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In 2015, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy approved 939 new projects totalling 548 million euros. In the previous year, the figure was 695 projects with 373 million euros in funding. The majority of the funds were channelled into wind energy, photovoltaics, energy efficiency in buildings and cities, energy storage and grid infrastructure. The EnArgus information system and the BMWi's research portals (see column on the right) provide a detailed insight into the projects and the funds utilised. For energy efficiency in buildings and cities, the volume of funding for newly approved projects in 2015 totalled 73.48 million euros (13% ).
Source: www.bmwi.de/...publikationen,did=763804.html
Keywords:
Renewable, Funding, Building, Climate protection, City
The vital, functionally mixed city is the guiding principle of sustainable urban development. Urban production can make an important contribution to the mix of functions. After years of functional segregation, it shows ways in which new city-affine production typologies, manufactories, small businesses and crafts can achieve more functional mixing in the various city quarters and secure or restore supply qualities. Functional mix aims not only at the mixture of living and working, but also at the coexistence of different types of businesses, production sectors and services. Urban production promises smaller series through, among other things, digital control, decentralised production, a more economical use of space, minimised transport routes and fewer emissions. Technical innovations such as 3D printing and the emergence of FabLabs or open workshops also support city-based production and repair, which can promote the circular economy and bring sustainable products into focus.
In the research report "Produktion zurück ins Quartier? New Places of Work in the Mixed City", which was prepared by the Institute for Work and Technology and StadtRaumKonzept on behalf of the Ministry for Home Affairs, Municipal Affairs, Building and Equality of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, discusses possibilities for stabilising and revitalising mixed structures through Urban Production. In particular, the question is also posed as to whether current planning instruments are suitable for enabling mixing and counteracting the further displacement of commercial uses in the production sector.
The following questions were at the heart of the report:
- Is urban production a step towards a "city of short distances"?
- What are the chances for a significant amount of new production in the cities of North Rhine-Westphalia and what are the possibilities for establishing new functional mixes in urban quarters?
- What are the planning law challenges and conflicts of use?
- What influence do planning and property policy, real estate and subsidy mechanisms have on the location decisions of manufacturing companies?
- What instruments must be given to cities to enable the preservation of production and its return to the neighbourhoods?
On the one hand, a telephone survey of all 29 major cities in North Rhine-Westphalia was conducted in order to identify trends and challenges on the part of urban planning and economic development with regard to the topic of urban production. On the other hand, case studies in three categories were examined: urban producing companies, neighbourhoods and a city-wide strategy. In addition, strategic recommendations for the promotion of Urban Production are explained as well as concrete municipal implementation possibilities and development paths are presented.
Inst. Arbeit und Technik / StadtRaumKonzept Brandt, Martina et al. (2017): Production back to the neighbourhood? New places of work in a mixed city. Final report commissioned by the Ministry for Home Affairs, Municipal Affairs, Building and Equality of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Gelsenkirchen / Dortmund
PDF download
Keywords:
Stakeholders, New books and studies, News Blog NRW, Quarters, Resource efficiency, SDG 2030, Environmental policy
Housing industry, architects and municipalities called upon to participate
Berlin - Affordable and high-quality housing construction is currently more important than ever. For more than three decades, outstanding housing projects have been awarded the German Building Award every two years. This year's edition of the competition has now been announced.
The aim of the award, which is sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction, is to recognise the responsible efforts of developers to create affordable housing and neighbourhoods in "High Quality at Affordable Cost".
The German Building Award is known in the professional world and beyond as the most important prize in the field of housing construction in Germany. It is awarded by the German Association of Cities, the Association of German Architects (BDA) and the German Housing Association (GdW) within the framework of the joint KOOPERATION working group (AG KOOP).
The jury will use eight criteria to select 30 projects that will be nominated for the German Building Owner Award. All nominees will receive recognition for the projects they have submitted. A total of five German Building Owner Awards and up to three additional special awards will be presented.
"In order to continuously improve good and quality housing in Germany, innovative and at the same time affordable solutions are indispensable. Especially now, social responsibility and awareness of the quality of living spaces play a decisive role in this. The compatibility of these two criteria has been honoured with the German Building Award for more than 30 years and has only gained in importance," says GdW President Axel Gedaschko.
"How liveable cities are is determined in particular by the qualities of their public spaces and their built environment. The good examples from the German Building Award set standards for this. They offer high quality at affordable costs. It is good if, in the sense of sustainable and future-oriented urban development, such positive examples inspire other builders in as many places as possible," affirms the President of the German Association of Cities, Lord Mayor Markus Lewe from Münster.
"We need good and affordable housing that makes a qualitative contribution to urban and inner development and in which people want to live. Innovative existing developments and the further building of existing neighbourhoods are most likely to achieve high qualities at affordable costs while minimising the consumption of resources," explains Susanne Wartzeck, President of the BDA.
Housing companies and cooperatives, private and public developers, investors, developer groups, municipalities and property developers, freelance architects, urban planners and landscape architects as well as consortiums of planners in coordination with their developers can submit projects.
