The housing shortage is an immense social problem in many large cities and conurbations. At the same time, the building sector has been failing to meet its environmental and climate targets for years. In a recent position paper, the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and the Commission for Sustainable Building at the UBA (KNBau) have examined how more affordable housing can be created without unnecessarily harming the environment and health. According to this paper, the most important factor for more environmental protection in housing construction is that the existing building stock is preserved wherever possible or is sensibly converted and repurposed. This is the easiest way to avoid climate emissions and unnecessarily high consumption of raw materials. Today, UBA President Prof. Dr. Dirk Messner presented KNBau's proposals to Federal Minister of Building Klara Geywitz and Federal Minister of the Environment Steffi Lemke in Berlin.
Kategorie für Blog: Recycling
Around 60 percent of the resources used in Berlin are processed in the construction industry. This contrasts with millions of tonnes of building rubble and construction site waste. Every year, 2.2 million tons of primary raw materials are already saved in civil engineering and building construction in Berlin through the use of quality-assured secondary raw materials. But Berlin does not intend to stop there. By 2030, a further 1.4 million tonnes of primary materials are to be replaced by secondary raw materials each year.
Since April 2020, the Öko-Institut has been conducting research into how urban neighbourhoods can be sustainably transformed, using two neighbourhoods in the swarming city of Darmstadt as examples, in the project Transformative Strategies for Integrated Neighbourhood Development (TRASIQ 2). The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the project, which is led by the Öko-Institut and involves the City of Darmstadt, the Institute for Regional and Urban Development Research (ILS) and the "Team Ewen" agency.
Mobility, heat and living space
The project focuses on the research topics of mobility, heat supply and efficient use of living space. Heat supply is an important key to climate-friendly living. How and where, for example, can district heating be expanded in existing properties? How can we increase the share of renewable energies in the heat supply? The size of the living space also contributes to how environmentally friendly a person lives. What needs to be done to ensure that people have the living space they need in their particular phase of life through intelligent apartment swaps? How can neighbourhoods be redesigned so that residents can organise their mobility ecologically?From 2022, all new public buildings must be made of at least 50 per cent wood or other sustainable building materials. For buildings with more than eight storeys, the supporting structure must even be made entirely of wood. It was also decided that 90 ecological neighbourhoods and 100 urban farms will be built in Paris.
A research project conducted by natureplus in conjunction with IFEU compares insulation materials with regard to their environmental impact throughout their entire life cycle, including recovery and recycling.
Which insulation material is the best? This question is extremely popular in the construction industry and can ultimately only be answered in the context of the respective construction. In particular, there has so far been a lack of a holistic overview that enables builders and planners to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the various insulation material alternatives in terms of their life cycle assessment, without having to disregard subsequent disposal.
The programme series plan b uses the example of Seestadt Aspern in Vienna to explain what a "circular economy" can look like in concrete terms. Seestadt is one of the largest urban development areas in Europe. By 2028, high-quality living space for more than 20,000 people and almost as many jobs will be created in several stages in the north-east of Vienna's 22nd district. The aim is to create a sustainable neighbourhood.
(6:25 min.) published on 5.11.2019 The city of Eschweiler (North Rhine-Westphalia) has been awarded the "Climate Active Municipality 2019" climate protection prize by the Federal Ministry for the Environment in Category 1: "Resource and energy efficiency in the municipality". The city of Eschweiler is committed to more resource and climate protection with its Factor X construction areas. The prize is awarded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) as part of the National Climate Initiative (NKI), which is implemented by the German Institute of Urban Affairs gGmbh (Difu).
Photovoltaic modules can generate climate-friendly electricity for decades Old modules must be disposed of properly New BSW information paper provides information on disposal points and gives important safety instructions One advantage of photovoltaics is that it can supply electricity for decades if it is installed and components are chosen properly. If photovoltaic modules are eventually no longer used for solar power generation due to damage or age [...]
| 2:33 min 12/17/2018 |
Recycling companies are not getting rid of their goods because they might be polluted. About conflicts between resource and environmental protection. Source: taz article from 15. 7. 2016
