The internationally renowned actress, producer and advocate of human rights and climate solutions, Cate Blanchett, is a star guest at the ÖGNI Sustainability Symposium, which will take place on October 17, 2024 at the Hofburg Vienna. The focus is on solutions for a sustainable future of the real estate industry, which international experts developed in two days of workshops and presented as part of the evening event under the motto “Sustainability: Turning Intentions into Impact”.
“When it comes to sustainability, we think of renewable energy, electric cars or green technologies – but we often overlook the huge impact that buildings have on our carbon footprint,” explains Blanchett about the role of real estate in a sustainable future, “the physical environment – our homes, workplaces, places of leisure – is an enormous part of what we leave to future generations. Significant potential and opportunities arise when we become aware of the power of the built environment to shape a sustainable future.” Blanchett has been committed to implementing viable solutions in the areas of climate and environmental protection for years. She is a member of the Earthshot Prize Council and the inaugural ambassador for Wakehurst Botanic Garden and the Millennium Seed Bank. Blanchett is also a life member of the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy – and recently produced the Audible Original Podcast Climate of Chance.
THE WORKSHOPS: FOCUS ON FUTURE TOPICS
In three working groups, experts from the DACH region will analyze three of the most pressing areas of implementation and outline the feasibility, but also the demands on society and politics:
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
From the perspective of the real estate industry: How can you really implement the circular economy? Preserving and renovating the existing building structure is the best way to live a circular economy. “What will certainly accompany us for a long time is the difficult discussion about which building structure should be preserved, where it is still reasonable to refuse demolition – and where something new has to be created,” says Peter Engert, Managing Director of the ÖGNI. The ÖGNI is trying to approach this issue with a CO2 certificate for each project – this is what happens in an EU project with various European partners. “From a European perspective, there is no alternative to transforming the economy towards a circular economy. Because: If we want to hand over a self-determined, flourishing European economy to future generations, we have to overcome our dependence on non-European raw material suppliers,” continued Engert. Circular economy requires knowing what is available, where, when and in what quality. For the real estate industry, the ÖGNI therefore sees the digital recording of the building stock as a basic requirement in order to be able to implement sensible concepts – such as “urban mining”.
DIGITALIZATION
Sustainable business in the real estate sector needs a digital basis: This includes a well-founded and reliable database as well as sensible programs that organize, archive, analyze this data and create forecast calculations. This means: recording the (almost) entire real estate portfolio of a municipality, a state and the state and thus making it usable for the circular economy. In addition to data collection, the requirements for data management have increased significantly due to the entry into force of the EU Green Deal, because the necessary reports can only be created with verifiable and correct data. With the EU Buildings Directive, in force since May 2024, the federal government is obliged not only to create the necessary legislation for implementation by the end of 2026, but also to identify the 30% of the most energy-inefficient buildings in Austria. Peter Engert: “These buildings need to be thermally renovated. Causing obligation. We just lack the data basis for this in Austria. However, as ÖGNI, we are of the opinion that the state should set a good example here and that will not be possible without a digital building pass.”
CITIES & TOWNS
The future is a team sport – in terms of the real estate industry, this means not just looking at buildings individually, but also putting them in the context of cities and communities. The challenges that affect us all are great. Because, says Engert: “We have to change our business strategies, we can no longer build the way we used to, we have to change processes, limit basic consumption, use new building materials, live a circular economy, think about projects in connection with their surroundings. This opens up many opportunities and, of course, risks, because many things are new and have not yet been tried and tested for decades. “It’s important to be prepared to take new paths.”
THE EXCLUSIVE EVENING EVENT: THE ÖGNI SYMPOSIUM IN THE HOFBURG VIENNA
The exclusive evening event will take place in the Hofburg Vienna on October 17, 2024, admission begins at 5:30 p.m. As part of this, the results of the expert rounds will be presented. You can also expect a conversation with Cate Blanchett, moderated by Mari Lang – ÖGNI Managing Director Peter Engert: “The fact that we were able to attract such a high-profile personality as a star guest underlines the importance of sustainable transformation.”
At the ÖGNI Symposium, established companies in the real estate industry and selected start-ups from the sustainability sector also have the opportunity to present their products and services. The gold partner of this year’s ÖGNI Symposium is Armani Beauty, for which star guest Cate Blanchett has been a global beauty ambassador for years. The research and special planning company ATP sustain also makes an important contribution to the symposium as a silver partner, as do numerous other companies that support the event.
Networking with buffet dinners and drinks will also not be neglected.
Attending the event is only possible by invitation and registration.
Further information can be found at: www.ogni.at/symposium
ABOUT THE PUBLIC
The ÖGNI, Austrian Society for Sustainable Real Estate, is an NGO (non-governmental organization) that aims to establish sustainability in the construction and real estate industry. The focus of ÖGNI’s work is the certification of sustainable buildings and neighborhoods according to the European quality certificate DGNB. The aim of the ÖGNI is to show the added value of building certifications in order to create environmentally and resource-saving buildings with high economic and social efficiency, which can be used flexibly across generations and have a positive effect on the well-being of the users.
The ÖGNI was founded in 2009 and is a cooperation partner of the DGNB (German Society for Sustainable Building), whose certification system was adopted, adapted to Austria and has been continuously developed since then. The ÖGNI is the only Austrian council to be an “established member” of the WorldGBC (World Green Building Councils) and strives to strengthen the DGNB’s European quality certificate at an international level. www.ogni.at
ÖGNI Symposium
Datum: October 17, 2024, 5:30 p.m
Art: Conferences and meetings
Ort: Hofburg Vienna
URL: https://www.ogni.at/symposium/