"A clear message from the CCC Summit was the need for not only common action but a common language to better define and evaluate our actions."

MARTIN WEISSBURG
Volvo Construction Equipment President

Dear Reader,

It is now three months since we gathered in Gothenburg for the Construction Climate Challenge Summit and we have had time to reflect on the significance of the conference which we hosted and sponsored.

The event brought together an impressive array of participants from industry, NGOs, academia and government agencies to create a forum - and indeed a platform - to raise awareness and drive action.

The presentations and discussions were very stimulating and displayed, I think, a great level of unity and common thinking on the key issues that have to be tackled to promote sustainable construction and value chain collaboration.

As I said at the Summit, it doesn’t matter who takes the lead, as long as the lead is taken. But it can’t be one party alone. We all have to do this together to drive success.

For its part, Volvo CE will continue to support innovative research projects which can fill knowledge and technology gaps in our sector.

In 2014 we gave our backing a number of research projects in targeted areas and we are currently working on plans to expand this action.

We have also joined forces with the Swedish Energy Agency and Skanska in our 'electric quarry' or 'electromobility' project to develop energy-efficient, low emissions and low noise systems for powering a whole range of construction equipment typically used in a industrial quarry. We are very excited about the potential of this path-breaking project.

A clear message from the CCC Summit was the need for not only common action but a common language to better define and evaluate our actions. The European Commission is now working on an 'assessment framework' in collaboration with industry players to help establish a simple common green language. This is highly important for an industry characterized by incredibly long and complex value chains.

I think we can fairly say that we have now set the ball rolling for greater and more focused collaboration between industry, NGOs, academics, government agencies. This will be vital if the industry is to move towards a more sustainable future. No one sector can achieve climate action goals alone and we are all making a positive contribution towards the goals of the COP21 Climate Summit in December.

UN Sustainable Buildings and Construction programme takes shape.

The goal of the recently launched United Nations Sustainable Buildings and Construction (SBC) programme is to promote resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation efforts, and the shift to SCP patterns in the buildings and construction sector. The built environment can catalyse opportunities for a wide array of global and local challenges including climate change, land-use, demographic shifts, water and other resource scarcities.

Electrification of construction machinery could cut energy use by 71%

At the CCC Summit, the Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) announced an innovative demonstration project led by Volvo CE to ‘electrify a quarry’ by powering all the construction machines using electricity instead of diesel. The Agency believes that the conversion to electrical power will reduce the amount of energy used by 71% and cut CO2 emissions in a typical quarry site from the current 0.7kg/ tonne of material produced down to 0.3 kg/ tonne.

‘Tipping point for climate’ says leading academic at CCC summit

The earth’s biophysical capacity is no long sufficient to support mankind’s actions, said Professor Johan Rockström of the Stockholm Resilience Centre at the inaugural Construction Climate Change summit. “We have reached a tipping point where the earth’s biophysical capacity is no longer sufficient to support mankind’s activities,” he said. “To offset this we need a big effort from industry, government and communities in order to keep the planet within the sustainable 2oC limit.”

There is no
clear European understanding
of what a ‘green building’ is.
A common vision is needed

The European Commission has been looking closely at resource efficiency and has targeted the construction and use of building as a key area for action. The Commission has published a Communication in 2014 on ‘Resource Efficiency Opportunities in the Building Sector’ which is seeking to develop a more holistic approach to tackling resource use in this sector.

Organic photovoltaic coating applied to windows could generate 50 times more energy than regular PVs

A U.S. solar firm has launched a new liquid technology that turns regular windows into solar panels and which could be up to 50 times more productive than regular roof-based photovoltaics. The solar windows, designed for skyscrapers, are created by applying ultra-thin layers of liquid coatings on to glass and flexible plastics which allow for energy collection.

The first ‘Active House’ built at Stuttgart University

The first Active House which generates twice as much energy as it actually requires itself has been built at Stuttgart University. The research project named “B10″ is the first active house anywhere in the world and employs a sophisticated energy concept and a self-learning building control system. The excess energy generated by the house provides power for two electric cars.

Solar ink opens up new possibilities for capturing energy

Scientists in Australia have developed a way to print solar cells directly onto plastic or other materials and created a way of bringing solar power to the market. The ink itself is able to capture sunlight and convert it into electricity and enables manufacturers to integrate solar cells onto the surface of devices like smartphone, tablet, and laptop cases.

10 year plan to rewire the global economy developed by CISL

A ten-year plan to lay the foundations of a sustainable economy has been developed by University of Cambridge Institute of Sustainability (CISL). It is built on ten interconnected tasks. They can be tackled co-operatively over the next decade to create an economy that encourages sustainable business practices and delivers positive outcomes for people and societies.

Volvo CE funds Swedish-Chinese research project to promote sustainable construction

An innovative research project to reduce the emissions and the carbon footprint of the construction process has been supported by Volvo Construction Equipment as part of its Construction Climate Challenge initiative. The research program is being spearheaded by Sweden’s KTH Royal Institution of Technology, and supported by the Wuhan University of Technology (WHUT), China.

Innovative approaches developed to retrofit homes in cold climates

A series of demonstration projects showing state of the art retrofitting techniques for housing in cold climates has been developed by the EU-funded E2ReBuild consortium. The programme focuses on the entire retrofitting process from planning and design, materials and technology selection to construction and the subsequent operation and use of buildings.

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 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 has been provided for the first batch of projects which fall within these themes. The second Call for proposals is currently being planned.

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.

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