Concrete Event 2023: Towards sustainable and circular concrete

On November 16, 2023, traditionally the third Thursday of November, the Van Nelle factory in Rotterdam will again be the site of the Concrete Event. The central theme this year is 'en route' to sustainable and circular concrete. Because, if you want to be profitable as a company today and continue to play a role in the concrete sector in the future, you have to have sustainability and circularity at the top of your priorities. Now is the momentum to make that transition.

"It is one of the core tasks of the Concrete Association to contribute to the development of knowledge that will enable us as an industry to evolve towards a sustainable and circular concrete industry," says director Maikel Jagroep. Edwin de Kuiper, executive chairman at Dura Vermeer Bouw Midden West and board member of the Concrete Association, notes, "The Concrete Association is basically a training institute, not an industry association. Constructors, builders, concrete suppliers, architects, reinforcement suppliers, ...: they are all our 'customers'. And precisely because we are a training institute, we can push the transition forward like a bow wave."

The coming decades will call more than ever on our ability to intelligently adapt the country to changing conditions. "The world does not stand still, developments follow at a rapid pace and therefore it is time to move forward," Jagroep believes. "The central theme 'and route to sustainable and circular concrete' will be the focus of the Concrete Event for the next three years. An integral part of the event will also be a conference program. Here we will elaborate on four program lines, defined as sub-themes. And these are successively the development of new materials; adaptive and circular design, procurement and delivery; life extension and reuse of concrete and finally social capital."

The last subtopic is perhaps somewhat atypical of the industry, De Kuiper acknowledges. "Just a few years ago, we didn't have social capital as an industry so much on the agenda. There is growing awareness that transitioning people is essential. From the Concrete Association, we therefore work closely with teachers and students at the college, university and university level, as well as with other knowledge institutes, to create suitable training for this purpose and, above all, to introduce students to the concrete industry. Incidentally, our entrants regularly have different priorities than previous generations. They are often less interested in which lease car they get to drive, but more curious about what steps we are taking in terms of sustainability and circularity. Barely a decade ago, we were having very different conversations."

All four subtopics covered during the Concrete Event are desperately needed to make a sustainable and circular movement as an industry. "We are only at the beginning and have a long way to go," agrees Jagroep. "That movement will crystallize in the coming years into new innovations that are allowed to be applied, as laws and regulations are made applicable for the entry of new materials and innovations. That is why we invite both students and the entire chain to gather knowledge, see new products and, above all, engage with each other during the Concrete Event on Nov. 16 to make the transition. Now is the momentum."