Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) has invited submissions for pre-study grants as part of its global Construction Climate Challenge (CCC) initiative.
The CCC aims to promote sustainability across the entire construction industry value chain. In addition to the manufacture and operation of construction equipment, this includes the extraction and production of building materials, road and general construction, as well as demolition and recycling.
Research areas of particular interest for the CCC include energy efficiency, enablers for change and innovation, circular business model research and emerging sustainable technologies.
“It is our aim for the CCC to become the default arena for discussion around climate research, project funding and strategy implementation in the construction industry over the next 10 years,” Volvo CE president Martin Weissburg said. “If we can achieve this, we can make a useful contribution on reducing the industry’s impact on climate change.”
Volvo CE is accepting submissions from all continents, with candidates associated with universities, research institutes and similar organisations encouraged to apply. Pre-studies would be supported by funding of up to SEK500,000 ($AUD78,536) over a period of nine months, with follow-on research projects expected to take place from 2015 to 2018.
Applications close for the CCC pre-study grants on 25 August 2014, with the funded pre-studies to be officially announced in Alicante, Spain on 8 October 2014 at the start of the Volvo Ocean Race, an around the world yacht race sponsored by Volvo Cars and Volvo Group. The presentation of the successful pre-studies’ results will also coincide with the race’s final stop on 24–25 June, 2015.
Supporting sustainability
The CCC is not the first initiative Volvo CE has undertaken to encourage sustainability within the construction industry. For many years, the company has sponsored the Volvo Travel Award, one of the prestigious Institute of Quarrying Australia (IQA) awards presented annually during the Construction Materials Industry Conference.
The award, which recognises an individual’s contribution toward the advancement of environmental management in the industry, was presented to Peter Allitt, manager of Holcim Australia's Bli Bli Quarry on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, in 2012. It included a study trip to Sweden, which Allitt described as “unbelievable” and “very rewarding”.
“Volvo just blew me away with their passion with regards to the environment and serving their communities,” he said. “Their work is just incredible.”
Commenting on the CCC, Allitt said it was a “fantastic concept” and that it “typifies what Volvo CE do and who they are” in terms of their support of sustainability within the industry.
When asked if he had any advice for quarry professionals who might consider applying, Allitt said that those simply “paying lip service” to the cause would be “caught out really quickly”. However, Allitt added, “If you've got a real passion for it [sustainability and environmental management], apply for it. For me, [the Sweden study trip] was the experience of a lifetime, and just being associated with Volvo was an experience in itself.”
Further information on the grants and the CCC is available at the CCC website.
A summary of Allitt’s Volvo-sponsored study trip was published in the July issue of Quarry.
Source: Volvo Construction Equipment