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Trotz gestiegenem Ökostromanteil: Regierung bremst Energiewende weiter aus
Published

Despite increased share of green electricity: government continues to put the brakes on energy transition

The current share of green electricity should not hide the fact that this federal government is blocking the energy transition at every turn. Take wind energy, for example: the government keeps delaying the additional tenders. Therefore, a massive slump is imminent in the next two years. This means job losses in a key industry of the future and a stagnating development in the share of wind power.
Take solar power, for example: no sooner has the solar power market picked up again after years of lull than the German government wants to massively cut the market premium for many installations. This emerges from the current draft bill for the Energy Collection Act. In doing so, the government would stall the positive development again. The cap of 52 gigawatts for solar power is also to remain in place.

Even if the government only wants to achieve its own targets, which are far too low, it must double the current production of green electricity by 2030. The course must be set for this now. But instead of finally accelerating the expansion of green electricity, the black-red coalition wants to continue to slow down, cap and delay. Not to mention transport and buildings, where the energy transition is not making any progress at all. In this way, the government continues to torpedo the urgently needed climate protection.

PM BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN in the German Bundestag of 2.11.2018



Keywords:
100% EEs, Stakeholders, DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, Environmental policy, Ecology

BIG setzt neuen Standard bei nachhaltiger Immobilienentwicklung
Published

BIG sets new standard for sustainable real estate development

Since 1 January 2020, all new buildings and general renovations of the BIG Group have been subject to the Group-wide mandatory minimum sustainable standard.

Vienna (OTS) – The BIG minimum standard goes beyond the legal requirements and ensures that all projects of BIG and its subsidiary ARE achieve the klimaaktiv SILVER standard in any case.
The sustainable minimum standard of the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG) is a catalogue of criteria that must already be taken into account in the planning process of buildings. This makes the implementation of 43 measures of the BIG Holistic Building Program (HBP)* and the achievement of at least 750 klimaaktiv points mandatory for all new construction and general refurbishment projects for which a plan invention procedure will be carried out from 2020.
By implementing the minimum standard, CO2 emission levels will be significantly reduced, climate-damaging building materials will be avoided and the phase-out of fossil fuels will be accelerated.

„The sustainable development of real estate is rapidly gaining in importance both nationally and internationally. As a federal real estate company, we see it as our responsibility to set special standards in this area. The implementation of the sustainable minimum standard is a significant milestone on the way to improved resource and energy efficiency", says BIG Managing Director Hans-Peter Weiss.

Other points covered by the minimum sustainable standard are an overall ecological assessment of the buildings (according to OI3) and a mandatory life cycle cost analysis. The inclusion of future follow-up costs allows a long-term economic consideration of the sustainability measures.

Austria-wide photovoltaics initiative

In order to achieve the phase-out of fossil fuels and to be almost emission-free by 2025, BIG is also launching the Austria-wide photovoltaic initiative this year. PV systems will be installed on around 20 hectares of BIG and ARE rooftops by 2023. In this way, the efficient use of solar power will significantly increase the share of renewable energy.

For more information on the sustainable minimum standard and the HBP, please visit our website: https://nachhaltigkeit.big.at/node/16

*Holistic Building Program (HBP)

With the Holistic Building Program (HBP), BIG, together with e7 and Pulswerk GmbH, has developed the most comprehensive digital building configurator in Austria. It accompanies users through all phases of sustainable building projects - from planning to construction to operation - and thus becomes an individual online checklist for all relevant topics. In total, the HBP guides users through 7 thematic areas with a total of 73 criteria that cover essential aspects of holistic construction and thus serve as a clear project guide. The focus is on economic and resource-saving factors as well as ecological and socio-cultural factors. The real-time display of the project data entered in the online catalogue also contributes to the high user-friendliness of the HBP. Each entry of individual measures is immediately converted into points. The maximum total number of points that can be achieved per project is 1,000.

About the BIG

With 2,060 properties, the BIG Group is one of the largest real estate owners in Austria. The portfolio consists of around 7.1 million square metres of lettable space with an enterprise value (fair value) of around EUR 12.0 billion. It is divided into the corporate divisions of schools, universities and special real estate. Office and residential properties are bundled in the subsidiary ARE Austrian Real Estate GmbH. The ARE portfolio comprises 558 properties with around 1.7 million square metres of lettable space. While BIG focuses primarily on public institutions, ARE's offering is also intended to increasingly address non-public tenants. As a developer, the BIG Group represents an important economic factor in Austria. Economic efficiency and architectural quality go hand in hand, as is constantly demonstrated. Every project aims to meet the needs of its future users in terms of ecological, economic and socio-cultural sustainability. The BIG Group has won several awards for its architectural commitment and has received eleven building owner awards to date.

