Study by the Wuppertal Institute and Butterfly Effect Consulting reveals potential

Anyone who wants to make the construction sector in Germany sustainable must prioritize climate and resource protection. This is the key finding of the study “Sustainable building materials transition”, which was conducted by the Wuppertal Institute in collaboration with Butterfly Effect Consulting on behalf of Holcim Germany.

Opportunities for innovation, growth and employment

The transformation is necessary in order to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, the European Green Deal, the National Circular Economy Strategy (NKWS) and the Climate Protection Act, according to the study. However, the circular economy also offers opportunities for innovation, growth and employment and also strengthens regional value chains, for example through urban mining or the production of circular building materials.

“Historically unique opportunity”

“The German government's 400 billion euro special fund for infrastructure renovation offers a historically unique opportunity,” comments Thorsten Hahn, CEO of Holcim Germany. “To achieve this, the public sector must play a pioneering role in implementing sustainability standards, using sustainable building materials and establishing circular construction practices.”

The construction sector in Germany is responsible for around 40 percent of raw material consumption and causes considerable CO₂ emissions. In addition, new constructions and conversions as well as the demolition of buildings generate considerable quantities of demolition material, which accounts for around 55 percent of the total waste generated in Germany. Although around 90 percent of mineral construction waste is already recycled, this is often not equivalent to its initial use, for example for base layers in road construction. The potential for equivalent or higher-value recycling is not being fully exploited.

This highlights the need to make the construction industry more sustainable and climate-friendly. “In the study, we identified a lot of potential for producing and using building materials in a more resource-efficient way,” says Monika Dittrich, Head of the Circular Systems Research Unit at the Wuppertal Institute. "For successful implementation, however, we need speed and decisive political action. The public sector has a huge responsibility due to its immense demand.

Ecologically necessary, technically feasible: Why the turnaround in building materials is nevertheless paralysed

Despite the ecological necessity and existing legal framework conditions, such as the EU taxonomy, the National Circular Economy Strategy (NKWS) and the Mantelverordnung für mineralische Ersatzbaustoffe, there are still deficits and obstacles in the implementation of the building materials transition.

For example, the study draws attention to the insufficient integration of the circular economy in the construction industry - such as the lack of digital tools like BIM (Building Information Modelling) or material passports, unclear standards for recycled materials, complex approval procedures and inadequate databases for secondary raw materials. In addition, environmental costs are not fully taken into account, there is room for improvement in terms of incentives and there is a lack of binding recyclate quotas.

The study can be downloaded here free of charge.

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