Promoting bio-based and circular building materials to strengthen value chains in the Baden-Württemberg bioeconomy lead region

The construction sector in Germany is responsible for around 55 percent of waste generation and approximately 40 percent of climate-warming CO2 emissions, and it is a major driver of the massive annual (!) resource consumption of around 1.3 million tons. These alarming figures also mean that there is enormous potential for resource conservation and climate protection if we change the way we build (and live). Crucial to the construction transition and a regional bioeconomic transformation is the use of existing building stock and the choice of sustainable building materials. "Bioeconomic materials" are the key to extensions, vertical additions, and renovation measures, while simultaneously strengthening rural areas and value chains within the state.

Project Goal

The "Bioeconomic Building Materials for the Construction Transition" project focuses on promoting bio-based, regional, and circular building materials, such as field fibers, clay from pits, and wood from forestry. These bioeconomic materials offer a viable alternative to fossil-based building materials and enable climate-friendly, resource-efficient, and healthy construction and renovation. The project aims to move bioeconomic construction—which has long been proven in terms of quality, usability, and economic efficiency—from a market niche into widespread implementation. The construction sector is to be transformed from a linear, resource-intensive model to a circular, bioeconomic one. This project addresses barriers such as a lack of application knowledge and purchase-price-centered material decisions (demand side), as well as insufficient structures for scaling bioeconomic building materials (supply side).  

Project Planning

The specific measures include a "Masterclass" series (regional workshops) on bioeconomic building materials with a focus on planning, implementation, and application. Municipal and regional incentive options will be communicated. Target groups include construction professionals who make material decisions, such as architects, craftspeople, planners, building authorities, and housing and real estate companies. For (low-threshold) knowledge transfer, fact sheets, guides, information materials, and social media content will be provided and distributed via the channels of natureplus and its partners. These offer important guidance. To scale the market, stakeholders—particularly manufacturers, building material start-ups, and raw material suppliers—will be supported through consultations, assistance with certification, and matchmaking. This will facilitate their market access and increase their market share. Using concept templates, the "Masterclass" series, initially focused on northern Baden-Württemberg, will be made transferable to the entire state.

Through the targeted promotion of innovative, interdisciplinary, and integrative knowledge transfer and processes, the project contributes to the construction transition, paves the way for a bio-based, circular, and regional construction (materials) industry, and thereby strengthens the Baden-Württemberg bioeconomy lead region.

To the natureplus event series Future.Build.Materials. - Bioeconomy in Construction

Further information on the State Strategy for a Sustainable Bioeconomy:
‍https://biooekonomie.baden-wuerttemberg.de/,Lde/Startseite