The European Concrete Platform (ECP) is always headed by a chief representative from one of the ECP member organisations. Norbert Schröter, principal managing director of the German Industry Association for Construction Chemicals, was elected new ECP president on 22nd June 2020. At the ECP, he will represent the European Federation of Concrete Admixtures Associations (EFCA), whose vice-president he has been for some time.

Norbert Schröter succeeds Norwegian Stein Tosterud, who no longer stood for election, as the new president at the ECP headquarters in Brussels. The European Concrete Platform unifies numerous associations and organisations at a European level under the common objective of positioning concrete as an outstandingly suitable construction material for sustainable construction work. EFCA was one of the founding members of the ECP alongside the European Federation of the Precast Concrete Industry BIBM (Bureau International du Béton Manufacturé), the European Cement Association Cembureau and the European Ready Mixed Concrete Organisation ERMCO.

Concrete and its benefits

Energy efficiency, fire protection and Eurocodes are other main ECP fields of action besides the area of constructing sustainably with concrete. Architects, engineers, companies in the construction industry, investors and the general public sector can benefit from the large amount of specialised information, publications, and instruments provided by the ECP highlighting the characteristics of concrete with regard to its technical, economic and ecological advantages in sustainable construction work. The ECP is engaged in various bodies of the EU Commission and works in numerous technical committees of the European Committee for Standardisation (Comité Européen de Normalisation, CEN) as well as in Construction Products Europe (CPE), of whose board Norbert Schröter is also a member.

The “Concrete Initiative” launched in 2014 is one of the major initiatives of the European Concrete Platform. In this context, interest groups can exchange information about the economic, social and ecological effects of sustainable construction work and the necessity of a balanced approach to these three main issues – whilst factoring in concrete as the key construction material in achieving the objectives of the EU Commission’s “Green Deal”. The Concrete Initiative underpins this commitment with scientific articles, market statistics and example reports taken from practice (www.theconcreteinitiative.eu)