The Federal Cabinet today approved the draft of a timber construction initiative presented by Federal Minister of Construction Klara Geywitz and Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir. This strategy of the Federal Government is intended to strengthen the use of wood as a sustainable raw material in the construction sector and to ensure more climate protection, resource efficiency and faster construction. With eight fields of action, from the exemplary role of the federal government and the strengthening of research and innovation, to securing skilled labour and knowledge transfer, to securing the supply of raw materials, the use of wood is to be significantly improved and the timber construction quota increased by 2030.
Kategorie für Blog: Procurement
Proven work aid and at the same time standard work for climate protection work in municipalities can be used digitally in future. Difu, ifeu and Climate Alliance developed the guide on behalf of the BMWK.
The cities propose to strengthen and accelerate local climate protection through a new financial support system. The German Association of Cities today published a concept and a publication on its website.
at the Sustainable Procurement Symposium in Dortmund on 26 August 2021 The Sustainable Procurement Day is a platform for exchange for procurers and decision-makers from municipalities, private and public institutions as well as churches and companies. Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze is the patron. The Agency for Renewable Resources e. V. (FNR), project management agency of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, will be represented with a workshop on the topic of "Public building and renovation with wood - the right way to tender for timber construction projects" in addition to the stand "The renewable office".
"The raw material wood is precious. It is therefore important to use it responsibly and in a way that conserves resources," warns Peter Aicher, Chairman of Holzbau Deutschland. Even if wood is affected by environmental influences or the bark beetle, it does not represent an inferior raw material, but has almost identical properties to conventional construction timber. "If the so-called 'calamity wood' has the same structural quality in terms of load-bearing capacity as conventional sawn timber, it can be used without restrictions," explains Aicher. In addition, the wood retains its important function as a CO2 sink, regardless of external impairments.
A new study from Denmark takes a look at the costs of sustainable building construction and shows that more sustainable does not automatically mean more expensive. On the contrary. The study by Buus Consult on behalf of the DGNB system partner from Denmark, the Green Building Council Denmark, now provides clarity. In the study, it takes a close look at 37 DGNB-certified buildings.
From 1 January 2021, climate-damaging fossil fuels will be subject to a price of 25 euros per tonne of CO2 is proven. This means that oil and diesel will become more expensive by 7.9 cents per litre, petrol by 7 cents per litre and natural gas by 0.6 cents per kilowatt hour. Citizens will be relieved of the additional costs, among other things, by a reduction in the price of electricity. The amendment, which had already been passed by the Bundestag on Thursday, also passed the Bundesrat today. The Fuel Emission Trading Act (BEHG) is designed to reduce CO2-price in the form of national certificate trading for the heating and transport sectors.
30.06.2020 - 16 players in the German financial sector, with assets of more than €5.5 trillion and over 46 million customer connections in Germany, have signed a voluntary commitment to align their loan and investment portfolios in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Through the agreed measurement, publication and target setting to reduce the emissions associated with the loan and investment portfolios, the financial sector intends to make a contribution to climate protection and support the sustainable and future-oriented further development of the economy. This brings the German financial centre one step closer to the goal set by the German government at the beginning of 2019 of making Germany one of the leading locations for sustainable finance.
18 minute radio report from 23.06.2020 by Josephine Schulz in the media library of Deutschlandfunk: www.deutschlandfunk.de/oeffentliche-auftraege-wie-der-staat-fair-einkaufen-will.724.de.html?dram:article_id=479176 The demand for sustainable products can be increased through municipal procurement. Positive examples but also the problems of sustainable procurement are discussed in the article. Buildings and larger properties are not explicitly mentioned, but the principles basically apply there as well.
