Facilities @ Management

3.8 The Role of Facility Management in the Wake of Global Resource Scarcity

Joint Contribution By Christin Kuchenbecker and Andreas Kühne

The growing world population and increasing prosperity are leading to an ever-increasing demand for consumer goods. Since the production of consumer goods takes place using natural resources, the increasing demand leads to a worldwide shortage of resources and thus to an increase in the price in the market.

This increase in prices, triggered by the scarcity of resources, is also felt in the real estate and FM sector. According to the Federal Statistical Office, construction prices for residential real estate in Germany rose by 17.6% in May 2022 compared to the same month last year. This is the highest increase in 52 years. The increase in construction prices for office properties in May 2022 was 19% and for commercial properties 19.4% compared to the same month last year.¹ The increase in operating costs can be summed up even more clearly: they have almost doubled since 2018.²

Under the impact of the rise in construction prices, a decline in new construction projects with a focus on existing properties is to be expected. But not only from an economic, but above all from an ecological point of view, the turn to existing properties, including the reduction of CO₂ consumption, is an urgent requirement. In 2019, the European Commission set itself the goal of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union to zero by 2050 as a roadmap ...