Expert workshop held as part of the STABLE research project
On 11 March 2024, a workshop with experts was held at HOWOGE's premises in Berlin, as part of the 'STABLE – Social Transformation of the Building Sector' project. The project involves not only the Social Research Centre but also two chairs at RWTH Aachen University (FCN-ESE and EBC) and HOWOGE, a municipal housing association in Berlin.
Background to the project
The STABLE project aims to develop a holistic energy concept for German apartment blocks that fulfils both ecological and social requirements. To achieve this goal, STABLE relies on a participatory approach that creates a common basis through dialogue and participation formats and that ensures that the energy refurbishment is beneficial for all stakeholders involved. In addition to technical solutions for sustainable energy concepts in apartment buildings and the question of how these processes can be designed in a socially responsible way, behavioural changes are also taken into account.
Experts discussed key findings from the tenant surveys
The workshop with experts focused on the interdisciplinary exchange between the project consortium and selected experts from the technical, economic and social fields, such as representatives of the Bundesverband deutscher Wohnungs- und Immobilienunternehmen e.V. (GdW) and the Verband Berlin-Brandenburgischer Wohnungsunternehmen e.V., Caritas Berlin and the tenant advisory council from the district in which the STABLE project is piloted, as well as the Ökozentrum NRW and the Klima-Allianz Deutschland. The aim was to provide feedback on the empirical results from the interviews and questionnaires conducted with the tenants of the research property in summer/autumn 2023.
After a presentation of the project and the key survey results on the topics of housing, energy use and refurbishment, the experts were able to give their opinions. The participants discussed the concept of "social justice" in the context of "climate justice" based on differentiated quotes from tenants, which were taken from the qualitative interviews. In the second part of the workshop, the experts were asked about current trends in the various sectors, and they discussed the effectiveness of energy-saving concepts. It was agreed that communication with tenants should be at eye level and transparent, so that refurbishment is less of a concern and climate neutral measures can be shown to be effective.
Next Steps in the Participation Process
The participation process provides several opportunities for stakeholder involvement throughout the 4-year project duration. Along with two additional information sessions for the tenants, a stakeholder workshop is planned for all participants. This workshop is scheduled to take place after the measures have been implemented and will further develop the interim results.
Further information about the project: https://sfs.sowi.tu-dortmund.de/forschung/projekte/stable/
