“SSbD stimulates players in the value chains to identify and address challenges” – interview with Johan Breukelaar, EFCC

We interviewed Johan Breukelaar, Director General at EFCC. EFCC represents the construction value chain in IRISS and we wanted to know what role SSbD plays within the value chain and what opportunities and challenges lie ahead.

Hi Johan Breukelaar! Tell us about the European Federation for Construction Chemicals (EFCC).

- EFCC – the European Federation for Construction Chemicals - represents the interests of construction chemical companies and national federations. EFCC acts as the spokesperson for the construction chemical industry before the European Union institutions and other public authorities and communicates the industry’s views on policy issues regarding product stewardship, standardisation, innovation and sustainability.

There is quite a range of construction chemicals for different applications. One of the key applications is as an additive for concrete to allow variability in the raw materials to manufacture concrete. For example, concrete admixtures, you can use concrete waste as a raw material. This allows customers to save energy and water by applying it, which leads to considerable greenhouse gas emission reductions.

In addition, we have construction chemicals that are used in insulation materials, like polyurethanes, which is a particular class of construction chemicals. These offer excellent quality in terms of insultation properties. In insulation, there are also other alternative materials, other than construction chemicals that you can use, such as natural materials like wool and wood.

In the IRISS project, we are covering the construction value chain, which includes amongst others insulation as an application. As a professional worker, you don’t want to get exposed to the raw materials of polyurethanes. That is why the whole value chain has developed a Europe-wide, very comprehensive training programme for professional users, typically SMEs, to allow the safe use of polyurethanes. It has its challenges, but with the right training, you can ensure that the risks are acceptable.

You mentioned the concrete admixtures. So the demolition waste can be reused?

- The lifetime of construction - buildings or bridges for example – is typically higher than our lifetimes. We can use quite a variety of raw materials to make concrete. Another big difference with construction chemicals, and concrete in particular, is the distance of transportation. You don’t want to fly concrete or use ships because concrete is heavy, so the sourcing is very local. If you want to reuse concrete, it could be a challenge because it needs to be done locally, so that makes this value chain quite different to many other value chains that are global, such as textiles.

Is there a shift to more biobased materials in the construction value chain?

- Not necessarily. Wood-based insulation has its challenges, as it can lead to deforestation. There are providers of wood-based insulation materials, so the GHG emissions impact is lower than that of a fossil-based insulation material. Polyurethanes are only a relatively small segment of insulation materials in Europe. They all have their specific markets or applications, but it depends on the region and what is available. If you are in the north of Sweden, it is easy because there are many forests. It’s not as local as the concrete sector, but it depends on the country and what is available. That also means that you don’t have to transport it, which is also important from a global warming perspective.

What would you say is the most discussed topic within construction at the moment?

- We have a regulation coming, the Construction Products Regulation, that has just been adopted. It took years but now it has finally been adopted, so now we can see what affect it has on the sector. We focus on chemicals and are already affected by regulations such as REACH and CLP (classification, labelling and packaging) that affects polyurethanes, but also concrete admixtures. Our companies will need to ensure that the chemicals they produce meet the requirements of the regulations. I don’t think that is a big challenge. The development over the past 5 years or so, is that because of the classification and labelling of some raw materials, our companies have developed chemicals that don’t have such challenges. Our customers are usually big producers of cement-based materials. Further down the value chain you will only get to SMEs at the very end of the concrete value chain.

There is a lot of innovation going on in our value chain, which typically comes from larger companies. Research and innovation are a must for companies that want to survive beyond five years or more. Concrete admixtures have also been subject to innovation. For example, over the past 5-10 years, our companies have developed alternatives for formaldehyde or melamine-based concrete admixtures.

What do you see as the biggest challenges within SSbD?

- The challenge is to get the notion that we start with the raw materials; that is the first step in the SSbD framework. Then there are many steps after that. The challenge is to replace formaldehyde and naphthalene-based concrete admixture. Our companies have already made considerable progress. My perspective is that larger companies do not need the help from the European Commission, and they are very well aware what is going on in the European Parliament and in the European Commission and where it is going. They have already found new materials to replace formaldehyde as raw materials will ahead of any regulation.

What opportunities do you see that SSbD provides in the future for these materials?

- Our companies do research and innovation out of necessity, i.e. to stay in business. SSbD stimulates players in the value chains to identify and address the challenges of their value chains. Often the challenges are further downstream. For us it is upstream, so there are very different challenges and opportunities in the different value chains when it comes to SSbD.

Do you have any tips for companies that have not worked with SSbD on how to start?

- Start with the SSbD framework and see that you understand it and what the purpose is. The purpose is very valuable if companies that are not already pursuing research and innovation along the lines to reduce their impact on human health, environment or society at large. They should make themselves aware what SSbD is about because it is a very useful framework and it can provide very useful guidance in how to pursue sustainability for your company.