As one of the largest consumers of raw materials and emitters of CO2, the construction sector is a key lever for achieving the climate targets by 2045. The public sector in particular – with an annual procurement volume of over 500 billion euros – bears a key responsibility for the market-driven establishment of sustainability standards and circular construction practices.
As part of the NBW project, researchers from the Wuppertal Institute and experts from the strategy consultancy Butterfly Effect Consulting produced the study "Nachhaltige Baustoffwende" (Englisch: Sustainable Construction Materials Turnaround), which identifies concrete fields of action that can be addressed directly politically. Thus, the study provides a sound basis for the political and economic design of a resource-efficient and sustainable construction sector in Germany. It addresses the urgent need to systemically and structurally anchor the transition to a circular-oriented construction industry – in line with the German National Circular Economy Strategy (German: Nationale Kreislaufwirtschaftsstrategie, or NKWS for short), the German Climate Protection Act, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The study is intended to provide strategic impetus for political decisionmakers, procurement managers, and industry representatives. It calls for a rapid and coordinated implementation of regulatory, technical and financial measures to effectively shape the construction transition as a key instrument of German sustainability policy.