As part of its 50th anniversary, the European ceramic association Cerame-Unie launched the Ceramic Roadmap, ‘Paving the Way to 2050’ at the 13th European Parliament Ceramics Forum in Brussels. The Ceramic Roadmap is the European ceramic industry’s contribution to the European debate on a smarter, more competitive and resource-efficient future for the EU.
The Emissions Reduction Model developed by Cerame-Unie shows the emissions reductions the European ceramics industry could potentially achieve by 2050, as well as the support needed to reach these goals and an overview of known and breakthrough technologies.
Ceramics’ contribution to resource and energy efficiency can only be appreciated with a holistic approach that considers the complete lifecycle of the product, not just the carbon at the point of manufacture. This should include durability and impact over the use phase. The Ceramic Roadmap calls for a supportive regulatory framework to facilitate development and investment in breakthrough technologies, to promote European competitiveness based on sustainable economic growth and to reduce the risk of carbon and job leakage.
Launching the Roadmap, Alain Delcourt, President of Cerame-Unie and Managing Director of Agrob Buchtal, said “As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Cerame-Unie, we look forward to working together with policymakers and stakeholders on defining the path to a competitive low-carbon and resource-efficient economy for Europe. We need to look beyond ‘business as usual’ to create a supportive regulatory environment to allow European industry to meet the emissions reductions targets while remaining competitive.”
Dr. Heimo Scheuch, Vice-President of Cerame-Unie and CEO of Wienerberger added, “Ceramics are designed to be durable and play an essential and often indispensable role for the energy and resource efficiency of other sectors. Ceramics will continue to have an exciting and critical role in the 21st century in many innovative applications.”