New in Schleswig-Holstein State establishes "Competence Centre for Sustainable Procurement and Awarding".

Published 21 December 2019

State Secretary of Finance Dr Silke Schneider: "The Competence Centre is an important partner for districts and municipalities in sustainable procurement".
State Secretary for the Environment Dr Dorit Kuhnt: "With this service offer for municipalities, the state is creating the best conditions for a more sustainable administration at all levels."

Since 17 December 2019, the "Competence Centre for Sustainable Procurement and Awarding" (KNBV) has been supporting municipalities and other public administration bodies in Schleswig-Holstein in taking sustainability into account. The tasks range 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 on 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.

State Secretary for Finance Dr. Silke Schneider explained: "Especially in public administration, resource protection and sustainability play a central role. In this respect, the Competence Centre is an important partner for the municipalities. In this centre, we bundle expertise and practical support in the challenge of procuring sustainable products economically as well."

State Secretary for the Environment Dr. Dorit Kuhnt said: "The federal and state governments are committed to the Global Sustainability Goals. In this context, the state is creating the best conditions for a more sustainable administration at all levels with this service offer for municipalities. In doing so, the competence centre is intended to make it easier for those responsible to be transparent and thus make better decisions."

In future, the tasks of the KNBV will include a.o.:

Product-related advice on specific procurement measures as well as on profitability calculations in the context of sustainable procurement and as preparation for committee decisions
News and tips on sustainable procurement
Market survey on sustainable products and services
Operation of a joint website as a "networking platform" for all participating agencies, including contact form, "suggestion box" and calendar of events for sustainable issues and further training opportunities.
Specifications on sustainable products

Also:

Planning and implementation of joint actions and information events
Further development of overarching "sustainability standards" of the Land and municipalities, together with interested departments, especially in districts and cities
Focus topics such as e.g. "e-Mobility in (small) municipalities".
Publications in the media of the municipal state associations
Maintaining contacts with NGOs and business organisations (IHK, HWK, etc.)

The competence centre, based in Kiel, is initially limited until the end of 2021.
Further information
www.knbv.de

Keywords: Stakeholders, Building materials / Construction, Greening / climate adaptation, Procurement, Soil & land consumption, DE-News, Renewable, Fair trade, Climate protection, News Blog Schleswig-Holstein, Resource efficiency, SDG 2030, Environmental policy

Published 8 October 2022

Presentation of the results of the study "Large-volume housing construction in timber construction in Germany and Europe - players, costs, motives

Prinz-Eugen-Park wooden housing estate in Munich. Photo: Johann Hartl

There is a shortage of housing in Europe's conurbations; Germany alone lacks about 1.5 million residential units (WE). For this reason, the federal government has decided to build 400,000 WE annually. At the same time, the federal government's climate protection plan foresees a significant decrease in building emissions from 209 million to 67 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalents by 2030, which would correspond to an emission reduction of 68 % since 1990. Other European countries have also committed to implementing far-reaching climate protection targets. Against this background, many of those involved in construction are increasingly relying on wood as a renewable building material, in addition to energy-efficient construction and the use of renewable energies.

The Construction cost study on large timber housing estates and quarters in Europe (short Wooden housing study), financed from funds of the funding programme FUTURE CONSTRUCTION of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs (BMWSB) and based at the Rottenburg University of Applied Sciences (HFR), systematically researches and records those projects in timber and timber hybrid construction that have already been realised or are currently in planning. In the process, the construction costs of the buildings are analysed as well as the motives of the investors and clients to build with wood. Another goal is to show how timber construction methods can be further established in the segment of housing estates and urban districts in order to expand the range of large-volume housing projects with an environmentally and climate-friendly variant.

The first results of the study will be presented at the 15th Congress Efficient Building with Wood in Urban Areas on 19 October 2022 in Cologne presented. So far, 118 large-scale housing projects with more than 100 units have been identified across Europe by the HFR researchers, 47 of which are located in Germany. Final results will be presented at the beginning of December at the 26th International Timber Construction Forum in Innsbruck presented on 30 November 2022 and also published in a brochure by the Information service wood published.

Link to holzwohnbau.eu

Supported by funds from the "Zukunft Bau" funding programme

Keywords:
Construction and operating costs, Building materials / Construction, DE-News, Research, Wood construction, New books and studies, News Blog Europe (without DE), Quarters, Settlements, Housing, XXL settlements

Published 19 May 2021

Guidelines for the design of our living spaces: Code of Building Culture published

Building culture is becoming a recognised goal in the real estate industry: with support from the real estate and housing industry, the Institute for Corporate Governance in the German Real Estate Industry (ICG) and the Federal Foundation for Building Culture initiated and developed the Code for building culturea voluntary commitment for the responsible performance of tasks by companies in the real estate industry.

In its role as project developer, planner, builder, owner, etc., the real estate industry bears particular responsibility for the design of our living spaces. At the same time, building culture values and social acceptance form the basis for economic success. The Codex for Building Culture now supports companies in the real estate industry in assuming social responsibility for the consequences of real estate business activities and for the built results on their own initiative and within the framework of self-regulation. The fact that building culture offers added value for the real estate industry has now entered people's minds - but is not always put into practice. In the survey of the participation process for the code, for example, 98% of the companies surveyed stated that the appreciation of historic properties is seen as relevant or at least relevant to a certain extent - only half of the respondents, however, stringently implement this in practice.

Building culture is always closely linked to process quality, which is why the initiators of the Code for Building Culture were keen to involve the players in the real estate industry in the drafting process. Since a personal discussion of the contents was not possible due to the Corona pandemic, companies in the real estate and housing industry were asked in the summer of 2020 to provide feedback on the draft of the Code for Building Culture by means of an online survey and were thus involved. Scientific support was provided by IREBS at the University of Regensburg.

