Mid-April 2020. Koen Coppenholle is outlining how Brussels, Belgium-based CEMBUREAU and its members are working to overcome issues linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have regular contact with our board members and weekly calls with the national associations to collect information on the situation in different countries and companies. We have an open line with the European Commission through regular calls, and we fill in a questionnaire every week with urgent requests to the Commission. We raise the need for liquidity support, especially for downstream SMEs [small and medium enterprises]. We also raise the need for free movement of building materials, for the recognition, by individual countries, of the construction sector as an essential sector and workers as essential workers and for a more uniform interpretation of when a construction site is considered safe.”
Coppenholle says it is difficult to predict the long-term impact of COVID-19 on the European cement industry as the crisis is still unfolding. The situation, he notes, also differs markedly from country to country. “COVID-19 and the swiftness of measures taken by national authorities have left the cement sector and many other industries in shock. We have pleaded with European and national authorities to ensure that construction sites can remain open, of course, while showing proper respect for the health and safety rules. These sites tend to be run by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are more susceptible to liquidity problems. If they get into difficulties, this can affect the whole supply chain.
“As the EU’s focus is now switching to recovery and business restarting, CEMBUREAU is fully engaged in ensuring maximum adherence to health and safety rules by sharing best practice among its members.”
CEMBUREAU’s membership consists of national cement associations and, in countries without an association, companies covering 29 countries. The group includes 25 EU countries as well as Norway, Turkey, the UK and Switzerland as non-EU countries. The association works with its members to analyse policy proposals, assess business impact and define opportunities for the cement sector and contributes to the policy debate through position papers and studies on a wide range of topics.
While membership has remained stable over recent years, the association recently finalised cooperation agreements with the Ukraine Cement Association and Cypriot firm Vassiliko Cement.
“The cement industry has suffered greatly from the economic and [2007-8] financial crisis with an average 40% drop in production over the 2007-2013 period,” notes Coppenholle. “It is slowly but gradually recovering from that crisis with production reaching 175 million tonnes in 2018, still far from the 267 million tonnes seen in pre-crisis levels and representing around 4% of global production. The COVID-19 crisis has thrown some uncertainty in the current market and certainly in the forecast for future demand and output.
“If we put aside for a moment the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, which requires the immediate and urgent attention of our members, the sector is very much focused on how to transition towards a carbon-neutral industry. Following the publication of the Green Deal by the European Commission, CEMBUREAU has set out its ambition to strive for carbon neutrality along the cement and concrete value chain by 2050.”
Coppenholle says that in the first quarter of 2020, CEMBUREAU engaged with experts in companies and national associations to revise its 2013 Roadmap and assess how carbon neutrality can be secured. Based on its ‘5C Approach’, developed in 2018, the experts have looked at CO₂ reduction potential in each of the 5Cs – clinker, cement, concrete, construction, and (re)carbonation. They have identified the technologies, innovation and investment required to achieve the reductions, and formulated vital messages to convey to policymakers.
Coppenholle stresses that if the European cement industry is fully supported in its efforts to use alternative fuels and alternative raw materials to heat up kilns, able to count on public funding and the guarantee of a proper pipeline and infrastructure technology for carbon capture and storage, and given sufficient access to clinker-substituting materials, it can significantly reduce its CO₂ footprint.
He continues: “As most of cement is used in concrete, which is an essential enabling material for sustainable housing, renewable energy infrastructure and society’s transition to a low-carbon economy, it is crucial for the cement sector to highlight the recyclability of concrete which, together with the sourcing of alternative fuels and raw materials from waste streams, puts the cement industry at the heart of the circular economy. The recarbonation potential of concrete, whereby CO₂ gets reabsorbed during its lifetime and at end-of-life, can turn whole cities into carbon sinks. However, for that to be recognised, we need to advocate for a lifecycle assessment at building instead of product level.
“If the industry can pull off these innovations and CO₂ reductions in Europe, it will lead the way globally on innovation and in addressing the climate change challenge. It is important, however, that the industry is helped in its endeavours by a facilitating regulatory framework which guarantees the level of competitiveness needed to engage in the substantial investments required by the low-carbon transition.”
Asked about the importance of the European cement industry to life on the continent, Coppenholle, a Belgian national, replies: “The cement plants are located near to their raw material source, which is limestone quarries. With quarries widely dispersed across Europe, cement plants provide jobs to local communities and are the beating heart of the social and economic fabric. As the end product, concrete does not travel large distances. The full cement-concrete supply chain provides jobs for a large amount of small- and medium-sized concrete manufacturing enterprises.
“Cement and concrete are ubiquitous in everyday life. We cannot imagine an environment without concrete that keeps our families safe through its durability and fire resistance, that lets us travel through underwater tunnels and bridges linking up communities, and provides our electricity from windmills or water dams.”
