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

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 19 July 2021

Book review "Commercial buildings in clay and wood - added value through material" DBU BauBand 3

Publisher: German Federal Foundation for the Environment / Sabine Djahanschah

Author of the book review: Roman Schaurhofer, Vienna

The construction volume "Commercial Buildings in Clay and Wood - Added Value through Material" was published in 2020 by Sabine Djahanschah of the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (German Federal Foundation for the Environment) at Verlag Detail. The publication, which appeared in book form, deals with the use of the building materials wood and clay in the construction of commercially used buildings. To this end, six buildings with commercial use were analysed in terms of their architectural construction and technical quality features and evaluated with the help of measurements, surveys and life cycle assessments.

By way of introduction, the different techniques, construction and production methods as well as the advantages of wood and clay are discussed. After this presentation of the understanding of the different building materials as well as fossil and renewable raw materials, the authors go into more detail on the life cycle assessment or life cycle analysis. They explain the components of a life cycle assessment for buildings. Furthermore, the calculation steps and methods for the life cycle phases, the period under consideration and the final energy demand are defined. This is followed by a naming of the balances created and evaluations.

The concept, the design and the constructive aspects are examined in more detail for each of the objects examined (two office buildings, two warehouses and two workshops). In addition, the acoustics, the energy concept, the fire protection and the added value of the building are evaluated. Monitoring values for temperature, CO₂-concentration or air humidity underpin the results. Finally, the life cycle assessment, the material balance, the life cycle phase comparison and the DGNB rating are explained.

Ultimately, the researchers make a case for the use of wood and clay in commercial buildings with their results and conclusions from their detailed investigations, as well as their presentation of the effects on quality of stay, indoor climate, changeability and expression.

The building examples studied also convince with impressive results when the materials are applied well. Due to the interdisciplinary approach and the wide-ranging investigations by the researchers, technically sound results and arguments that can be discussed were achieved.

At the same time, however, it must be noted that due to the different building use and material selection, the selected example projects can hardly be compared with each other. In addition, other aspects relevant to construction, such as economic possibilities or monetary aspects, are not taken into account.
They are to be understood as pilot projects, but serve as exemplary examples for increased use in commercial construction.

Nevertheless, the investigations of the buildings show the relevance of sustainable building materials in the construction of buildings.
In any case, the authors provide sound evidence why wood and/or clay should be increasingly used in the construction of buildings for commercial use and make a professionally relevant contribution to the promotion of sustainability.

First edition: 2020
Format: 167 pages, German, 21 x 27 cm, Swiss brochure
Publisher: Detail Business Information GmbH, Munich

Reading sample and ordering option:
https://shop.detail.de/de_de/dbu-bauband-3-gewerbebauten-in-lehm-und-holz

Keywords:
Building Biology, Building materials / Construction, DE-News, Business, Wood construction, Earth Building, NaWaRohs, Sustainable management, New books and studies, Resource efficiency, Urban production, Life cycle assessment