Ha Noi, October 31, 2019 – Vietnam Institute for Building Materials (VIBM), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), China Building Materials Academy (CBMA), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne University (EPFL), and other national and international partners organize an International Conference on Building Materials (ICBM) “Science and technology of building materials for sustainable development”. The conference is under the auspices of the Vietnam Ministry of Construction. The conference is a diversified-topics forum to exchange, discuss and learn about best practices, innovative solutions and recent and future developments in the science and technology of sustainable building materials. The conference supports further development of the sustainable building material and construction industry in Vietnam and beyond.

Attending the conference are Mr. Nguyen Van Sinh, Vice Minister of Vietnam Ministry of Construction, leaders and representatives of the Organizer and Co-organizers, Ministry of Science and Technology and international and national institutions, academia, industry associations, enterprises and agencies.

Building materials are key for the development of infrastructure, houses, buildings and all types of other construction works. The manufacturing industry and building materials trade influence the national as well as the global economy, the environment and society.  

Speaking at the conference, Dr. Le Trung Thanh, Director General of the Vietnam Institute for Building Materials said “The development of building materials definitely requires the application of science and technologies to minimize using natural minerals, maximize using industrial by-products, save energy, protect the environment and create more sustainable building materials. This is particularly essential because Vietnam is one of the countries having the largest production of building materials in the world”.

In 2018, the production of building materials included nearly 100 million tons of cement, 706 million m2 of ceramic tiles, 16 million sanitary ware products, 260 million m2 of glass products, 18 billion fired clay bricks, 8 billion unfired cement-based blocks, 200,000 tons of refractory products, and 250 million litres of paints. The cement and ceramic production sectors have the fourth largest outputs in the world.

The construction sector accounts for about one-third of global energy use and around 35 to 40 percent of total GHG emissions worldwide. The sector is also responsible for more than one third of global material resource. These challenges are becoming more apparent in developing countries, where building stock is expected to more than double by 2030. Most of these emissions are the result of cement and steel manufacturing, followed by aluminum, glass and insulation materials. In Vietnam, the cement sector alone is responsible for around 16% of the total greenhouse gases emission and uses about 30% of the total energy used in all industrial sectors.

“Expansion of the sustainable construction sector is critical in the context of increasing climate vulnerability and rapid urbanization”, Ms. Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam highlighted. “Action is needed by government to create enabling policy frameworks that help shape markets where businesses generate sustainable materials and end-users are encouraged to design, use and demand sustainable construction products”, she added.

The ICBM 2019 conference will be held from October 31 to November 2, 2019 in one plenary and seven topic sessions chaired separately. Its main themes include: cement, concrete, ceramic, glass, refractory materials, fire-resistant materials, insulating materials, paints, product quality control, energy-savings, natural resource-savings, environmental protection and recycling wastes for sustainable development in the building materials and construction industries. The conference includes lectures given by leading speakers and is also a diversified-topics forum for 300 national and international researchers, scholars, experts and policy makers from about 15 countries around the world.

This conference is also a formal event linked with the Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of VIBM’s Establishment.

More information:

Vietnam Institute for Building Materials:
Phung Trong Quyen
Information - Standards - International Cooperation Center (ISIC)
Email: quyenpt.vibm@gmail.com 
Mob: 0984349844

UNDP:
Phan Huong Giang
Media and Communications Analyst - Climate Change and Environment
Email: phan.huong.giang@undp.org
Mob: 094846668