Circular Economy – The Role of Existing Buildings
On 17 June 2024, the draft of the German government’s National Circular Economy Strategy (NKWS) was published. The aim of this strategy is to close material cycles as much as possible. In the construction sector, this means, among other things, paying much more attention to the preservation of existing buildings than before. To support the implementation of the proposed strategy, 20 organisations and companies have signed a WWF discussion paper – including Werner Sobek.
“We at Werner Sobek AG see it as our task to create a sustainable environment – this also includes making the best possible use of existing buildings,” explains our CEO Dr Stefanie Weidner. Before demolition, it must be carefully checked whether the needs and requirements can also be met with existing buildings. She refers to various life cycle assessments that show that up to 60 per cent of CO2 equivalents can be saved in existing projects compared to demolition and new construction. Planning a conversion can be much more demanding than a new construction project – but from the point of view of saving resources and emissions, it is always worthwhile, emphasises Stefanie Weidner.
However, the preservation of buildings is not just about climate protection. The WWF paper points out that the refurbishments that need to be carried out to achieve Germany’s climate targets will also create numerous new jobs – according to the WWF, significantly more than would be created by building a comparable number of new flats.
