Planners' workshop on the Bonn Viktoriakarree from 31.8. to 2.9.

Published 17 August 2017

The planners' workshop embedded in the participation process for Viktoriakarree will take place between 31 August and 2 September. During these three days, four teams of planners will develop an independent planning concept on site, taking into account the results of the previous participation processes.

The planner workshop will open with the planner workshop kick-off event on Thursday, 31 August 2017, at 6.30 pm in the St. Remigius Chapter House. The evening event offers the opportunity to get to know the four planner teams and to find out about further opportunities for participation during the planner workshop. The evening will also address two of the main topics of the participation process to date, for which opposing views became apparent during the ideas workshop. The topics of "culture/education/history/leisure" and "work/commerce" will be explored in greater depth in two open discussion rounds, which will also involve the audience. The aim is to work out the conflicts of interest and commonalities in order to give all those present and, above all, the planning teams from outside the area an insight into the interests.

You can find more information about the planner workshop at:
www.bonn-macht-mit.de/dialog/b%C3%BCrgerbeteiligung-viktoriakarree

Keywords: Stock, Bonn, News Blog NRW, Participation, Quarters, Housing projects

Published 1 December 2020

Advice on plug-in solar devices from the consumer advice centre and DGS

The German Solar Energy Society e.V. (DGS) and the energy advice service of the consumer advice centre have been cooperating with each other since 1 December 2020. Consumer enquiries from both institutions are answered by the energy advisors of the consumer advice centre. In return, the DGS trains the advisors of the consumer advice centre in the subject area of plug-in solar devices.

The DGS, above all the PVplug working group, regularly receives enquiries from consumers seeking advice on the subject of plug-in solar technology. Questions on this topic are also increasingly being asked in the energy advice centres of the consumer advice centre, so that the idea of a cooperation between the two associations in the field of plug-in solar devices was obvious. Within the framework of this cooperation, the increasing number of enquiries can now be answered and the associated advice provided in a timely manner by the energy advice service of the consumer advice centre. In addition, the DGS is available to the energy consultants of the consumer advice centre as a specialist contact.

"In the cooperation, we complement each other professionally and structurally and can thus offer those seeking advice a high level of advice quality" explains Schekeb Rezazada, consultant for cooperation and networking of the energy advice of the consumer advice centre. Advice seekers can ask their individual questions about plug-in solar devices to an energy advisor at the consumer advice centre. The consultation can take place in person, by telephone or online.

The growing interest of consumers and the media in these electricity-generating household appliances, which also allow tenants and apartment owners to participate in the energy turnaround and inexpensive solar electricity, motivates us to enter into this promising cooperation with the consumer advice centres, which has already been successful in individual federal states", explains Thomas Seltmann, one of the founders of the PVplug working group at the DGS and a photovoltaics consultant at the NRW consumer advice centre.

"Only together will we be able to master the challenges of the energy transition. This cooperation between our associations is an important step on this path," emphasizes Bernhard Weyres-Borchert, President of the DGS.

German Society for Solar Energy (DGS)
The DGS was founded in Munich in 1975 and, as a non-profit association, represents the interests of consumers and users of solar energy throughout Germany. Its trademarks are independence, product neutrality and consumer proximity. It networks scientists, engineers, architects and committed people for the energy transition towards 100 percent renewable energies and publishes the oldest German-language trade journal for renewable energies, energy efficiency and energy transition, "Sonnenenergie".

Internet: www.dgs.de | www.sonnenenergie.de

PVplug
In 2016, dedicated experts founded the PVplug working group in the DGS to make plug-in solar devices simpler and safer for consumers. To this end, the team also developed a special DGS safety standard, according to which suppliers can have their products certified by the DGS. In 2018, the working group received the Georg Salvamoser Award for its voluntary commitment to the reformulation of electrotechnical standards.

