What to expect at this year’s conference

The official invitations have been sent out for this year’s ARGE conference and the final preparations are underway, so what can you expect from the annual meeting in September?

There seems to be an air of anticipation surrounding this year’s event, and given the progress made since Budapest that’s hardly surprising. Last year we first started discussing ARGE’s sustainable road map and route to EPDs but this year plans seem to be firmly in place to turn the theory into practice.

At the 2013 conference the message was ‘take this seriously’ and in 2014 the response seems to be ‘we have.’

It is expected that generic EPDs developed by ARGE may be introduced as early as summer 2015, and these remain crucial for hardware manufacturers who wish to remain competitive in the construction industry.

At the conference this year, members will be given clearer guidelines on timescales and delivery of the EPDs, this will enable them to factor it in to future business plans and keep up to date with ARGE’s key focus for 2014/15.

The response from associations has been extremely positive with a high percentage already signed up to the project. The conference in September will be a great opportunity for associations to understand the journey from now until next summer and grasp the commercial importance of what we plan to deliver for our members.

Of course the conference will feature the usual social programme in the beautiful Venetian region and I know many delegates are keen to participate the factory tour kindly arranged by SILCA S.p.A. in Vittorio Veneto.

You can register to attend the annual ARGE conference or leave a post here if there’s anything you would like to see addressed at this year’s event.

We look forward to seeing you all there!