Next challenge: Biodiversity!

While climate change and the necessary decarbonisation are about the question of how we will live in the world in the future, biodiversity determines whether we have a future at all.

“Nature is the largest economic sector and our most important service provider,” says Dr Frauke Fischer, one of Germany’s leading biodiversity experts. Some 60 percent of the world’s gross national product can be attributed to services associated with our ecosystems. And while climate change and the need for decarbonisation are issues that affect how the world will live in future, biodiversity determines whether we will have a future at all. Protecting ecosystems is therefore a matter of crucial environmental, social and economic importance. 

 

As a construction and service company, GOLDBECK has a direct influence on biodiversity – a fact we are well aware of. That is one of the reasons why we integrated the design of open spaces around our construction projects into our planning years ago. We want to take a closer look at the impact and interdependencies of our business activities along the value and supply chain, the opportunities and risks that they present for natural environments and our company, and how we can manage them strategically. To help us with this, we have brought on board Dr Frauke Fischer and her agency auf! as an experienced partner from the scientific community. Together, we are conducting a fact-based analysis of the interdependencies between construction and biodiversity and developing an action plan. 

 

The ongoing collaboration with Dr Frauke Fischer and the study she is conducting have already provided us with a wealth of data and valuable insights – about ground-level and high-rise construction, about the raw materials and building materials needed, and thus about the importance of biodiversity for our core business. As expected, one of our biggest challenges is the sealing of land where the properties are located. What came as a surprise, however, was the positive assessment of concrete as a key component of our buildings: Because Germany, unlike other regions of the world, is not short of sand, quarrying does not have a negative impact. Areas where there used to be sand or gravel pits can become home to biotopes filled with water and a wide range of species – with the added benefit that people can come and relax at the local quarry pond. Does that mean we don’t need to change anything? Absolutely not! Insights like these will influence not only our construction work but also our purchasing policy, our choice of suppliers and the relevance of certificates of origin. 

Biodiversity at our GOLDBECK sites

Alongside the development of our strategy, we are looking at our sites and production processes through the lens of biodiversity – and have already started to get digging in many areas of the company. At the central GOLDBECK site in Bielefeld, for example, we are currently creating biodiverse outdoor spaces in accordance with the strict guidelines of the German Sustainable Building Council. “It’s important to us to create added value for nature and the people at our sites while also taking business considerations into account. Certification allows us to obtain external confirmation of our expertise,” says Dr Kati Herzog. Specific measures therefore include not only planting a wide range of different plant species, using materials that are typical of the location and providing shelter for local fauna, but also creating green social areas for our employees – including a barbecue area that was proposed by our apprentices and designed and produced in our training workshop. Another focus during the planning phase was on restoring the natural water balance. The result is that the amount of water flowing into the public sewer system is lower than the amount draining naturally, which not only benefits the environment but also saves money thanks to lower rainwater charges. “We’re also making exciting progress at other locations – for example in Avignon and Lyon,” adds Dr Kati Herzog. “These locations are currently undergoing one-year biodiversity audits that include test facilities for measures to promote biodiversity, among other things.” 

Our mission

Biodiversity in the construction project

Tiny forests, rainwater management or intensive roof greening?

Our customers, too, are already benefiting from GOLDBECK biodiversity concepts that go far beyond the creation of a wildflower meadow. Since we consider it essential to take biodiversity aspects into account when designing the outdoor spaces of our construction and real estate projects, we added biodiversity expertise to our civil engineering team in 2022. The aim of the Civil & Environmental Engineering department is to leave each location in better environmental condition than when we found it. Michael Ruland: “In places where there was previously a single-crop greenfield site, a new building with well-designed outdoor areas can even have a positive impact on biodiversity. We start by carefully identifying what is worth protecting.” The subsequent planning process is guided by a catalogue of modules that serves as a comprehensive toolbox for biodiversity-enhancing measures and the initiation of a structured construction process. “Although we are doing a lot of things right, we still have a lot to learn. One example of where we need to do some rethinking is water management: Whilst in the past we ensured that water was diverted away, today it is crucial to keep it on the property,” Michael Ruland continues.  

Challenge accepted – we certainly have our work cut out for us when it comes to biodiversity. But we are convinced that with scientific support, a clear strategy and targeted measures, we can have a positive impact. Our approach includes carefully selecting suppliers, promoting biodiversity at our company’s locations and integrating biodiversity aspects into the entire life cycle of the properties we realise. All of this will bring us closer, one step at a time, to achieving our goal, which is to build in a nature-positive way by the 2030s. And Dr Frauke Fischer confirms: “GOLDBECK is on the right track.” 

 

Rose bush on an office site as greenery.
Press contact
GOLDBECK GmbH
Ummelner Straße 4-6
33649 Bielefeld
Deutschland
Fon +49 521 9488-1187
Mail presse@goldbeck.de