BIG in figures

(Group Report 2018/BIG Group in accordance with IFRS)

  • Real estate 2,060
  • Lettable area 7.1 million m²
  • Employees Ø 923
  • Balance sheet total EUR 12.95 billion
  • Turnover EUR 1,074.6 million.
  • Project investments*) EUR 515.8m.

*) New construction/general renovations; incl. Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, without project companies + maintenance
Link
www.big.at

Source: PM from 10.2.2020



Keywords:
Stock, Climate protection, Sustainable management, News Blog Europe (without DE), News Blog Austria, Resource efficiency, Tools, Housing

Published

"International Day of Forests" on 21 March

The forest - what an achievement!

© Fig.: FNR

Storms, drought and insect infestations have caused a great deal of damage to Germany's forests over the past three years. The "International Day of Forests" on 21 March is a good time to become aware of the many services provided by the forest.

"Rebuilding Forests - A Pathway to Recreation and Well-Being".is the motto of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for this year's "International Day of Forests". The Food and Agriculture Organization is thus drawing attention to two things:

  1. There is a need for action in reforestation. It is not for nothing that this day was also chosen as the starting point of the UN Decade for the Restoration of Ecosystems (2021-2030). The necessary measures vary from region to region. In Germany, storm damage, drought and beetle infestations have recently led to record tree deaths. In some areas, entire forests are drought-stricken. According to the latest forest condition report, only 20 percent of forest trees still have a healthy crown. But reconstruction is in full swing. The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), is supporting reforestation and sustainable forest management with comprehensive financial aid. 277,000 hectares will be reforested over the next few years. Important projects on the broad range of forest issues are supported by the Support programme for renewable raw materials of the BMEL and with the Forest Climate Fund which the BMEL is supporting together with the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).
  2. With eight key messages the FAO shows how human well-being is closely linked to the condition of forests - and not just through climate change.
    For the forest provides us with a cornucopia of Ecosystem services:
  • Living and working space forest: This does not only concern indigenous peoples who live in or with the forest and who are directly affected by the destruction of the forests. Even in an industrialised country like Germany, people live from the forest and its products: More than one million people are employed in the forest and timber economic cluster in this country.
  • Recreational forest: Germany is a forest country with a forest area share of 32 percent. Germans are traditionally said to have a close relationship with the forest. Statistically, this is expressed in over two billion visits to the forest each year. More than two thirds of Germans regularly visit the forest. On average, each visitor spends at least 20 minutes in the "green lungs". Recreation is the number one reason for visiting the forest.
  • Climate protector forest: With climate change, we are reminded of the importance of the carbon storage capacity in the biomass of forests. Through photosynthesis, trees remove the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. In this way, forests counteract climate change. Over 4.5 billion tons of CO2 are bound in the forest. Per hectare, this adds up to the equivalent of 114 tonnes of carbon in our domestic forests.
  • Biodiversity: More than 10,000 animal and plant species live in Germany's forests, making them a hotspot of biological diversity. In our forests there are almost 200 species of trees and shrubs, more than 1,000 herbaceous plant species, almost 700 different mosses and more than 1,000 different species of lichens as well as uncounted species of fungi. And from red deer to the dwarf shrew, 140 different vertebrate species live in Germany's forests.
  • Many other ecosystem services of the forest, such as oxygen production, air cooling and air filtration, usually receive too little attention. Yet forests, water, soil and atmosphere are inextricably linked. The forest body forms the link between the elements: For example, forests have a considerable influence on the atmospheric as well as the soil water cycle with their evaporation rate. They retain surface water with their rough structure and, together with their gigantic root system, provide formidable protection against erosion. In mountain forests, this network even forms the most important avalanche protection. And on top of that, forests are soil builders - at one centimetre in 100 years, it may seem slow to us. On a geological scale, however, it is rapid.

An overview of the Ecosystem services offered by the infographic.

 



Keywords:
DE-News, Wood construction, Climate protection, Environmental policy, Life cycle assessment

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