German brick and tile industry sends a strong signal with new „Sustainability“ committee
The Federal Association of the German Brick and Tile Industry (BVZi) is pooling its capacities for sustainable construction with the newly founded „Sustainability“ committee. The expert group, consisting of company representatives from all product divisions, unanimously elected Thomas Maucher, Technical Building Consultant and Product Manager at Ziegelwerk Bellenberg, as its new chairman. In the presence of BVZi Managing Director Attila Gerhäuser and under the leadership of Dipl.-Ing. Juliane Nisse - responsible for thermal insulation, energy efficiency and sustainability at the BVZi - the committee was constituted on 16 November in Berlin.
The aim of the new committee is to support the diverse national and European developments and specifications in the field of „sustainable building“ in a focussed and cross-product manner for all brick manufacturers and to increase the importance of the topic in the external presentation to political stakeholders.
„Today, state subsidies for renovation or new construction projects are only available if investors, builders and construction companies can prove that the building materials they use fulfil all the requirements for climate-friendly construction,“ says Thomas Maucher, describing the status quo.
„Our industry‘s brick products fulfil these requirements. With the know-how and expertise of our experts in the new ‚Sustainability‘ committee, we will provide our members with optimum support in presenting their innovative and sustainable products and processes to politicians and the public.“
The committee deals with various areas of sustainability. These include sustainable construction in general, the certification and assessment of the sustainability of buildings and life cycle assessment. These topics are evaluated and placed in the context of current and future new construction funding with the Quality Seal for Sustainable Buildings (QNG) and refurbishment with the Federal Subsidy for Efficient Buildings (BEG). Furthermore, these aspects must also be critically discussed with a view to the further development of the requirements system and methodology in the future Building Energy Act (GEG).
The next meeting of the BVZi Sustainability Committee will take place in March 2024.
