German Federal Environmental Foundation

Innovative part-time trial course and cross-trade cooperation in the skilled trades to strengthen resource-efficient construction and energy-efficient building renovation
 

Natural resources are the material, energetic and spatial basis of our standard of living. The use of these resources is always associated with environmental impacts when viewed across the entire value chain. The fact that construction consumes many resources is hardly known to the general public. Even among tradesmen and architects, there is little awareness that some resources are already in short supply. Construction projects require cross-trade cooperation in this area, which is why communication plays an important role.

In a large-scale project, students and professors from the Fachhochschule des Mittelstands (FHM) have now developed concepts, with the technical and financial support of the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU), for how resource-efficient construction can be better achieved in the future while at the same time communicating adequately with specific target groups. What is special about this project is that students from completely different fields of study worked together.

Why is resource-efficient construction and renovation not better known? And how can knowledge in this area be successfully imparted? In the course of the project, students from various trades and engineering professions, as well as students from the media department, were sensitized to and qualified in the responsible use of resources in construction and renovation measures and in the operation of buildings. The project was a complete success: the interdisciplinary team was able to develop cross-trade cooperation and communication using the example of resource-saving construction and renovation from both technical perspectives. The results will now be used beyond the project and will influence, for example, the future content and objectives of the corresponding university courses.

In the three years of the project, 200 students were able to be sensitized and qualified for resource-efficient construction and renovation. The event at the EcoLut Center marked the conclusion: In numerous lectures and workshops, experts from science and practice presented new approaches and proposed solutions. The questions of how to address the target group in a way that is appropriate for them were discussed, as were questions about the basics of recycling management, innovative technical processes such as SMART Home, and the use of environmentally friendly building materials such as clay plaster or wood. Thus, a central question was how construction networks can be optimized from the point of view of communication, as well as an analysis of the quality and appropriate quantity of information that must be provided for resource-efficient construction in order to increase the implementation of existing knowledge.

If we want to shape our future responsibly, we need to build in a cooperative, climate-friendly and resource-efficient way. We need widespread awareness, because change will only come when there is more knowledge about scarce resources and better use of building materials.

“Promoting innovative educational methods and concepts for sustainable development and communication is particularly important to us. Optimizing communication in the skilled trades, but also with architects, construction planners and customers."
Verena Exner, Head of the Environmental Communication in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Department at the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU)