ift Technical information KSB-01engl/1 Climate-proof building

Climate adaptation + climate protection with climate-resilient, recyclable and sustainable windows, doors and facades

Content + Foreword

Heatwaves in summer and the risk of localised heavy rainfall almost all year round – that is the current situation. This is why more and more municipalities are drawing up heat rotection plans and "flash flood maps" that show the risk of flooding at a local level for each residential area and each street. Similarly property owners, builders and investors are looking for ways to protect their own four walls from the climate extremes that now occur regularly. With this in mind, the construction industry should not wait and see, but prepare professionally for the sustainable and "climate-proof" remodelling of existing buildings.

Better protection for your own four walls against heat and flooding is a strong motive for investing in high-quality building elements. The purchasing power is widely available and can be utilised. This is an opportunity for competent and sales-orientated specialist companies to become active themselves, win customers and thus defy the construction crisis. More and more people are also attaching great importance to the sustainability of products when making purchasing decisions, especially the affluent group of "silveragers", who often own a property and now want to make it fit for old age.

There are good opportunities for active and forward-looking manufacturers, installation companies and traders of building elements to convince potential building owners and renovators with climate-resilient building elements. Climate-proofed building products must be efficient, sustainably produced, free from harmful substances, resilient to climate extremes and recyclable. However, transparent assessment systems for these criteria do not yet exist. With the "climate.proof.build" initiative, ift Rosenheim has developed an assessment methodology that provides a transparent statement on the "climate safety" of building components based on recognised rules and standards. The assessment includes criteria of the product and the company (production). Manufacturers with a claim to sustainable business practices can use the "climate. proof.build" label for effective advertising and with legal certainty in accordance with the EU's "Green Claim Directive".

In addition to reducing energy consumption and CO₂ emissions during the use phase, greater attention must also be paid to the consumption of resources during production ("grey energy") and the recyclability of building materials in order to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The requirements and assessment criteria must be adapted so that planners, manufacturers and building owners can make a reliable decision in favour of suitable building products. This requires simple and reliable classification and labelling at product level in order to be able to make an informed decision on construction products when planning and tendering.