Bulgaria is almost the only country in the EU that has not introduced low-carbon cements in the concrete standard, said the chairman of a branch association

Bulgaria is almost the only country in the European Union (EU) that has not introduced low-carbon cements in the concrete standard. This was said by the executive director of the Bulgarian Association of the Cement Industry (BACI), Ivaylo Georgiev, during the discussion “High-tech and circular economy – a path to a low-carbon industry and growth”, which takes place in the House of Europe in Sofia and is organized by the MEP Radan Kanev.

Buildings are responsible for about 38 percent of global emissions, Ivaylo Georgiev pointed out. One third of these emissions are emitted during the construction of the buildings themselves, which is why low-carbon cements are made, he explained. In addition, in Bulgaria there are still no standards for the carbon footprint of construction in order to obtain a building permit. The chairman of BACI hopes that this will happen, although it is difficult. Low-carbon cements can be produced in Bulgaria, but they are not included in the concrete standard, commented Georgiev.

Svetlozar Stoilkov from “Schneider Electric Bulgaria” pointed out that a study shows that “smart devices” that provide data will be 10 times more than people. Therefore, this data must be managed in the most efficient way and based on it, informed decisions can be made on how to make production more efficient. Regarding the consumption of electricity by large consumers, a reduction of 2-3 percent can have a significant impact, Stoilkov pointed out.

Stanislav Stanev, Regional Director of “Technical Activities and Efficiency” at Veolia for Bulgaria and Director of “Operation and Maintenance” at Sofiyska Voda, pointed out that the company has several main goals – one is affordable sustainable water supply and sanitation, urgent actions to combat climate change and ecosystem conservation. “These are the three goals that we at our Sofia treatment plant, which we operate, are trying to implement,” said Stanev. He pointed out that the treatment plant is the second largest on the Balkan Peninsula and one of the few that treat all waste water.

He added that Sofia Water has produced over 265 million kilowatt hours of green energy. According to the company’s calculations, this equates to 135 million cubic meters of recovered biogas, or 70,000 tons of carbon emissions saved per year, which are sold on emissions markets.