More new registrations, growth rate weakened / German manufacturers in 5th and 6th place
In 2019, the number of electric cars worldwide rose to around 7.9 million - an increase of 2.3 million compared to the previous year. The number of new registrations once again reached an all-time high, but grew only slightly compared to 2018. With a total of 3.8 million e-cars, China remains the undisputed global leader. It is followed by the USA with just under 1.5 million. The growth rate of new registrations declined in these two countries in particular. In Germany, on the other hand, the market continued to develop positively, albeit at a lower level: here, just under 231,000 electric vehicles were rolling along the roads at the end of 2019. The new figures come from a recent survey by the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW). According to the researchers, Tesla recorded the most new registrations worldwide in 2019, with 361,000. German manufacturers continued to improve on the previous year: BMW is in fifth place worldwide with 114,500 electric cars. VW reaches sixth place.Funding is available for greening facades and roofs as well as for unsealing on private, public and commercial properties in the Hannover city area.
A further 700,000 euros will be available for #moinzukunft cargo bikes from 1 April. Up to 2,000 euros in subsidies are possible for the purchase of a new e-load bike and 500 euros for normal load bikes.
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.
Recently, the Austrian state of Vorarlberg published the subsidy guidelines for 2020 and 2021 for residential renovation and new construction in the private and public sectors. The climate-friendly procurement of wood and wood products from the region is anchored in these guidelines. The origin of the wood must be proven by means of the "Holz von Hier" label recently introduced in Austria or comparable certificates.
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.
Thuringia is making six million euros available this year for investments in municipal climate protection. The funding comes from the state's "Klima Invest" programme, which has already provided more than 15.5 million euros in investments in municipalities since the beginning of 2018, as the Ministry of the Environment announced in Erfurt on Thursday. 312 applications for funding have been approved.
ROBIN WOOD has scrutinized the green electricity offers of 1,200 providers and publishes the results today in the "ROBIN WOOD Eco-Electricity Report 2020.". The environmental organization rates eight offers as recommendable. The current research report was realized with the support of the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany.
The aim of the EnergiespeicherPLUS programme is to drive forward the expansion of photovoltaics in Berlin and to increase the share of renewable energies in electricity consumption, even in times of low sun and low wind. This benefits climate protection, as CO 2 -emissions can be avoided. The Berlin Energy and Climate Protection Programme provides grants towards the investment costs of electricity storage systems if a photovoltaic system is installed at the same time. The IBB Business Team GmbH is implementing the programme. Since 1 January 2020, an electronic application for funding can now be submitted quickly and easily to the IBB Business Team GmbH under www.energiespeicherplus.de be put.
Since 17 December 2019, the "Competence Centre for Sustainable Procurement and Contracting" (KNBV) has been supporting municipalities and other public administration bodies in Schleswig-Holstein in taking sustainability into account. In this context, the range of tasks extends from paperless procurement processes and PVC-free office supplies to electric service vehicles including a charging station concept or sustainable services such as plastic-free, fair and regional catering. The KNBV provides advice, information and support for all questions relating to these processes, products or committee and public relations work. Interested municipalities and other public administration bodies will find competent answers for concrete projects as well as a wide range of training courses and events.
Senate adopts concrete measures for the next ten years and sets new CO2-targets for 2030 and 2050
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Als "wichtiges Signal für den gesamten Finanzmarkt" begrüßt die Entwicklungs- und Umweltorganisation Germanwatch die Verabschiedung der neuen Energierichtlinie der Europäischen Investitionsbank. Sie legt den Ausstieg aus der Finanzierung fossiler Energieprojekte bis Ende 2021 fest. Der Ausstieg gelang auch dank einer am Ende gemeinsamen Linie der zuvor zerstrittenen Bundesministerien.
and new energy financing policy No new financing for fossil fuel projects after 2021 Financing to drive future clean energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy innovation EIB Group to mobilise €1 trillion of investment in climate action and environmental sustainability by 2030 All EIB Group financing activities will be geared towards the 2020 [...]
