Ecological sustainability in the construction industry and its consequences for industry and trade
Author Marcel Dresse
In recent months, ecological sustainability has increasingly become the subject of public debate in Germany and Europe. Up to now, the topic has mainly been considered in the construction industry in connection with energy efficiency (Minergie, ENEV, EU building directives, etc.), but questions regarding materials, raw materials, pollutants and energy consumption during production and transport are increasingly coming to the forefront.
Some countries have already reacted with tighter regulations.
Objective of the study
The study is devoted to this development in detail and primarily looks at the demand side of the issue of ecological and sustainable products. The following questions, among others, will be answered:
- What requirements do professionals (craftsmen / architects / planners) and end users (house builders / renovators) place on the products?
- In which European countries and regions do the target groups most frequently demand sustainable building materials?
- For which products or in which areas is sustainability most important?
- What additional financial expenditures are end customers willing to bear in order to obtain ecological products?
- Are there differences between the values (“the importance of the topic”) and the actual actions (“conscious selection of corresponding products”)?
- Do consumers trust labels and certifications?
- What is the current and future market volume for sustainable building materials?
The study was carried out in 14 European countries using identical methods to ensure a thorough cross-country comparison. In addition to considering the status quo on environmental sustainability, the Outlook 2025 outlines how the issue will develop in the individual countries over the next 5 years.
Methods
The study is based per country on
- 245 Online interviews with house builders / renovators
- 60 telephone interviews with architects / planners, construction companies, craftsmen
- supplementary information and indicators via B+L product studies, secondary data from EUROSTAT and international population surveys
Scope: 30 pages per country report
Country focus and prices
The study can be ordered as a single country report (including aggregated comparisons with the European average) or as a country comparison (including aggregated comparisons with the European average and all countries ordered). The countries can be freely selected and compiled. When ordering more than one country, we offer a discount (see below).
Possible country packages (examples, other combinations are possible)
DACH (DE, AT, CH): approx. 100 pages
NORDICS (NO, DK, SE): approx. 100 pages
Western Europe (DE, FR, BE, NL): approx. 130 pages
Eastern Europe (PL, CZ, RO, BG, HU): approx. 160 pages
Total (DE, AT, CH, NO, DK, SE, FR, BE, NL, PL, CZ, RO, BG, HU): approx. 430 pages
Delivery as PDF report with comments, as of end of November 2019
- To what extent do consumers demand ecological products?
- Are customers willing to pay higher prices for ecological products?
- What are the consequences of this development for product development and marketing in the construction industry?
- How large is the market for ecological building materials in the relevant countries?
- General indicators (for ordered target markets and EU-28 in comparison)
a. Share of construction industry in energy tax
b. Government revenue from energy taxes
c. Greenhouse gas emissions per capita
2. Socio-demography of the end consumers surveyed (house builders / renovators)
a. Age structure
i. All respondents
ii. Respondents with above-average ecological attitude
b. Income structure
c. Type of house built
i. Turnkey from the house provider
ii. Houses planned by architects / individual planning
iii. House from investor / project developer
iv. Other
3. Decision maker Product selection (Who decides: end consumer or professional?)
a. Building shell
i. All respondents
ii. Respondents with above-average ecological attitude
b. Interior finishing
i. All respondents
ii. Respondents with above-average ecological attitude
4. Sustainability in product selection (separate evaluation: all respondents vs. target group < 35 years vs. target group > 35 years)
a. Importance of sustainability aspects
i. Longevity of products and materials
ii. Healthy living and room climate
iii. Low-polluting and anti-allergenic plasters and paints
iv. Low-polluting and anti-allergenic floor coverings
v. Building technology with low energy consumption
vi. Social responsibility of manufacturers
vii. Products with labels and certification
viii. CO² reduction in production and transport
b. Importance of general aspects (as benchmark for 4a)
i. Reliability
ii. Durability
iii. Building costs
iv. Construction period
v. Ecological sustainability (in general)
c. Reasons for or against assumption of additional costs for organic products
i. Readiness available (imaginable, but not done)
ii. Actual additional expenditure accepted
iii. No willingness, as construction costs are too high
iv. No willingness, due to lack of trust in ecology
v. No readiness, because of no trust in markings / labels
d. Additional cost assumption in detail (scale: more than 15% higher prices, 10-15% higher prices, 5% higher prices, no additional costs) for
i. Longevity of products and materials
ii. Healthy living and room climate
iii. Low-polluting and anti-allergenic plasters and paints
iv. Low-polluting and anti-allergenic floor coverings
v. Building technology with low energy consumption
vi. Social responsibility of manufacturers
vii. Products with labels and certification
viii. CO² reduction in production and transport
e. Ecology in general (for ordered target markets and EU-28 in comparison)
i. Membership in environmental organisations
ii. Importance of environmental protection vs. economic growth
iii. Importance environmental protection in general
iv. Expenses / donations for environmental organizations per capita
5. Additional information for professional target groups
a. Importance of properties in the construction process
i. Reliability / quality
ii. Durability
iii. Building costs
iv. Construction period
v. Conversion of the building / deconstruction
vi. Ecological sustainability (general)
6. Market volume / market potential for the individual aspects
a. Certified products (healthy living / indoor climate)
b. Products with environmentally compatible production and logistics
7. Outlook 2025
I am happy to answer any questions regarding the study.
Marcel Dresse
MD@BL2020.com
Tel: +49 228 62987-27
Price: 2.780,00 € Price plus V.A.T.
Purchase on account