Student ideas competition at colleges, universities and academies in German-speaking countries.
There are 5,000 euros as well as high-quality non-cash prizes up for grabs.
Application deadline: until 30.9.2016
Registration for the award must be made through a university chair. Students are not allowed to register themselves.
More info:
www.wa-award.de
The Federal Chamber of Architects (BAK) and the Federal Foundation for Building Culture, on behalf of the planning and building industry, today presented their proposal for an "Innovation Programme for Building Culture" to politicians in Berlin.
Anne Katrin Bohle, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Construction and Home Affairs, accepted the four-point plan. In it, the authors suggest measures to overcome the Corona crisis that will have a sustainable economic and social impact.
"The structured approach of politics to the Covid19 pandemic, has also shown the opportunities and necessities of infrastructural reconstruction," says Reiner Nagel, Chairman of the Board of the Bundesstiftung Baukultur. "The planning and construction industry can help to create sustainable added value for society in the economic recovery that now lies ahead, for example in the areas of mobility, digitalisation, housing or climate protection. The proposed measures offer the opportunity to create high benefits for sustainable services of general interest and employment in Germany and Europe."
"When developing an innovation programme, measures must be linked to concerns that were also being worked on at full speed before the crisis," emphasises BAK President Barbara Ettinger-Brinckmann. "Every investment offers opportunities for a better quality of life, and the question of added value for our society must be at the centre of our actions. A requirement for quality and sustainability should be attached to every subsidy. In doing so, the public builder must act as a role model and invest specifically in the value of our built environment, both in urban and rural areas."
The "Innovation Programme Building Culture" comprises four focal points:
1. additional resources for innovation and future projects
The Corona Crisis must be an innovation driver for current social challenges. This includes the transformation of cities, for example with a view to climate change, changed working models and new mobility and consumption habits. Consistent support for innovative approaches can move Germany forward in the competition between locations and put both public and private developers back in a position to set an example with their buildings.
2. implement climate protection in buildings
The construction sector can make the greatest contribution to climate protection of all economic sectors: it is one of the most resource-intensive industries, but at the same time offers great potential for savings. What is needed is a programme for sustainable business, climate protection and ongoing ecological change. Boosting existing KfW programmes to promote energy-efficient refurbishment and making holistic approaches to modernisation easier to implement by law can trigger construction activities and at the same time realise climate policy goals.
3. realise existing plans now
Projects that have been planned and prepared should now be implemented quickly. The time limit of the necessary economic stimulus funds leads to corresponding pressure to act. The construction industry can continue to take on tasks from a given employment situation and avoid job losses. Public-sector investments that promote long-term structural change and trigger private investment are particularly sensible at present.
4. create a solid basis for effective economic stimulus measures
Economic policy with the above-mentioned priorities can only be implemented if all actors are put in a position to actually implement the major challenges quickly and appropriately. The accelerated award and approval of existing and prepared projects would in itself have a positive economic effect. The temporary or permanent streamlining of structures and processes should be ensured.
You can find the detailed four-point plan here as a
Download
The innovation programme is supported by:
AHO - Committee of the Associations and Chambers of Engineers and Architects for the Fee Regulations e.V.
BDA - Association of German Architects
BDIA - Association of German Interior Architects e.V.
BDLA - Association of German Landscape Architects e.V.
BDVI- Association of publicly appointed surveyors e.V.
BFB - Bundesverband der Freien Berufe e.V. (Federal Association of Liberal Professions)
DAI - Association of German Architects' and Engineers' Associations
DASL -Deutsche Akademie für Städtebau und Landesplanung e.V. (German Academy for Urban and Regional Planning)
Die Stadtentwickler Bundesverband e.V.
DV - German Association for Housing, Urban and Regional Planning
HDB - German Construction Industry Federation
IfR - Information Circle for Spatial Planning e.V.
VBI - Association of Consulting Engineers e.V.
VDV - Association of German Surveying Engineers e.V.
VDMA Building Technology
VfA - Association of Freelance Architects of Germany e.V.
VPB - Verband Privater Bauherren e.V. (Association of Private Building Owners)
ZBI - Central Federation of Engineering Associations e.V.