Information under www.pvplug.de

Energy advice from the consumer advice centre
The federal support for energy consulting of the consumer advice centre offers the largest interest-neutral consulting service on the topic of energy in Germany. Since 1978, it has accompanied private consumers into an energy-conscious future with currently around 600 energy advisors and at more than 900 locations. Every year, more than 140,000 households receive independent and neutral advice on all energy topics, such as energy saving, thermal insulation, modern heating technology and renewable energies. The energy efficiency measures brought about by the consultations in one year result in energy savings equivalent to a freight train 85 km long full of hard coal. The federal funding for energy advice provided by the consumer advice centre is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

Source: PM of DGS from 1.12.2020

Keywords:
Citizen Energy, DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, PV, Build it yourself

Published 1 October 2020

NRW launches new sustainability strategy

North Rhine-Westphalia is the world's largest public issuer of sustainability bonds / Minister President Laschet: North Rhine-Westphalia is committed to a future in which ecology and economy are responsibly compatible

The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia has adopted an updated sustainability strategy that has been supplemented with important topics for the future. With a wide range of goals and measures, the strategy shows the way to sustainable living and economic activity in the most populous federal state. The strategy was developed in cooperation with all ministries of the state government under the leadership of the Ministry of the Environment. The state government will appoint a sustainability advisory board to accompany the implementation, evaluation and further development of the sustainability strategy.

Minister President Armin Laschet: "With the newly presented sustainability strategy based on the 17 UN goals, North Rhine-Westphalia is making concrete contributions to the integrity of creation and to sustainable economic activity. North Rhine-Westphalia is a pioneering state: we show how sustainability can succeed here in a highly developed and densely populated industrial state in the heart of Europe. In this way, we can set an example worldwide. North Rhine-Westphalia is committed to a future in which ecology and economy are responsibly compatible."

"By positioning ourselves sustainably as a society and economy, we are shaping the future and future markets. Each and every individual can make a contribution to this in this decade of sustainability," says Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser: "At the same time, the new strategy is also a central guard rail for the way out of the corona pandemic. This must be linked to tangible steps towards sustainability so that the economy can not only recover, but North Rhine-Westphalia can emerge from the crisis more climate-friendly, resource-efficient and sustainable."

The core of the new sustainability strategy is a set of 67 concrete goals and indicators. These are closely interlinked with the goals at federal level and are based on the global sustainability goals adopted by the United Nations on 25 September 2015 with the worldwide Agenda 2030. Ecology, economy and social coexistence are given equal consideration.

World's largest public issuer of sustainability bonds

Among other things, North Rhine-Westphalia plays a pioneering role in the issuance of sustainability bonds. In recent years, North Rhine-Westphalia has placed six sustainability bonds with a total volume of almost eleven billion euros on the financial markets. This makes North Rhine-Westphalia the largest public issuer of sustainability bonds worldwide and the first and so far only German state to issue bonds in this area. The multiple awards with industry prizes confirm the success of the state's sustainability bonds.

"The sustainability principle is particularly important to us - economically and politically," affirms Lutz Lienenkämper, Minister of Finance. "We achieve high demand on the market and at the same time enable important investments for the future of our country."

Wide range of targets and indicators

The spectrum of goals and indicators ranges from an increase in organic farming to 20 percent of agricultural land, to strengthening the environmental economy as an important future segment, to a minimum investment of 3.5 percent of GDP in innovations and solutions for the future. Other indicators describe the expansion of all-day care at primary school age and the increase in raw material productivity by 2030. In addition, the strategy includes important future topics such as digitalisation, the circular economy and electromobility.

Further information on the sustainability bonds

With the sustainability bond, the country is addressing investors who value a financial investment that supports social and ecological concepts. The investors' money flows into sustainable projects of the state from a total of seven project categories. These include, for example, exemption from contributions for the last year of kindergarten and the expansion of cycle paths and broadband infrastructure. The pension fund of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is also managed 100 percent sustainably. The state pursues the goals of security, profitability and sustainability in its investment decisions.

The requirements for sustainable capital investments include both general ESG criteria (Environment, Social, Governance - ESG) and targeted criteria for the exclusion of ethically or ecologically particularly problematic business practices. This is how sustainable management with improved environmental standards succeeds in the industrial and energy state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The state invests exclusively in companies that are among the best rated in the areas of ecology, social affairs and corporate governance on the basis of numerous key figures. In particular, international norms and standards for the protection of the environment as well as ethical and social criteria formulated by the UN apply.

Further information

Keywords:
News Blog NRW, SDG 2030, Environmental policy