Sustainable building: not a luxury, just a question of doing things in the right order

Is sustainable building within reach for the majority – and what needs to shift to make it the norm? We put that question and others to Alf Meyer zur Heyde, Board Member of BHW Bausparkasse and Head of Deutsche Bank’s Private Bank Sustainability Advisory Team. He also sums up the key points in a short 99second video.

Most people fail right at the beginning: they simply do not know where to start. One thinks of the heating engineer, another of the roof or the windows. But sustainable building only works with a clear plan. Ideally, an energy consultant helps you create a refurbishment roadmap, which prioritises measures and shows how to achieve the best result with the available capital. It’s crucial to do energy-efficient renovations in the right order.

With 20 percent of the effort, you often achieve 80 percent of the effect.

Sustainability is not a luxury. A refurbishment roadmap, subsidised by the state, costs around 890 euros. Think of it as an MOT for your car or a comprehensive medical check-up: once you’ve invested in one, you know what improvements make sense, what costs to expect and what effect can be achieved. Another thing: when refurbishing, you don’t have to do everything at once; it’s a modular system. With 20 percent of the effort, you often achieve 80 percent of the effect. Those who have more to invest go further – those with less just focus on the most efficient steps.

There is no standard solution. Every building is different – year built, construction type, general condition. A common mistake is replacing the heating before insulating the house properly. If your first step is to install a large heat pump and then insulate, you end up with an oversized system. So it’s important to look at the building as a whole, then make appropriate investments.

In that case, the standard tips and tricks help: seal windows and doors, set radiators correctly, do a hydraulic balance. Your own behaviour also has an impact: air rooms fully and briefly rather than leaving windows ajar over a longer period; regulate heating properly. Often, even small steps like this have a noticeable effect.

In new builds, the standards are already very high – perhaps even too high. A lot of money flows into buildings that are already efficient. The key lies in existing stock: most houses that we will use for decades to come already exist. With the same resources, much more could be achieved there but funding is needed that targets exactly these points – where small steps have a big impact.

The government must create reliable framework conditions: make CO₂-intensive energy more expensive, keep electricity prices competitive.

Yes, the Nordics especially. In Norway, Sweden and Finland, heat pumps have long been standard – despite cold winters and many old buildings. As early as 2005, the installation rate, relative to the population, was at our current target level. The difference: electricity prices there have been reliable and low for years.

The advantages need to be clear to all. For example, when I take a shower in the morning, I’m happy when I know that the sun has heated the water. Or take homeowners who have installed a photovoltaic system: they can open their app and see how much energy they’ve produced. The better we communicate positive experiences like these, the more natural sustainable building will become.

This page was published in November 2025.