Buzzi Unicem has kicked off the “ArenA Buzzi Unicem” project, a study aimed at transforming a large space within Buzzi Unicem’s Guidonia cement plant into a multipurpose area, and developed through the disciplines of art and architecture. 
No stranger to establishing and maintaining community relations, the company has engaged the artist Alfredo Pirri and the Architecture Department of the Roma Tre University, led by Paolo Desideri, to be involved in the study. The objective is to create a plan to convert an underused shed into a space for cultural, educational and social activities that will be completely open to the public. 
As part of the project kickoff workshop, an open day was held at the Guidonia cement plant during which over 50 students from the Architectural Design Course and the Contemporary City Landscapes doctorate program were tasked with tracing the relationships between the worlds of art, industry and the community in order to gather background information, and come up with ideas and pointers that could be used for developing design concepts.  
The workshop took the form of an architecture charrette, consisting of an intense week of planning, designing and seminars held at the Faculty of Architecture, at the conclusion which the students submitted their proposed designs to a panel of experts and professionals.  
Some of the particularly praiseworthy and eager students were chosen to work alongside Alfredo Pirri and Paolo Desideri to prepare a feasibility study. 
The goal of the project, whose concept thus far was deemed feasible by the initial study, is to make the area usable within the next 18 months. The redevelopment work will also include a permanent exhibition of the original watercolors created by Pirri as a testament to the origins of the project and basis of the initiative. 
The aim of ArenA Buzzi Unicem is to serve as an example of integration between the plant and the local community, a unique and original concept.

ArenA Workshop Brochure

Below is a link to the article posted on the homepage of Roma Tre University: https://architettura.uniroma3.it/articoli/arena-buzzi-unicem-workshop-138802/

Federbeton presents the 2019 Sustainability Report, drawn up on the basis of information provided by the companies that are part of Aitec and Atecap, national cement and concrete producers associations.

The report presents encouraging data and emphasizes the investments (over 110 million euros) in innovative technologies for improving the sustainability levels of plants and for the health and safety of workers. From an environmental viewpoint, the report highlights a reduction in tons of CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere thanks to the use of biomass in fuel, which reduced the consumption of energy from fossil fuel by 20.3%.

The full version is available here.

For more info: https://blog.federbeton.it

BIM (Building Information Modeling) is a system consisting of computer platforms that collect all the data from building construction: from structural calculations to architectural drawings, from materials characteristics to what is actually built on site, including tests on materials and useful information for future maintenance. It is an important tool that also brings construction to an industrial level, with the possibility of making the entire construction process more efficient, precise and reliable.

Concrete plays an important role in this process because everyone can access useful information including materials additional characteristics and performance thus to improve the final results.

This is why we introduce the first Unical BIM elements: among the most common construction elements, which contain all the technical information of Unical “calcestruzzi dedicati” (special concrete), with the most suitable characteristics for a good final realization. Our BIM elements are mainly aimed at designers, who will take advantage of the additional performance of our products with the certainty of including in their projects all the necessary information in the construction phases, from the purchase of materials to installation.

Our BIM elements are available for free from our Bimpool platform, and will be enriched and enhanced over time also according to market demands.

The pilot plant for the CLEANKER project was inaugurated at Buzzi Unicem’s Vernasca facility on Friday, October 9. The purpose of the project is to demonstrate a technology for capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) in cement plants.
After three very busy years of work and engineering we have finally arrived at the crucial phase, namely testing within an industrial setting the applicability of the Calcium Looping technology for capturing carbon dioxide released during the cement production process. The series of tests will be conducted in the manner typical of research projects, with short and long tests to be performed over a period of approximately 10 months, with a total actual operating time of one month at most. The time between each test will vary depending upon the analysis of the data collected in the previous series so that the operating parameters can be optimally calibrated before performing the next set of tests. 
The CLEANKER (CLEAN- clinKER) project will allow us to estimate the modifications and expenditures that will be required for existing cement plants, as well as their operational costs in order to also assess the economic sustainability of the CO2 capture technology.
During the morning, several speakers took to the podium to address the following topics: “CCUS – Capture, Use and Storage of CO2 – a technological challenge and an opportunity for industry”, presented by Stefano Consonni, President of LEAP; “CCUS in the cement industry”, by Luigi Buzzi, Group Technical Director; “CLEANKER: technology, experimentation and future prospects”, by Matteo Romano from the Polytechnic University of Milan; “CLEANKER: technological successes achieved”, by Giovanni Cinti and Guido Pellegrino from Italcementi, and “The European, national and regional vision for the fight against climate change”, by Riccardo Basosi, Marcello Capra, Attilio Raimondi and Sandro Fuzzi.
The mayor of Vernasca, Giuseppe Sidoli, also offered words of appreciation for all the partners involved in this important, innovative project. 
The event was covered by the local media with the goal of creating a better understanding among the local communities of the importance of this research project. Fabio Lunardini, a journalist from the Libertà newspaper, interviewed Antonio Buzzi, the COO of Cement Italy, and Professor Stefano Consonni.
The meeting, which was attended by over 50 people, concluded with the ribbon cutting ceremony to inaugurate the plant. 

