[EXP] German eco-housing work, a guide for others

Real estate expertise helps promote the sector

Rural topic(s): Renewable energy and eco-housing

Type: Success story

Date of writing: November 6, 2012

Author(s) of this page: Patrick Chalmers

Summary:

Britta Rolle explains how her work in sustainable rural development led her to identify the need for real estate services and related expertise around the buying, selling, building and renovating of eco-houses.

Text:

The twin challenges of increasing incidence of allergies among people and the problems of energy-inefficient homes and their contribution to atmospheric pollution linked to climate change has increased demand for more environmentally sustainable housing.

Germany is among the leading countries in eco-housing, having been among the pioneers in the field. Britta says its long track record means the price differential between conventional houses and those that are more energy efficient and built with less environmentally damaging or noxious materials is narrowing.

While the use of conventional plastics and such like has improved energy efficiency in homes, it has left the problems associated with such materials, meaning the focus is switching to whole-of-life perspectives on houses, not just individual metrics.

Notes:

Source of the information: Author interview on the margins of Terra Madre event in Turin in October, 2012, alongside the Forum Synergies AGM. The piece was recorded in the context of a capacity building workshop in smartphone video reporting in the context of the Sustainable Mystery Tour 2012.author visit on August 20, 2012 that included extended conversation, questioning and video interviews in the context of the Sustainable Mystery Tour 2012.

Contact:

Britta Rolle CASA VERDE Immobilien IVD Inh. Hochallee 16 20149 Hamburg

info@casaverde-immobilien.de www.casaverde-immobilien.de

Informations:

Scale of intervention : National

Keywords: eco-housing, locally-based economy, organic building material, energy efficiency

Places: Germany

Actors: real estate

Methods: consulting/expertise