Explained in just under 10 min. The video is from April 2019 and shows two larger aquaponics facilities in Berlin.
While the emergency aid for companies is getting underway, the debate about possible post-crisis economic stimulus packages is also gaining momentum. The German Green Business Association is proposing a transformation fund to combine a new start for the economy with social aspects and environmental and climate protection.
"We must also place the new start of the economy under the sign of a solidary and ecological transformation" demands UnternehmensGrün managing director Dr. Katharina Reuter. Of course, hedging risks in the economy is the order of the day, so that Germany does not see an all too violent wave of bankruptcies. "Just because some companies are not yet green enough, we cannot put hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk here," Reuter said. And further: "However, a holistic response to the Corona crisis also includes thinking further about economic policy - and here we are clearly calling for a transformation fund, an innovation and investment initiative for the social and ecological restructuring of the economy."
For the Corona crisis also shows the imbalances that have resulted from today's economic system: Austerity measures and privatisation in the health system, too few and too poorly paid skilled workers there, dependence on global supply relationships even for system-relevant products (e.g. protective clothing), environmental pollution and climate crisis with the associated risks for people, transfer of jobs to low-wage countries or the death of local traders. This is where the failures of government policy in recent years come to the fore in the most blatant form. "It annoys us to no end when Federal Minister of Economics Altmaier now suddenly pushes for local production - why didn't he use his time in office for appropriate policy instruments?", said Reuter.
"We need a rethink," Mathias Kollmann, UnternehmensGrün board member and managing director of Bohlsener Mühle, is also convinced. "We as Bohlsener Mühle will get more involved in the regional development of agriculture and supply chains after the Corona crisis. Humanity must emerge stronger from such crises and that also means learning lessons - also for our economic system!"
Carola von Peinen, UnternehmensGrün board member and founder of Talents4Good: "We need to use the shutdown to redefine our guiding principles and values as a society and challenge the maxim of economic growth at all costs."
The central question for post-crisis stimulus packages must be: How do we channel money into sustainable investment? To this end, UnternehmensGrün demands:
In order for investments in climate protection to pay off in post-Corona times, CO2 pricing must not be called into question. To improve the revenue situation, UnternehmensGrün proposes:
"Climate protection and Corona cannot be set off against each other - climate protection also makes economic sense," clarifies UnternehmensGrün board member Jan-Karsten Meier. If, for example, the fossil automotive industry now smells morning air and wants to play off Corona against climate protection (demand for relaxation of CO2 targets for cars), it not only devalues its own investments in fuel-saving drives, electric mobility and fuel cells, but also reveals an incredible degree of anti-solidarity with the younger generation, which is dependent on climate protection measures.
Source: PM of UnternehmensGrün from 1.4.2020
Keywords:
DE-News, Sustainable management, Resource efficiency, Environmental policy
1:32 min., video from 15.01.2021
Keywords:
DE-News, Movies, Movies < 4 Min, Wood construction, Environmental policy, Certification & Labels
Osnabrück/Bonn, 30.03.2017: Deutsche Post today put the 1,000th e-bike of its StreetScooter subsidiary into operation in Osnabrück. The delivery bikes, which are electrically assisted up to 25 km/h, have a payload of up to 50 kg and make the work of letter carriers in urban areas much easier. As with the e-cars ("StreetScooter Work"), Deutsche Post delivery staff were involved in the development. The result is an e-bike that has considerable advantages over conventional electric bicycles in terms of ergonomics, efficiency, load distribution and safety standards. For example, instead of three letter containers, four now fit on the bike. The number of e-bikes is to be further increased in the coming years. In addition, Deutsche Post is testing the "E-Trike" from the StreetScooter company with a payload of up to 90 kg in some delivery districts, also for use in letter delivery.
"We are very serious about our climate protection offensive and are very passionate about it," says Jürgen Gerdes, Member of the Board of Management responsible for Deutsche Post DHL Group. "And in addition to the benefits for the environment, there are additional benefits for our employees, whom we equip with the most modern work tools."
Deutsche Post already operates the largest electric fleet in Germany with around 2,500 StreetScooter Work electric vehicles and a total of around 10,500 pedelecs (e-bikes and e-trikes). In the medium term, the Group intends to replace its entire delivery fleet with electric vehicles.
The e-mobility offensive is part of the ambitious environmental programme GoGreenThe Deutsche Post DHL Group aims to reduce all logistics-related emissions to net zero by 2050. One of the four sub-goals on the way to achieving this is to improve people's quality of life at the local level by 2025 through clean transport solutions.
To this end, the Group wants to switch 70 per cent of its own collection and delivery to clean solutions, for example by bicycle or electric vehicles.
Source: PM Deutsche Post DHL Group
Keywords:
DE-News, Climate protection, eMobility
On the insulation market, so-called "natural" insulation materials such as wood wool, hemp, cork, granulates and co. are still niche products. However, they are on the rise throughout Europe, at least from the architects' point of view: According to a survey of 1,600 European planners, the use of natural insulation materials is likely to increase in seven out of eight countries. The future prospects for mineral wool, the market leader, are also favourable in this country. According to the architects' forecast, other insulation materials will have a much harder time.
Natural insulation materials are expected to grow strongly in Germany and most countries - which is certainly related to the trend towards sustainable building, which was also highlighted as a strong development by architects in the same study. Mineral wool is also seen as an insulating material with a future in Germany and most countries - this is certainly also related to the market position of the large mineral wool manufacturers in Europe. PUR/PIR systems, on the other hand, are somewhat weaker - in Germany, planners even expect a slight decline in demand.
In most countries, the architects surveyed do not believe that insulation with EPS/XPs currently has strong growth potential - despite the relatively long service life of polystyrene-based core insulation, which has made these insulating materials so economical and popular. The image problems of the materials, which have come under fire because of fire hazards and also do not seem to fit in well with the current trend towards sustainable building with their somewhat anachronistic "Styrofoam" image, are too high.
Exceptions here, however, are Poland and the Netherlands, where plastic-based insulation is still popular. The EPS industry has also managed to gain ground there in terms of sustainability: It is certainly no coincidence that the first large European recycling plants for EPS insulation materials were launched in the Netherlands.
Keywords:
Building materials / Construction, Climate protection, NaWaRohs, News Blog Europe (without DE), Resource efficiency, SDG 2030, Environmental policy, Thermal insulation
