Week 1 - introduction

First impressions with the social science perspective
The social aspect is important in my opinion because good technological possibilities do not always get implemented even if they improve the existing situation. Policy makers, company management and citizens often have the best intentions but their goals do not always match. The challenge is to get all the parties involved in one line. So a blooming future awaits us.

Earlier experiences
When the province of Nieuwegein was making new targets for environmental building they were reluctant to sharpen the old targets. In 2000 their goal was to reduce the environmental impact of the inner city by 95% (or factor 20) by 2040. This was measured my the GreenCalc+ Building Index that incorporates energy, materials and water.

But in 2006 they discontinued the rising standard. Maybe they were afraid the surrounding regions would become more attractive to companies willing to settle in the area? By the way, the new municipal building of Nieuwegein didn't meet their own standards for the city center.

http://docs1.eia.nl/mer/p10/p1086/1086-011ontwikkelingsplan.pdf
http://ris.nieuwegein.nl/ris/dsc?c=getobject&s=obj&!sessionid=17l54qVxDU@p5K78Ld!DmM!6Az1FIsdrhsUhCp3Q4aGBJh@OuGEX@hW9pz8XH1!b&objectid=16899&!dsname=ngbinnenstad&isapidir=/gvisapi/

Puzzle: energy efficient buildings
In general buildings in the Netherlands are made energy efficient to the extend of building regulations. Better insulation and more efficient building services could save money when looking at the entire life span.

A possible explanation is that project developer is not making any money from an energy efficient building. When possible buyers are looking for property they apparently don't have energy efficiency as a priority. A possible solution is an energy service company that invests in extra measures and collects the profit from energy savings.

The building shell is supposed to stay for 50 years or more so our acts now have effects far into the future. Inefficient buildings have little value with rising energy costs. Keeping these buildings empty or demolishing them again is also not a very smart perspective.

http://www.agentschapnl.nl/programmas-regelingen/escos