The submission of the competition documents is exclusively online via the portal www.einreichung-deutscherbauherrenpreis.de possible. The deadline for applications is 14 March 2022 at 2 pm.
Further information on the competition and the award winners is also available at www.deutscherbauherrenpreis.de
Keywords:
DE-News, Affordable housing, Contests & Prizes, Housing, Aesthetics / Architecture / Building Culture
Scientific scenarios for climate neutrality support the strategy and planning of companies on the path to decarbonisation - Using the example of buildings and heating, climate economists at DIW Berlin analyse existing scenarios for climate neutrality - Net Zero scenarios show a clear path for the transformation of companies and the financial sector - With standardised scenarios and transition plans for climate neutrality, banks, funds and insurance companies can make their portfolios fit for the future
Scenario analyses on the climate-neutral transformation of the economy strengthen the strategic entrepreneurial orientation on the path to climate neutrality. In this context, scientific scenarios and standardised reports in particular support companies in bringing their own business model in line with the path to climate neutrality and reporting on it transparently. This forward-looking information also helps the financial sector. Banks, funds and other financial institutions can use standardised scenario analyses and reports on climate neutrality to identify transformation risks in good time. Therefore, they can make their own portfolios resilient and climate neutral and invest in companies on the path to climate neutrality at an early stage, shows a study by climate economists at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin). "Scenarios are a scientific starting point for companies to identify transformation levers and thus reduce their emissions as quickly as possible," says Fernanda Ballesteros, researcher in the Climate Policy Department at DIW Berlin.
© DIW Berlin
Ballesteros, together with Karsten Neuhoff, Head of DIW Climate Policy, and other researchers, analysed eight studies on possible climate neutrality by institutions as diverse as the Federal Environment Agency, the Federation of German Industries and Agora Energiewende. Using the example of companies with building portfolios, they worked out what the scenarios mean for corporate strategy on the path to climate neutrality.
"If the climate neutrality target is brought forward to 2035, the reporting on a resulting stress test scenario must be comparable to the core scenario." Karsten Neuhoff
"In the scenarios, the annual renovation rate increases from the current level of around one percent to at least 1.5 to two percent or well over two percent by 2045," write the authors of the DIW study. "The share of technologies based on renewable energies already reaches 46 to 55 per cent in 2030 and rises to 94 to 100 per cent by 2045, with heat pumps being the dominant technology with around 50 per cent," results the analysis of the scientific studies. After heat pumps, district heating follows as the central technology in the scenarios with a share of about 20 to 30 per cent. "The Net Zero scenarios show a clear path," says Ballesteros. "A company with a building portfolio can use the scenarios to see what it needs to implement in the building sector to reduce emissions and become climate neutral."
It is crucial for the climate-neutral transformation of the economy that companies document the transformation with comparable transition indicators. "With standardised scenarios and uniform reporting, companies can also show and explain deviations from net zero scenarios," says Karsten Neuhoff, Head of the Climate Policy Department at DIW Berlin. "This also supports new techniques and innovative strategies, which is why the German government should also advocate internationally for the standardisation of forward-looking reporting standards and scenario frameworks." In order for the financial sector to also use this information for analyses, comparable reporting on a company's core scenario in the current political environment is required, for example climate neutrality in 2045. However, a company's transition plan should also be resilient to changes in climate policy. Neuhoff: "If the goal of climate neutrality is brought forward to 2035, the reporting on a resulting stress test scenario must be comparable to the core scenario."
In the Climate Protection Act, Germany has committed itself to gradually achieving climate neutrality by 2045. Companies from industry and the service sector must therefore change their production and business practices, and financial institutions must adjust their assessment criteria. In many cases, this requires a new strategic orientation and investments in climate-neutral products, business models and production technologies. For this, companies need capital and support from the financial sector, which plays a central role in achieving climate goals.
In order for investors, civil society organisations and public authorities to understand the investment needs, progress and potential risks of companies on the path to carbon neutrality, companies are expected to provide forward-looking reporting based on scientific evidence and standardised procedures. The science works with scenarios that also provide industrial and service companies as well as banks, funds and insurance companies with comparable information about the transition to a climate-neutral business model and resulting risks. With the help of the scenarios, companies can consider the transition risks and opportunities in their investment decisions. The scenarios enable the financial sector to decarbonise the portfolio step by step and to map company-specific transition risks and opportunities in risk management.
International climate reporting frameworks are already laying the groundwork for a common scenario framework and standards for forward-looking reporting on the path to climate neutrality. For example, the frameworks of the international Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures of the 20 most important industrialised and emerging economies (G20) and the EU, as well as the UK government's Transition Plan Taskforce. Other relevant processes are the negotiations on the planned disclosure requirements of the EU regulatory proposal CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) and the global sustainability reporting standards of the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board).
Source: PM from 21.6.2023 DIW
Keywords:
CO2-neutral, DE-News, Renewable, European Green Deal, Climate emergency, Climate protection, Sustainable management, SDG 2030
