Concrete is the most widely used building material. But it also has a particularly large ecological footprint: concrete production is responsible for about 8% of annual human CO2 emissions. In 2021, the nonprofit organization Groen Beton Vert (GBV), which brings together 14 concrete producers with green ambitions, and POM West Flanders joined forces with the ambition to align this prominent sector in Flanders with the broader climate goals.
After an initial startup phase during the 2021-2023 period, which POM West Flanders was able to fund through the European EFRO program, the established partnership took a new step on July 3. The pilot project will be structurally anchored in the Circular Concrete Center in Veurne. POM West Flanders and Groen Beton Vert are joining forces with sector federations Embuild Vlaanderen and FedBeton, as well as the construction sector’s innovation center, Buildwise, in the nonprofit organization Circular Concrete Center. The nonprofit acts as a neutral advisory service for all questions regarding sustainable concrete.
Public and private collaboration
The belief in a sustainable future is strong, even within the sector itself. Five producers (Group De Brabandere, Jacobs Beton, Willemen Infra, Devagro Beton, and Recyclage Harelbeke, along with the Oosterzele Crushing and Concrete Plant) are investing together with POM West Flanders in a unique concrete laboratory in Veurne. The Circular Concrete Lab LLC will now manage the concrete lab and provide the scientific basis for the nonprofit’s advice. “The lab is equipped for highly complex testing on the durability of concrete mixtures. It offers the construction sector crucial insights into the optimal composition of concrete, as well as the practical applicability and actual sustainability of the end products,” says Pieter De Brabandere, who chairs the LLC.
Jean de Bethune, president of the Circular Concrete Center: “The lab guarantees the scientific basis of the advice the nonprofit can offer to the sector. Not only is the producer a target group, but the entire construction chain. Through our work, we aim to convince contractors, architects, and project developers of the qualities of sustainably produced concrete. For example, in the new building we are planning for the Circular Concrete Center on the Acasus site in Veurne, sensors will be installed to monitor the behavior of circular concrete and showcase its quality.”
High-level innovation
Innovative concrete mixtures based on recycled materials, which can provide enormous climate benefits, are still too often outside traditional standards. The concrete lab aims to change this and, based on scientifically backed facts and figures, convince regulatory and certification bodies of the quality of the concrete. Pieter De Brabandere: “From today, the concrete industry, with the Circular Concrete Lab, is taking matters into its own hands, and we will bring innovations to the market, backed by the necessary scientific evidence that guarantees safety!”
“With this collaboration with the sector, we are taking another step towards structural sustainability in West Flanders,” says Jean de Bethune. “After focusing on textiles and plastics, through the Circular Materials Center in Kortrijk, the concrete sector, which employs around 11,000 people and generates about 2.5 billion euros in annual revenue, forms an important new scope. By choosing Veurne, we reaffirm the economic value of the construction sector in Westhoek and position the entire region high on the innovation ladder.”