Prof. Dr. Sven Bienert, Chairman of the Institute for Corporate Governance in the German Real Estate Industry /IREBS Institute at the University of Regensburg, is in favour of this code because: "In times of rising land prices and ever higher building densities, the issue of a "good building culture" is becoming increasingly important. This form of social responsibility will also increasingly concern the real estate industry in the future in the ever more important after-use and conversion - for example of churches that are increasingly coming onto the market."

"Our goal is to make the real estate industry fit for the future," says Karin Barthelmes-Wehr, Managing Director of the ICG. "This includes encouraging the players in the industry to deal with all the requirements of ESG (Environment Social Governance) and to forge new alliances in this regard. For this, the Code for Building Culture we have presented provides a very good basis in the field of planning, development and construction."

Reiner Nagel, Chairman of the Board of the Federal Foundation for Building Culture, emphasises: "The Code for Building Culture now focuses on the responsibility of real estate business activities for the spatial impact of the built environment on us and the resulting consequences, with which companies grow in their building culture competence. As a result, the quality of the built environment benefits from the Code for Building Culture that is now available."

The complete "Code forBuildingCulture" and documentation of the participation process can be found at on our website. It contains the following demands (abbreviated).

Attitude and Values:
- Holistic building culture
- Prudent action in new construction and portfolio development
- Appreciation of already existing building culture

Visions and goals:
- Use stocks
- go easy on resources
- Promoting diversity and mix

Processes and Means:
- life cycle assessment
- quality assurance
- Cooperative collaboration

Supporters of the Codex for Building Culture already include:
- Art Invest
- reason of value
- Landmarken AG
- COPRO Project Development GmbH
- PRIMUS developments GmbH

Source: PM of the Bundesstiftung Baukultur from 17.5.2021

Keywords:
DE-News, Communities, Housing policy, Aesthetics / Architecture / Building Culture

Published 27 October 2016

Solar houses not affected by EEG amendment

Funding for solar houses with large photovoltaic and solar thermal systems for heat, electricity and mobility remains consistently high

"Solar houses with large photovoltaic and solar thermal systems for the climate-friendly generation of electricity and heat are not affected by the changes in the amended Renewable Energy Sources Act." Rainer Körner, 2nd Chairman of the Sonnenhaus-Institut e.V., points this out. Since the EEG 2017 was passed by the Bundesrat and the Bundestag on 8 July 2016, it has been strongly criticised from various sides. "Even if certain changes will certainly not lead to rapid progress in the energy transition and climate protection, the impression must not be created now that solar systems are generally no longer worthwhile," says Körner. The managing director of the Heilbronn-based construction company KHB-Creativ Wohnbau has been vice-chairman of the Competence Network for Solar Construction since November 2015. "For solar houses, the subsidy remains constantly high." For photovoltaic systems with an output of up to 10 kilowatts, nothing will change in the EEG 2017. In this size range, these plants will still be exempt from participation in the EEG apportionment. Regardless of the EEG, solar thermal systems on solar houses will continue to receive very good support from the federal government's Market Incentive Programme (MAP).

Savings through solar energy for electricity and heat

In solar houses with photovoltaics and solar thermal energy, the residents benefit in several ways. In the area of electricity generation, they can generate solar electricity at a price that is lower than the purchase price from the energy supplier and use it themselves. Depending on the size of the solar power system, energy consumption and other parameters, up to about 30 percent of the solar power can be consumed without energy storage. With battery storage, it can easily be up to 70 or 80 percent of household electricity. The solar electricity can also be used to generate heat with the help of a heating rod or a heat pump. And it can charge an electric vehicle. This means that solar house owners save on energy costs by using their self-generated solar power, and they also receive compensation for the surplus solar power that is fed into the public grid.

In the area of heat supply, the focus is on gaining purchasing power through savings. With large solar systems, more than half of the heating energy demand in solar houses is solar-generated. "With solar coverage rates of 60 or 70 percent, the savings for oil or gas, which you don't have to buy, are considerable," Körner explains.

Solar house as an individual contribution to climate protection

"But the all-embracing bracket is climate protection," he adds. "The large solar plants ensure that energy for heat, electricity and mobility can be produced with extremely low CO2 emissions and without coal, oil and natural gas." And that, after all, is ultimately the goal of the energy transition and also of the EEG, says Körner. Solar houses also contribute to grid stabilisation, since the energy they produce and consume themselves does not use the grid.

However, one legal innovation is also relevant for the builders of solar houses. As a result of the Digitalisation Act, which was also passed at the beginning of July, photovoltaic systems with an output of more than seven kilowatts must be equipped with a smart meter measuring device. "For a single-family house with average electricity consumption, however, a smaller photovoltaic system is completely sufficient to achieve a reasonable self-sufficiency rate," says Körner.

The Sonnenhaus-Institut has prepared sample calculations for the subsidies for large solar heating systems, which are handled by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA). "The subsidy rates for large solar heating systems have never been as high as they are today," Körner emphasises. Building owners can receive up to half of the investment costs for solar collectors as a BAFA grant. "With a solar house, every builder and renovator can make a contribution to climate protection - and thus make themselves a bit independent of energy suppliers and political framework conditions."

Sample calculations for the BAFA solar subsidy:
www.sonnenhaus-institut.de/...solarfoerderung_beispiele.pdf

Further information: Sonnenhaus-Institut e.V.
www.sonnenhaus-institut.de

Source: PM Sonnenhaus-Institut e.V. (July 2016)

Keywords:
Construction and operating costs, DE-News, Renewable, Funding, Climate protection, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Environmental policy