The third edition of GIC - Italian Concrete Days, the Italian exhibition-conference dedicated to the world of concrete and its technologies, opens on October 29^th in Piacenza.

In addition to the exhibition, GIC presents a wide program of conferences, workshops and seminars that can be inspire debates and turn into professional updating: in fact, there will be talks on new regulations, innovative technologies and market trends.

Unical will attend the trade fair at stand D32 / E31 with two important focuses: the new BIM platform, a combination of concrete and digitization and sustainability, where procedures adopted to reduce environmental impacts will be presented, promoting more sustainable production models.

Come and visit us: download your free ticket from this link.

On the occasion of SAIE, Unical presents three important concrete related events.
The first event is set for October 15^th  at 3 pm, with a conference titled "Low heat development concretes for massive pour" hosted by Marco Francini (Unical) at InCalcestruzzo area, Hall 26 Stand A02.

On October 16^th, still in the InCalcestruzzo area, two remarkable events: at 1 pm, Francesco Biasioli (ERMCO), Marco Borroni (Unical) Alessandro Cattaneo (BimPool) and Stefano Rostagno (Brains Digital) present the new Unical BIM platform and the ready-mixed concrete elements developed for an accurate, efficient, environmentally friendly and cost saving design.

At 2.30 pm, Andrea Bolondi and Marco Borroni (Unical) together with Francesco Biasioli, and Giovanni Plizzari (Professor of Construction Technology), Luigi Coppola (ACI Italy Chatper) and Pietro Petrucco (Ance and Fiec) present a debate on the theme "Concrete industry between digitalization and sustainability".

Participation in the events is free and live streaming from SAIE virtual room.

On October 14, SAIE reopens its doors, one of the most important events dedicated to the construction industry, which, over the years, has become an important commercial, training and information meeting point for all players in the business sector. With the slogan "Riparti Italia" (Restart Italy), the fair aims at innovation, digitization and sustainability, key themes for the relaunch of the country.

Unical will attend the fair in Hall 26 stand A22 and will present two important focuses: the new BIM platform, a combination of concrete and digitization, and concrete and recycling, where the procedures adopted to reduce environmental impacts will be presented, promoting more sustainable production models.

Come and visit us: free tickets are available at this link.

Over 2 million tv spectators watched the Superquark episode on Rai1 on August 26, which highlighted the innovation and ambition of the European research project Cleanker, being tested at the Buzzi Unicem cement plant in Vernasca.
The journalists Paolo Magliocco and Daniela Franco, with an speech by the LEAP researcher Martina Fantini, who is in charge of the scientific coordination of the project, explained how this initiative aims to isolate the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by the cement plant during the production process, before it is released into the atmosphere.
The evocative name, Cleanker stands for Clean clinker production by calcium looping process, ie producing "clean clinker", capturing the CO2 generated by the production process, through the regenerative calcium cycle technology. The goal is to isolate the CO2 from gases, concentrating it over 90% and subsequently making it available for underground storage or for reuse in other industrial areas, such as synthesis processes or production of green fuels.
The pilot plant will be inaugurated this coming October and in the same month will start a phase of experimental and analysis campaigns that will last one year, to be closed by 2021.
If expectations are confirmed, Cleanker could represent an important innovation for the cement sector and for the protection of the environment.
The Superquark episode is available at this link (report starts from minute 43').

Buzzi Unicem has gained the sustainability certification according to the CSC scheme for the Vernasca cement plant, the second plant to be certified after Robilante.
Assuring  complete sustainability control of the supply chain for concrete production plants also passes through the cement plants, which produce the key component for the final product. 
The synergy between cement and concrete of Buzzi Unicem group, and the sharing of operational values, inspired by a controlled and traced supply chain allows to line up the needs of the two industries to best guarantee quality to the end customer and stakeholders. 

As a demonstration of the strategic value of the research, the CLEANKER project, coordinated by LEAP and held at the Buzzi Unicem Vernasca plant, will be the protagonist of an in-depth study that will be broadcast as part of the Superquark program, the historical program of science, nature, history and technology conducted by Piero Angela on Rai1, in the Wednesday evening 26 August at 9:25 pm. 
The program that will be broadcast on Rai1 will show the main points of the project, objectives and potential, thanks to the interviews given by the protagonists of the research work and to the images shot at the Vernasca cement plant, which will show the final stages of implementation of the pilot plant.