The five northern German coastal states have joined forces to build a green hydrogen economy as a pillar of the energy and transport transition: At their autumn meeting in Lübeck, the ministers, senators and senators responsible for economy and transport today (7 November) adopted a joint "North German Hydrogen Strategy". At the same time the heads of department called on the federal government to support their initiative and to include it in the national hydrogen strategy announced by the federal government for the end of the year. "With our strategy we show a way how the hydrogen potentials can be raised especially in the field of industry and mobility.
The call for proposals "City of the Future - Towards Plus-Energy Neighbourhoods" builds on previous experience from the research programme specific focus areas and R&D services. All stakeholders who are involved in research and development issues relating to buildings, neighbourhoods and cities and who want to tackle the new challenges of digitalisation in the construction industry, the realisation of plus-energy neighbourhoods and the development of innovative urban greening technologies can submit proposals. Around €8.3 million is available for the 7th call for proposals as part of the "City of the Future" programme. The call runs until 30 January 2020.
Since January, Berlin has had what it claims to be the toughest administrative regulations for procurement and the environment in the country. Thomas Schwilling from the responsible department has accompanied the development and knows about its effect - and the hurdles. An interview: www.nachhaltigkeitsrat.de/aktuelles/was-berlin-in-sachen-nachhaltiger-beschaffung-unternimmt/
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 making Berlin [...]
Schleiden-Gemünd / Nettersheim, 05.04.2019. Experiencing the starry sky at night with twinkling celestial bodies is a special experience for many people that is now only possible in a few places in Germany - one of these places is the Eifel National Park. Since 2010, a regional initiative has been successfully campaigning for the protection of the night sky and the preservation of the natural night landscape - in 2014, this was followed by the provisional designation as the first "International Dark Sky Park" in Germany. Now this initiative can look forward to the final recognition as International Star Park Eifel National Park. The designation as a protected area of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) is a predicate with which few regions worldwide can advertise themselves, in Germany there are only four. For the Eifel National Park, which turned 15 this year, this recognition is a nice "birthday present".
2:33 min 12/17/2018 |
Building products play an important role in the sustainability certification of buildings. After all, a large number of the criteria to be considered relate to their quality characteristics. To reduce the complexity of the necessary information, product labels can be helpful as independent proof of quality. With the new 2018 version of its certification system, the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) is introducing a procedure for the recognition of such product labels for the first time. For this, label providers must meet a number of requirements. Recognition can be based on three criteria within the DGNB system: responsible resource extraction, the avoidance of harmful and risky substances, and deconstruction and recycling friendliness. The first standards recognised by the DGNB are CSC, FSC, WOOD FROM HERE, Indoor Air Comfort Gold, PEFC and WiN=WiN Fair Stone.
Since 1 May 2018, the amendments to the Hamburg Building Code (HBauO) have come into force. The resolution on this was passed in June 2017. In the future, wood can be used for construction projects with a height of up to 22 metres - i.e. approximately 6 to 7 storeys. Also in the area of [...]
17:14 min, Published 12 Sep 2016 The film shows how the pioneering municipalities of Bremen, Aidlingen and Dortmund take fair trade into account in municipal procurement.
The Federal City of Bonn has successfully applied to participate in the model project "Globally Sustainable Municipality in NRW". The project is carried out by the state working group AGENDA 21 NRW e.V. in cooperation with the Service Agency Communities in One World / Engagement Global. Bonn is one of 16 municipalities in NRW that [...]
The Federal Environment Ministry's funding programme now offers more opportunities for your climate protection projects. With new funding priorities and improved funding for financially weak municipalities, the offer has been significantly expanded. A separate funding priority has been introduced for the renovation of day-care centres, schools, youth leisure facilities, sports facilities and swimming pools. The chances of receiving funding are good, because so far [...]
In addition to the well-known ecological footprint, which describes the use of biocapacity by the population (in Germany about 2.5 times the available area), an attempt is currently being made with funds from the Ministry of Education and Research to develop an ecological handprint for positive sustainability effects. This is intended to orient consumers in the direction of a [...]