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Green Building and Sustainability: Diffusing Green Building Approaches in the UK and Germany

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The Palgrave Handbook of Sustainability

Abstract

As part of their drive toward a low-carbon economy, governments and other organizations are increasingly focusing their attention on buildings, given that building and construction combined account for some 45 percent of carbon emissions. Targeting new and retrofitted buildings can contribute toward meeting reduced carbon emissions. Drawing on in-depth interviews with policy makers and green building entrepreneurs in Germany and the UK, we focus on the contingent political, economic, and social contexts in the UK and Germany. In particular, we look at the role of these actors in shifting practices and highlight the uneven development of green construction in different geographical contexts. While UK respondents saw Germany as having already made the transition to green building, German businesses and policy makers suggested otherwise. By attending to the experiences of green building entrepreneurs and policy makers in the UK and Germany, we explore their potential as key actors to enact green building transitions.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The EPBD is the main legislative instrument, at the European level, for improving the energy efficiency of buildings. A key element of the EPBD is its requirement for Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEB). According to the EU, a nearly zero-energy building means a building that has a very high-energy performance. The nearly zero or very low amount of energy required should be covered to a significant extent by energy from renewable sources, including energy from renewable sources produced on-site or nearby. http://www.zerocarbonhub.org/sites/default/files/resources/reports/ZCHomes_Nearly_Zero_Energy_Buildings.pdf (accessed 2 October 2014).

  2. 2.

    The Feed-in-Tariff and the Renewable Heat Incentive provided financial support to those installing renewable energies domestically for the generation of electricity and heat (e.g., solar PV or ground heat source pumps). The Green Deal provided loans for households installing a range of energy efficiency measures. The first round of changes to the Renewable Heat Incentive is due to come into force on 20 September 2017 and affect the incentives for different types of renewable technologies.

  3. 3.

    Although Passivhaus and PlusEnergy Homes are propriety design concepts rather than toolkits or guidelines for low-carbon low-energy building.

  4. 4.

    Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

  5. 5.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/speech-to-the-zero-carbon-hub.

  6. 6.

    http://www.energy-cities.eu/ (accessed 12 September 2014).

  7. 7.

    An Effizienzhaus is one that requires less energy than new builds which meet building regulations, at specified percentage savings—so, an Effizienzhaus-70 required 30 percent less than a new build which requires 100 percent.

  8. 8.

    See http://greeninvestmentgroup.com.

  9. 9.

    The Sonnenschiff and Solarsiedlung in Freiburg are PlusEnergy buildings with residential and commercial spaces.

  10. 10.

    http://www.sueddeutsche.de/geld/oekologisch-bauen-babylonische-bauverwirrung-1.286335 (accessed 21 August 2014).

  11. 11.

    National House Builders’ Council.

  12. 12.

    However, many products developed often emphasize energy consumption, rather than the sustainability of the materials used. For instance, in relation to windows, many UK windows still use uPVC (a harmful material) despite being more energy efficient.

  13. 13.

    http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/13/storms-floods-climate-change-upon-us-lord-stern, Accessed 13.03.14.

Further Reading

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK

    Kirstie O’Neill

  2. Department of Geography, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, UK

    David Gibbs

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  1. Kirstie O’Neill
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  2. David Gibbs
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA

    Robert Brinkmann

  2. Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA

    Sandra J. Garren

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O’Neill, K., Gibbs, D. (2018). Green Building and Sustainability: Diffusing Green Building Approaches in the UK and Germany. In: Brinkmann, R., Garren, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Sustainability. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71389-2_29

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