Paul Cartuyvels is Executive Director of the French company Bouygues and President of the European Construction Technology Platform (ECTP). The ECTP is a key partner of the European Commission in framing the funding programmes for the European Union in the construction and built environment sector.
His keynote at World Building Congress 2022 is entitled “Scientific excellence for urban regeneration”, reflecting his passion that the world’s big challenges require the application of science addressing not just technology but environment, people, economics etc. His focus is on the ultimate end purpose of providing the highest quality of life for the most number of people for the lowest environmental impact.
Other key points he addressed in our conversation included the fast-changing regulatory environment in Brussels due to the climate challenge, the imperative that research and the evidence base keep up with the speed of these regulatory demands, and the broad ECTP and EC research agenda covering not just energy efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change adaption but also water management, circular economy, the management of pollution, and biodiversity.
His closing message for researchers was for more focus on retrofit and addressing existing buildings, there are special challenges to be addressed if we are to deliver elegant solutions which are classy and inspirational as well as effective in reducing environmental impact. We look forward to hearing Paul’s keynote address at WBC2022, and for more information including how to register to attend, please click here.