ZDB - Zentralverband des Deutschen Baugewerbes e.V. (Central Association of the German Construction Industry)
Source: PM from 26.05.2020 of the BAK
Keywords:
DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, Mobility, Quarters, Resource efficiency, SDG 2030, Settlements, City, Transition Town, Environmental policy, Housing, Housing policy, Aesthetics / Architecture / Building Culture
North Rhine-Westphalia is the world's largest public issuer of sustainability bonds / Minister President Laschet: North Rhine-Westphalia is committed to a future in which ecology and economy are responsibly compatible
The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia has adopted an updated sustainability strategy that has been supplemented with important topics for the future. With a wide range of goals and measures, the strategy shows the way to sustainable living and economic activity in the most populous federal state. The strategy was developed in cooperation with all ministries of the state government under the leadership of the Ministry of the Environment. The state government will appoint a sustainability advisory board to accompany the implementation, evaluation and further development of the sustainability strategy.
Minister President Armin Laschet: "With the newly presented sustainability strategy based on the 17 UN goals, North Rhine-Westphalia is making concrete contributions to the integrity of creation and to sustainable economic activity. North Rhine-Westphalia is a pioneering state: we show how sustainability can succeed here in a highly developed and densely populated industrial state in the heart of Europe. In this way, we can set an example worldwide. North Rhine-Westphalia is committed to a future in which ecology and economy are responsibly compatible."
"By positioning ourselves sustainably as a society and economy, we are shaping the future and future markets. Each and every individual can make a contribution to this in this decade of sustainability," says Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser: "At the same time, the new strategy is also a central guard rail for the way out of the corona pandemic. This must be linked to tangible steps towards sustainability so that the economy can not only recover, but North Rhine-Westphalia can emerge from the crisis more climate-friendly, resource-efficient and sustainable."
The core of the new sustainability strategy is a set of 67 concrete goals and indicators. These are closely interlinked with the goals at federal level and are based on the global sustainability goals adopted by the United Nations on 25 September 2015 with the worldwide Agenda 2030. Ecology, economy and social coexistence are given equal consideration.
World's largest public issuer of sustainability bonds
Among other things, North Rhine-Westphalia plays a pioneering role in the issuance of sustainability bonds. In recent years, North Rhine-Westphalia has placed six sustainability bonds with a total volume of almost eleven billion euros on the financial markets. This makes North Rhine-Westphalia the largest public issuer of sustainability bonds worldwide and the first and so far only German state to issue bonds in this area. The multiple awards with industry prizes confirm the success of the state's sustainability bonds.
"The sustainability principle is particularly important to us - economically and politically," affirms Lutz Lienenkämper, Minister of Finance. "We achieve high demand on the market and at the same time enable important investments for the future of our country."
Wide range of targets and indicators
The spectrum of goals and indicators ranges from an increase in organic farming to 20 percent of agricultural land, to strengthening the environmental economy as an important future segment, to a minimum investment of 3.5 percent of GDP in innovations and solutions for the future. Other indicators describe the expansion of all-day care at primary school age and the increase in raw material productivity by 2030. In addition, the strategy includes important future topics such as digitalisation, the circular economy and electromobility.
Further information on the sustainability bonds
With the sustainability bond, the country is addressing investors who value a financial investment that supports social and ecological concepts. The investors' money flows into sustainable projects of the state from a total of seven project categories. These include, for example, exemption from contributions for the last year of kindergarten and the expansion of cycle paths and broadband infrastructure. The pension fund of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is also managed 100 percent sustainably. The state pursues the goals of security, profitability and sustainability in its investment decisions.
The requirements for sustainable capital investments include both general ESG criteria (Environment, Social, Governance - ESG) and targeted criteria for the exclusion of ethically or ecologically particularly problematic business practices. This is how sustainable management with improved environmental standards succeeds in the industrial and energy state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The state invests exclusively in companies that are among the best rated in the areas of ecology, social affairs and corporate governance on the basis of numerous key figures. In particular, international norms and standards for the protection of the environment as well as ethical and social criteria formulated by the UN apply.
Keywords:
News Blog NRW, SDG 2030, Environmental policy
5 min. | Published: 10/28/2017, available until 10/28/2022
In the ARD documentary, the two Sustainable Settlements
Signal box 60 Cologne Nippes and that French Quarter in Tübingen shown.
Link to the ARD-Mediathek:
www.ardmediathek.de/...Verkehrswende-Stadt-ohne-Autos...
Keywords:
Movies, Movies 4 to 10 Min, Mobility
The new website was implemented by the German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) as part of the project "Resource Policy at Municipal and Regional Level" (kommRess) on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency. Resource protection is becoming increasingly important in environmental policy. Against this background, the Federal Environment Ministry wants to provide greater support to municipalities in matters of resource efficiency. The website provides an overview of the many possibilities for municipal action and shows good examples of how resources can be conserved.
www.ressourceneffizientekommune.de
Keywords:
Stock, Blogs & Portals, Quarters, Resource efficiency, Settlements
