Encouraging developments for sustainable buildings: Somewhere around 2019/2020, it seemed that a shift in thinking finally took place in politics and the construction industry. There is a real chance that we will finally take sustainable buildings seriously on a large scale.
One of the key challenges of our time is the fight against climate change. Making the existing building stock energy-efficient plays a crucial role in this. Today, 35% of Germany’s final energy demand comes from the building sector, which costs around 73 billion euros per year. This can only be achieved through modernization and optimization of the existing buildings. And as you know, even the most modern buildings often do not perform well and consume far more energy than necessary.
Now, politics is taking action: Property owners and operators of real estate portfolios will be facing the newly introduced CO2 tax this year. The German government’s climate package imposes a CO2 tax of 25 € per ton this year. By 2025, the tax rate will increase by five euros annually, reaching 55 € per ton of CO2 emitted by 2025. After 2026, the prices will rise based on the annual emissions (https://www.effizienzhaus-online.de/co2-steuer/).
The industry must and wants to respond. ESG goals are now at the top of the agenda and featured on the websites of major asset managers. The risk of doing nothing is significant, and now everyone is seriously considering what CO2-saving potential can be realized. The EU aims to massively support the necessary investments to double the renovation rate from about 2% per year and renovate around 35 million buildings by 2030 (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/de/IP_20_1835). Private capital is to be involved. A EU taxonomy will be introduced as a criteria catalog to classify green assets and green investments. The DGNB has already examined the EU taxonomy from a sustainability perspective (https://www.dgnb.de/de/aktuell/positionspapiere-stellungnahmen/hintergrundinformation-eu-taxonomie/).
In my opinion, quality is becoming increasingly important as well, because high-gloss show cases are no longer enough: Now, the motto of synavision applies: Truly smart is when it actually works. Certification agencies have also positioned themselves for this: The DGNB certifies buildings in operation and requires technical monitoring according to AMEV 158 (https://www.dgnb-system.de/de/gebaeude/im-betrieb/index.php), while LEED demands monitoring-based commissioning.
A recent survey on the topic of BIM, conducted at the BIM-TAG DEUTSCHLAND in December 2020, showed that 83% of respondents see the greatest benefit of BIM in avoiding errors and reducing defects. This is urgently needed, as currently 10-20% of the construction industry’s revenue is spent on rectifying mistakes (https://www.immo-kom.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/5-BIM-UMFRAGE_Dezember-2020_Ralf-Golinski.pdf).
I am curious to see whether and how politics and the construction industry will truly embrace the climate path now. We must stay excited – and get involved!
