment.

CCC aims to create a dialogue with industry representatives, academics and politicians, as well as providing funding for new research and share existing knowledge and resources to help the industry make a difference for generations to come. It is a platform which aims to promote climate sustainability across the construction industry value chain. Part of its mission is to help ‘fill the research gap’ and provide funding for studies of interest to the construction sector.

Following a research call last summer, four pre-study projects have been selected and are now up and running. These selected projects cover different research topics, such as: energy efficiency, sustainable innovations, circular business models and emerging sustainable technologies.

Researchers at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, are exploring energy storage systems for construction applications;

A Swedish-Chinese project, including researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (KTH), Sweden and Wuhan University of Technology (WHUT), Wuhan, Hubei, China, is working to reduce the emissions and the carbon footprint of construction processes;

IVL, the Swedish Environmental Research Institute, is looking at approaches for reducing construction-related emissions through the development of circular business models that can lead to a zero carbon footprint;

The many complex elements of sustainability are being analysed by a group at the Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Their aim is to develop a holistic perspective which will help guide innovation in advanced engineering projects.

The CCC initiative is starting to build momentum and the results of these studies will be discussed during the CCC Summit which will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden, in June 2015. This event - bringing together industry, government and academia - will focus on the progress made and the priorities for future research and action to reduce future emissions across the construction industry supply chain.

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CCC NUTSHELL

The Construction Climate Challenge is an initiative developed and hosted by Volvo Construction Equipment. It aims to promote sustainable construction and provide much-needed funding for environmental research.

While the long-term aim is greater sustainability across the construction industry this is not limited to the construction equipment sector, but stretches the length of the construction industry’s value chain, from extraction and production of building materials, to road and general construction, to demolition and recycling.

By developing a dialogue with industry partners, academics, politicians and NGOs, sharing existing knowledge and resources as well as providing funding for new research, the initiative will help the construction industry make a difference for generations to come.

Environmental care is one of the core values of Volvo and the company has long been committed to reducing harmful emissions from its products and facilities. In 2012 Volvo Group was the first construction equipment manufacturer to join the WWF Climate Savers program.

But this is not enough. An environmentally committed company like Volvo Volvo Construction Equipment cannot address climate issues by itself. Reducing CO2 emissions requires a coordinated action from companies across the entire construction industry supply chain.

FILLING THE RESEARCH GAPS
The first step in the CCC project has been to evaluate existing research on environmental management and identify research that is still needed. In 2013 Volvo Construction Equipment brought together researchers, professors and PhD students from around the world who identified a total of 112 activities within four research themes where research should be concentrated.

Through the CCC initiative, funding is being provided for projects which fall within these themes. The first Call for proposals closed in 25 August 2014. The aim is for the CCC to become the default arena for discussion around climate research, project funding and strategy implementation in the construction industry over the next 10 years.

Volvo CCC

This Volvo
believes can
make a valuable contribution to reducing the construction industry’s impact on climate change.

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