Coppenholle’s CV before taking up his senior role at CEMBUREAU makes for impressive reading. A passion for European law and international politics has driven his career, starting with a firm focus on EU institutional law as a research and teaching assistant at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. A year abroad for a Master of Laws at Harvard Law School allowed him to study US federalism as a possible blueprint for the further development of the European Union. A three-year stint at the European Court of Justice in Judge P.J.G. Kapteyn’s cabinet allowed Coppenholle to deal with a wide array of cases in all areas of EU law. It was the ideal preparation for his career as an attorney with Linklaters De Bandt where the focus was also on EU competition law and state aid. In 2000, Coppenholle entered the world of government relations, gaining experience in contributing to the EU legislative process, first with General Electric and then for ArcelorMittal, a leading global steel company. As an energy-intensive industry, the steel industry’s challenges and opportunities are similar to those of the cement industry. As a result, Coppenholle says he saw CEMBUREAU as an obvious next step which allowed him to add management skills to his legal and policy expertise.
“I wanted the freedom to take the initiative and drive an organisation in a direction that responds efficiently to the needs of its customers, who are our members. I have been active in European law and policy for 32 years now. I have tried, at each stage of my career, to add a skill starting from an academic position to go on and represent companies as a lawyer and then moving in-house to get to know the processes at work in the legislative phase leading up to the law as adopted. Adding management, human resources and finance skills is enriching my current role.”
I’m keen to find out more about CEMBUREAU’s relationship with EU decision-makers. How receptive are they to the needs of the European cement industry? Does Coppenholle’s career background in EU law and working practices help him in his dealings with EU powerbrokers?
“My career background certainly helps me in many ways: the legal expertise helps me to quickly assess where we should focus our efforts, and facilitates reading and analysing policy documents and drafting the necessary briefs. My company background makes me better understand why some decisions are taken and allows me to preempt situations and seek early compromises. This asset should not be underestimated in managing an association where interests are not always aligned.
“I can also confidently say that our relationship with policymakers has strengthened and deepened, helped by the pro-active approach of our industry leaders and a strong public affairs team. We have a network of very useful contacts across a wide range of European Commission departments, in the European Parliament and, with the help of national associations, in member states.”
CEMBUREAU’s CEO is keen to get out of the office as much as possible to get a first-hand take on the European cement sector.
“I travel quite often, less in current COVID-19 times, to national associations for either a work visit or to participate as a speaker in one of their events. I always look forward to plant visits hosted by companies. If I had to choose a standout one it would be a two-day tour organised by Peter Hoddinott, one of CEMBUREAU’s former presidents, during which I visited the LafargeHolcim research centre in Lyon and a cement and a concrete plant in the region. I was welcomed at each of the sites by very expert and knowledgeable people.”
I wonder what Coppenholle sees as being the association’s and his own most significant achievements during his time as CEO?
“As an association, we have been able to provide the correct technical expertise to policymakers in key policy files, and we have done so based on data and accurate information. We always take a proper and data-driven approach to policymakers, and the essence of the relationship must be trust. Looking at the way policymakers approach CEMBUREAU, I think we have now earned that stamp of a respected organisation, and I want to keep it like this. Good communication is essential for clearly conveying our views, but it is a tool that needs thoroughness in thinking and analysis and not hollow words.
“In my role of CEO, I am most proud of having earned respect for the sector with policymakers and support from the members. This drives me forward and ensures that I get out of bed every day feeling the passion and enthusiasm for this job.”
Speaking about goals he’d still like to achieve in his CEO role, Coppenholle, says: “Starting from the previously mentioned support and respect, I would like to see that broadened going forward. We have intensified our outreach to policymakers, but it is now our task to deepen relationships with more stakeholders, including NGO’s [non-governmental organisations], trade unions, think tanks and the public at large. We have put our foot in the water for all of these, but we now need to start swimming.”
Away from work, Coppenholle, who grew up in the Belgian port city of Ghent, enjoys spending time with his wife, 24-year-old son and nearly four-year-old daughter. “I love to travel with my family, watch a good movie and enjoy long conversations with friends over a good meal and glass of wine.
“I have been based in Brussels for 25 years. I love the compact size of the city, which allows strolling around, meeting the whole world on a pretty small surface and enjoying a wide choice of excellent food in some unique settings.”
Finally, I’m keen to know how Coppenholle sees the long-term future of the European cement industry given, among other factors, the rise of automation and greater diversity of building materials available to customers.
“Cement will remain an essential building material for the future and is essential for the sustainable built environment of tomorrow. We will need to think of different and more efficient ways of using cement and concrete, and this will be partly driven by digitisation. However, wisely used, cement and concrete will be here to stay.”
