Climate and resource efficiency in commercial and industrial areas
KREGI
There is a growing awareness of the importance of a comprehensive integration of ecological, social and economic factors in urban areas. The design and implementation of sustainable commercial and industrial areas not only reflect a paradigm shift in urban planning, but are also an expression of an ambitious commitment to overcoming global challenges. How can commercial and industrial areas be planned and implemented in the most resource-efficient way possible? This question is the main focus of the new project “Climate and Resource Efficiency in Commercial and Industrial Zones” in the Rhenish mining area.
Goals and Content
Many new residential areas in the indeland are already resource-efficient. Now, the aim is to achieve many positive effects for sustainability in commercial and industrial areas through consistent resource and climate efficiency. In the nationwide pilot project “Climate and Resource Efficiency in Commercial and Industrial Areas” (KREGI), experts led by the Factor X Agency of indeland GmbH are developing an exemplary catalog of measures for new commercial areas.
The project has a nationwide pilot function. So far, there is no catalog of measures with which municipal developers and builders can plan and operate a commercial or industrial area in a resource-optimized manner.
A comprehensive catalog of measures is being developed that includes hard factors such as material resources and soft factors such as mobility within the industrial area, biodiversity-promoting open space design or social factors such as the shared use of buildings. All potentially useful factors are recorded in a matrix and weighted with points. Interested municipalities can use this catalog to define a minimum number of points that companies must achieve if they want to settle in their resource- and climate-efficient commercial or industrial area. This catalog of measures is to be tested in three model commercial areas in Inden, Eschweiler and Langerwehe.
Coal mining in the Rhineland will end in the last three open-cast mines in Inden, Hambach and Garzweiler by 2030. New jobs must be created in the region by then. In order to achieve the climate protection goals, new commercial and industrial areas should be planned from the outset to conserve resources and protect the climate. This is how you create the best conditions for attracting companies and keeping them in the long term.
The catalog of measures, with its points system, specifications and indicators, will be the first of its kind in Germany. It can be applied to the climate and resource-friendly development of commercial and industrial areas in all regions of Germany. The approach goes far beyond existing concepts. It not only considers the energy consumption during the use phase of the buildings, but also the life cycle assessment data of the materials used for the construction and which resources, energy and greenhouse gases are consumed or emitted before the use phase.