The conference is held in Hanoi on October 31st 2019 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 science and technology of sustainable building materials for further development of the sustainable building material and construction industry in Vietnam and beyond.
Photo: UNDP
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, embassies, and international and national institutions, academia, industry associations, enterprises and agencies.
Building materials play key roles in construction of infrastructures, houses, buildings and all types of other construction works. Manufacturing industry and trade of building materials influence the national as well as the global economy, the environment and the societies.
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 byproducts, save energy, protect environment and create more sustainable building material products. This is even essential particularly when Vietnam is one of the countries having the
largest production of building materials in the world”.
In 2018, the production capacities of main building materials are nearly 100 million tons of cement, 706 million m2 ceramic tiles, 16 million sanitary ware products, 260 million m2 glass products, 18 billion fired clay bricks, 8 billion unfired cement-based blocks, 200.000 tons of refractory products, 250 million litres of paints, etc. The cement and ceramic production sectors have the fourth largest outputs in the world.
The construction sector accounts for about one-third of global final energy use and around 35 to 40 percent of total GHG emissions worldwide and is responsible for more than a third of global material resource. These challenges are becoming more apparent in the developing countries where building stock in developing countries is expected to be more than double by 2030. Most of these emissions are the result of cement and steel manufacturing, followed by aluminum, glass and insulation materials.
Ms. Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative Viet Nam (Photo: UNDP)
“Expansion of the sustainable construction sector is critical in the context of increasing climate vulnerability and rapid urbanization”, Ms. Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative 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 from October 31st to November 2nd 2019, being held 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 resources-savings, environmental protection and recycling wastes for the sustainable development in building materials and construction industry.
The conference gathers the 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./.