The CLEANKER (Clean clinker production by calcium looping process) project focuses on CO₂ capture in the cement production process. This is an ambitious and fascinating scientific initiative which, if expectations are confirmed, could represent an important innovation for the cement sector towards an even greater environmental sustainability of the production process.

The TagCem Master started on May 25, 2020. The 14 apprentices involved in this initiative will follow a program which will include work, training and project activities developed by our Company and the Polytechnic of Turin.
In the next 24 months, also thanks to the collaboration with the Polytechnic, the 14 apprentices will be the protagonists of a program of advanced training which will range from production, to maintenance, quality, ecology, environment and safety, the main topics, all developed with an interdisciplinary approach. 
The training staff is composed of an internal team and some Polytechnic teachers. Teaching includes lectures, learning by doing and project work, as well as in-depth visits to Italian plants where the apprentices will develop specific projects. 
Thanks to this theoretical and practical program, apprentices will acquire a wealth of knowledge they will exploit in different professional situations and usable in various organizational roles at Buzzi Unicem.

Italian companies, heavily hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, have launched an initiative to revive the green economy. 

110 companies and business organizations have, to date, signed the manifesto "Emerge from the pandemic with a new Green Deal for Italy” promoted by the Foundation for Sustainable Development, signing a text that promotes the revival of the economy and stresses the need to adopt measures to make businesses, health systems and the national economy able to address new critical issues, from pandemics to the severe climate crisis.

Under the new and much more serious conditions created by the pandemic, the European Recovery Plan, which aims to mobilize substantial Community funding, should recast and relaunch the ambitious European project for an advanced, less carbon-intensive and more circular economy with a Green Deal.

According to the manifesto, a new Green Deal is the way forward for a stronger and lasting recovery that unleashes all of Italy's potential: the potential related to quality production; potential in the areas where the country has achieved levels of excellence, such as waste recycling, pillar of the circular economy, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources; the potential of our sustainable agriculture model and other activities of the regenerative bioeconomy; the potential of cities to be relaunched with a vast urban regeneration program in a green key; the potential of important natural capital, necessary for the revival of various sectors like tourism; the potential for a transition to low emissions and alternative fuels for decarbonized, electric and shared mobility and the potential of digital innovation.

For the cement and concrete industry, the manifesto was signed by Engineer Roberto Callieri representing Aitec and Federbeton. 

Those who wish to join this initiative can do so at the website www.greendealitalia.it, and the manifesto with the first 110 signatories will be sent to the government and to the majority and opposition parliamentarians, as well as to representatives of the European institutions.

Facing COVID-19 emergency, Buzzi Unicem Foundation has decided to finance a pilot home monitoring study, in the areas of Casale Monferrato and Turin, with the support of the Mario Negri Institute.

The choice of the project embodies the spirit of the Foundation and the Buzzi family to offer Piedmont territory a quality service, scientifically approved, in aid of the current health emergency.

All COVID-19 symptomatic patients whom the general practitioner, the competent doctor or the 118 center have decided not to send directly to hospital will have access to the project. 
For all of them, it will be possible to be cared for at home by a team of physiotherapists, properly trained and equipped with all the medical devices, who will carry out daily monitoring of respiratory function, with an oximeter, subjecting the patient to a "walking test" and consequently decide with the doctors the possible and progressive hospitalization.

The Crisis Unit of the Mario Negri Institute, in coordination with dr. Guido Bertolini, will provide for the collection and processing of data and the logistical direction of the entire project.
The Buzzi Unicem Foundation is committed to fully fund the initiative, the value of which will reach two hundred thousand euros.

Any contribution of participation will be of great help, and can be made through:

- bank transfer: IBAN IT51K0503422600000000020059, made out to Buzzi Unicem Foundation, "PROGETTO COVID19"

- an email to info@fondazionebuzziunicem.org to define how to contribute.

The Monselice plant hosted over 1,100 visitors during the two days on which the facility was open to the public on October 5 and 6, 2019.
The purpose of this initiative and others that have already been launched in the area and at multiple plants in Italy is to increase the transparency of Buzzi Unicem's operations with the intent of engaging in a constructive and sustained dialog with our stakeholders. 
The goal of these initiatives is to help firmly reclaim the role of learning, understanding, knowledge, and expertise. In a modern society, competitive and sustainable companies actively contribute to achieving this objective.