The Bayer MaterialScience “EcoCommercial Building” initiative:

Climate protection through intelligent construction

Adapting a building to the climate is better than adapting the climate to a building. This would be an apt slogan for Bayer MaterialScience’s “EcoCommercial Building” initiative. It reflects the principle of bringing together the best materials, systems and technologies in order to construct a building to suit the climatic conditions at the site in question.

In the recent past, the basic principles of ecologically-sound construction have often been neglected in architecture. As a result, huge amounts of energy have often been used to air-condition standard-design buildings so as to create a pleasant indoor climate even in the face of extreme environmental conditions.

The ECB initiative aims to find a better solution. As well as developing several project ideas for a range of climate zones, Bayer MaterialScience is also searching for construction partners around the world who can help implement model projects. The aim is to gather experience on everything from design and construction to operation and analysis of the operating situation and use this for efficient concept development. By functioning like a forum, an open knowledge platform will help to encourage industry-wide debate on EcoCommercial Buildings. Bayer MaterialScience is inviting its customers in the building materials industry, construction companies, architects, designers, engineers and technology partners from the various projects, as well as universities and research institutes, national legislative and standards bodies and associations to get involved in the initiative.

First “EcoCommercial Building” project in India

Bayer is laying the foundation stone for the first EcoCommercial Building in March 2008 in Greater Noida, near New Delhi in India. When complete, the building will be used by Bayer as an administrative center.

Zoom image

Bayer is laying the foundation stone for the first EcoCommercial Building in March 2008 in Greater Noida, near New Delhi in India. When complete, the building will be used by Bayer as an administrative center.

Commissioned by Bayer MaterialScience at a cost of some EUR five million, the first project to be implemented as part of the “EcoCommercial Building” initiative is the BMS Innovation Center in Noida, near New Delhi in India. The project consists of an office building with a usable area of some 1,200 square meters for approximately 50 employees and an adjoining display hall that will cover around 1,000 square meters and have a ceiling height of six meters. The initial planning stage is to be completed by the end of 2007. The groundbreaking ceremony is planned for March 2008 and the building is scheduled to be completed by mid-2009.

The fundamental design of the building, which was developed in cooperation with Bayer Technology Services and other renowned experts such as architects Banz & Riecks and energy specialists solares bauen GmbH, takes account of both the local climatic conditions and the technical infrastructure at the site. For example, there are plans to mount some 600 square meters of solar modules on the roof of the display building that will allow both the office building and display hall to operate without an external power supply. The EcoCommercial building in India is the first groundbreaking example of a zero-emissions building to be developed as part of the ECB initiative.

However, the entire concept is not just ecologically sound, it is also economically attractive. Experts anticipate that the ecologically sound measures implemented in the project will pay for themselves in no more than ten years.

Construction sector offers major potential for climate protection

Bayer is doing its part to encourage the eco-friendly design of industrial and commercial buildings. That is why the Group is developing the 'EcoCommercial Building' - a global concept for zero-emissions buildings that can be implemented in any of the world's various climate zones.

Zoom image

Bayer is doing its part to encourage the eco-friendly design of industrial and commercial buildings. That is why the Group is developing the “EcoCommercial Building” – a global concept for zero-emissions buildings that can be implemented in any of the world’s various climate zones.

In 2004, the greenhouse gas emissions emanating from the construction and running of buildings amounted to some 18 percent, or almost a fifth, of all emissions produced by human activity. This includes energy that is generated outside the buildings themselves but is used within them, for example electricity and district heating. Experts believe that the consistent use of high-performance insulation materials could almost halve future growth in building-related energy consumption. The potential for savings is especially significant in the new-build sector in regions where efficiency standards have previously been relatively low, for example in newly industrializing and developing countries.

In general, saving energy is the best way to combat climate change. And that is exactly how Bayer MaterialScience is making an important contribution to climate protection – through its cutting-edge, energy-efficient production processes and by working with customers as part of the ongoing search for new, ecologically sound applications. Products from Bayer MaterialScience offer tremendous potential for unlocking energy savings. Examples include rigid polyurethane foam insulation used in buildings and for heating pipes, and insulating materials used in refrigerators, freezers and lightweight vehicle construction.

Comprehensive studies have demonstrated the impressive energy balance offered by the high-performance insulating material polyurethane. For example, when used as heat insulation in the roofs of residential buildings, this foam material will, over a period of 50 years, save seventy times the amount of energy needed to manufacture it. Moreover, the material usually pays for itself within just a few years, thereby making efficient heat insulation an extremely attractive climate protection tool in both ecological and economic terms.

Transparent and translucent Makrolon® multiwall sheets in the i-LINE product range marketed by Bayer Sheet Europe also offer outstanding thermal insulation properties. This makes them ideal for atrium roofing and façade cladding. Compared with solid sheeting, they enable energy savings of up to 25 percent.

Bayer MaterialScience is contributing to environmentally sound, eco-friendly construction in other ways, too; for example through its polycarbonate and thermoplastic polyurethane components for photovoltaic modules and raw materials for low-solvent and solvent-free coatings and adhesives.