AFCOS · Agile and Flexible Construction Materials Standardization for Boosting the Twin Transition

Over the past decades, European standards have delivered great benefits for companies and consumers on the single market. In the light of the social and environmental ambitions of the new growth strategy – the EU Green Deal – and the twin transition, Europe’s competitiveness, technological sovereignty and ability to reduce dependencies will directly depend on how successful European actors are in standardisation at international level. The EU Standardization Strategy from 2022 calls for more flexible and focused approach to standardization processes which can respond to the fast pace of twin transition innovating. The Agile and Flexible Construction Materials Standardization for Boosting the Twin Transition (AFCOS) project aims to set up recommendations, for more agile standardization processes for construction materials based on pre-normative research performed horizontally in a collaborative fashion between key ecosystem players – research, standardization and industrial actors from four member states – Bulgaria, Romania, Italy and Belgium. AFCOS will focus on identified standardization urgencies within the industrial ecosystem of construction and more specifically on standards supporting low carbon cement. Building on a set of activities combining research work with stakeholder engagement, educational activities and ambitious exploitation initiatives, AFCOS will produce roadmaps for pre-standardization, educational and training courses, strategy for education and skills development in the field of standardization of new building materials and exploitation models for the benefit of the European Standardization Organizations (ESOs), national standardization bodies, educational institutions and industry.AFCOS brings together 7 full and 5 associated partners from 9 EU countries encompassing research capacity, standardization expertise and industry representation and ecosystem actors, ensuring EU coverage and exploitability of the project results to a high level.