PlAStICS – AN INtRIGUING lOVE StORy? - PlasticsEurope

Dr Thomas Roemer
Bayer
MaterialScience
18
Best cases
EcoCommercial building
Climate changes and energy shortages are key global challenges today. The construction industry accounts
for 40 percent of the energy consumption and 30 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in the world,
mainly caused during the operation of buildings. Therefore, energy efficient construction is a significant
contribution to climate protection, but at the same time leads to cost savings for the operator of the
building. Environmental challenges together with the trend towards further urbanisation are leading to an
increasing demand for sustainable buildings today.
Developing integrated plans and turning them into reality requires an aligned interaction of highly specialised
experts across multiple disciplines. Therefore, Bayer MaterialScience founded the EcoCommercial
Building Programme as an expert network with solutions for the energy-efficient, environmentally friendly
and economical construction of commercial buildings. In managing this network, Bayer MaterialScience as a
raw material supplier takes on an industry integrating role.
Common principle is to initially optimise the energy demand to an environmental and economical optimum.
This includes the design of the building, thermal insulation of the building envelope and energy efficient
building technology. Subsequent follows the coverage of the optimised energy demand with an energy
supply including renewable energies. Based on a smart combination of today readily available technologies
up to 90 percent of the primary energy demand can be saved.
The principles of sustainable construction are global and applicable to any building type, but have to be
adopted locally in order to meet respective energy efficiency, environmental and economic targets and
guidelines. The EcoCommercial Building Programme relates to the need of local adaptation through
involvement of locally present experts with the respective market knowledge. This industry integrating
marketing and development network aims at increasing the penetration of sustainable buildings globally
and hence creating a market pull for the network members’ products as well as gaining and taking up
first-hand innovation impulses.