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The European construction sector is faced with ever growing challenges. Societal developments, such as an aging and growing population, lead to demands for more comfort, better mobility and more safety and security. Moreover, the impact of the construction sector on the environment and sustainable development is significant. Buildings account for 40% of the EU’s energy demand. Construction uses more raw materials than any other sector; the creation and operation of the built environment accounts for an important consumption of natural resources.
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An economy without steel products is hardly imaginable. Machinery in manufacturing and processing industry, petroleum refineries, and chemical plants for producing basic materials or pharmaceuticals are constructed of steel. Planes, trains, ships, automobiles and many other things needed on a daily basis could not be manufactured unless there were structural parts and components made of steel. Today, the steel sector is under increasing pressure to address a number of challenges like the growing impact of globalisation and worldwide competition, population growth, increased urbanisation, depletion of some natural resources and climate change. To maintain its competitiveness, the European steel industry will have to meet the combined challenging targets of environmental friendliness and economic growth.
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http://cordis.europa.eu/estep/organisation_en.html
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Mineral resources are crucial for the competitiveness and innovation of the European economy. The minerals industry, comprising producers and users of industrial minerals and metals, aggregates and ornamental or dimensional stone, oil, gas and derivates, as well as coal and by-products, provides vital inputs to Europe’s economy and social well-being. Because of their great diversity, minerals and their derived products are necessary for almost every aspect of life.
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http://cordis.europa.eu/technology-platforms/smr_en.html
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The manufacturing sector in Europe today faces intense and growing competitive pressure on several fronts. In the high-tech sector, other developed economies pose the greatest threat. In more mature traditional sectors, manufacturing is increasingly migrating to low-wage countries such as China and India. Moreover, additional challenges such as the shortening life cycle of enabling technologies, environmental and sustainability issues, the socio-economic environment and the regulatory climate put further pressure on European manufacturing.
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http://www.manufuture.org/manufacturing/?page_id=34#ancora1
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Fibre and textile-based materials and products have always played a vital role in human life and there is no reason to believe that their importance will diminish in the 21stcentury. With a growing world population and a rapid increase in textile consumption in developing countries, a whole range of new application areas for textiles and constantly rising user requirements (in terms of functionality, variety, precision, performance, reliability, user and environmental friendliness of textile products, textile production in both volume and value) is set to rise.
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http://www.textile-platform.eu/membership
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Water is the basis of life. Advanced water supply and sanitation services and integrated water resources management are extremely important both for economic development and for safeguarding health and survival. Today, utilities and private companies in the EU provide largely adequate water and sanitation services to people, industry, agriculture and nature.
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http://www.wsstp.eu/content/default.asp?PageId=660&LanguageId=0
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With chemicals sales of € 580 billion out of an estimated world market of €1,736 billion in 2004, the EU (25) is the leading chemical production area in the world. The European chemical industry employs around two million workers and comprises about 27,000 enterprises (excluding pharmaceutical companies), 98% of which have fewer than 500 employees and can be considered small and medium-sized enterprises.
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http://www.suschem.org/register.aspx
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Materials are everywhere; they make modern life possible and constitute the basis of the welfare of mankind. Today, the advanced engineering materials and technologies industry faces a number of important challenges including environmental legislation, recycling requirements and increasing costs of energy and commodity raw materials. There is a trend to shift production to low labour-cost countries, combined with a rapidly developing technological competence in those countries.
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http://www.eumat.eu/registration.aspx
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According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, every three and a half minutes somebody in the EU dies from work-related causes. Of the 150 000 deaths per year, the vast majority are caused by occupational diseases (142 000), while the rest are classified as work-related accidents. Although there has been a marked decrease in the number of serious and fatal accidents over the past few years (of respectively 21 % and 24 % between 1998 and 2004 in the EU-25), there are still far too many people suffering accidents at work.
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http://www.industrialsafety-tp.org/registration.aspx