For climate protection: Berlin builds with wood

From the meeting of the Berlin Senate on 24 September 2019:

At its meeting today, the Senate adopted the report to the House of Representatives on "Sustainability in Construction: Berlin Builds with Wood", following a presentation by the Senator for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection, Regine Günther.

The Senate is consistently pursuing the goal of developing Berlin into a climate-neutral city by 2050. To achieve this ambitious goal, the Berlin Energy and Climate Protection Programme (BEK) in the building sector also includes resource conservation and, in particular, the sustainable construction and refurbishment of buildings.

Through the use of wood as a renewable building material, relevant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved for the state of Berlin. For example, the use of one cubic metre of wood in a construction project binds around one tonne of CO2 over the entire useful life of the wood product. If a school for 1,000 pupils is built in timber construction, up to 750 cubic metres of wood are used. This corresponds to a saving of 750 tonnes of CO2.

Senator Günther: "The state of Berlin wants to build even more with wood in its own construction projects. In doing so, Berlin wants to live up to its role model function and motivate as many companies as possible to follow suit. More timber construction is an important element for climate protection."

The state of Berlin has already initiated extensive measures to promote timber construction. It is thanks to these measures, as well as the efforts of the timber trade, the crafts and the timber industry, that urban timber construction is now accepted in Berlin and is developing a high level of dynamism throughout the state.

Due to the importance of timber construction for climate and environmental policy and its great advantages, the Senate is placing even greater emphasis on timber construction, particularly in state-owned, but also in private construction projects. In this context, care must be taken to ensure that the wood used comes exclusively from sustainable forestry and that this is always verified by the submission of a FSC- or an equivalent certificate is documented.

The final report presents the measures already initiated by the Land of Berlin as well as the additional measures planned:

• With the resolution of the House of Representatives on "Sustainability in construction: Berlin builds with wood", the political expression of will and the creation of political framework conditions took place.
• The legal framework was created with the Senate resolution on sustainable building and on the preferred installation of wood as a building material within the framework of the update of the Administrative Regulation on Procurement and the Environment (VwVBU). In addition, Berlin's building regulations were amended accordingly.
• For the implementation of the strategies and measures of the Berlin Energy and Climate Protection Programme (BEK 2030), the state of Berlin has launched an extensive funding programme. In this context, pilot and innovation projects on timber construction can also be funded by means of a case-by-case assessment.
• The aim is also to reduce or eliminate existing obstacles to timber construction and to improve the structures for timber construction. Recommendations for action have already been developed for this purpose. Now, in an in-depth dialogue with the relevant stakeholders, it is to be determined how these recommendations can be implemented in a timely manner and how a timber network can be established in the long term.
• Furthermore, measures for further education and training were implemented: This year, the Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection, together with the German Timber Trade Association, held the 5th specialist dialogue on sustainable timber construction for planners, architects, builders, timber construction companies and the administrative authorities responsible for construction. This tried and tested specialist event is to be continued in the coming years.
• In this context, the Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection is also planning to specify corresponding binding quality requirements for the commissioning of planning services for public facilities with the next update of the Administrative Regulation on Procurement and the Environment (VwVBU).
• The Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection is currently conducting research and development within the framework of a large timber school construction project with an investment volume of €25 million in Berlin-Marzahn. This building project is being used to investigate both the ecological and economic advantages of timber construction versus reinforced concrete construction, as well as any obstacles that may arise with timber construction. As part of this investigation, the grey energy, i.e. the amount of energy required for the production, transport, storage, sale and disposal of a product, will also be determined and evaluated for the building materials used.
  On the one hand, the results of this study will be taken into account in the updating of the Administrative Regulation on Procurement and the Environment. On the other hand, it will also be examined whether and which additional incentives for timber construction should be applied in Berlin. This study is expected to provide further important insights into the use of wood as a building material.

Source: Press release from 24.09.2019