Vienna, January 17, 2023. With alchemia-nova, ATP, Dietrich | Untertrifaller, Drees & Sommer, iC consulenten, HNP architects, SIGNA, the Value One Group and WICONA by Hydro, Madaster has been able to add strong partners to its “Kennedy” network since its founding in Austria in 2022 in order to jointly drive sustainability and circular economy in the domestic real estate industry. “The environmental impact of the construction and real estate industry, rising energy and material prices, as well as increasing scarcity of raw materials, and in particular the EU taxonomy that will apply from 2024, make the assessment in terms of circular economy criteria a necessity in the planning, implementation and financing of real estate. Comprehensive documentation of the materials and products used and their properties, as provided by the Madaster platform, is the prerequisite for this,” explains Werner Weingraber, Managing Director of Madaster Austria. The nine Austrian Madaster partners will use the Madaster platform as so-called Kennedys and furthermore further develop it together with the Madaster circular economy experts from Austria and abroad. The Madaster Group was founded on the basis of the Madaster Foundation in 2017 in the Netherlands to create sustainable value for the environment and climate. Since 2022, the company has also been active in Austria, its sixth country. Currently, around 4,000 buildings with over 16 million m2 of space in Holland, Belgium Norway, Germany, Switzerland and Austria are recorded on the Madaster platform. Pablo Van Den Bosch, Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Madaster Group in Holland, thanks on behalf of the Madaster Group for the support to start in Austria: “As a so-called impact company, it makes professional sense and is necessary to create a strong collaboration and also the financial support through partnerships with leading companies in a country. Thank you for the trust to the founding Kennedys as pioneers of the industry in Austria to work together with Madaster on the future issues of the circular economy for the benefit of the environment and climate.”

Assessment of the circular economy criteria for compliance with the EU taxonomy

In Austria, Madaster and its partners already cover large parts of the value chain, from R&D and production to architects and builders to real estate developers, operators and consultants. “In 2023, we want to attract more partners and cover the entire value chain of the real estate industry. As a driver and first point of contact, Madaster and its partners will firmly anchor circular economy in the industry and implement reference projects. In particular, with the Madaster platform as well as the Building Material Passport and the Madaster Circularity Indicator, we are giving all industry players, be they manufacturers, architects, planners, developers, stockholders, recycling companies or the financial industry, the tools they need to identify evaluation criteria of the EU taxonomy for the transition to the circular economy,” Weingraber gives an outlook on this year’s business year.

Circular economy as necessity and opportunity for construction and real estate industry

Tailwind comes from a prominent place: in 2022, the World Economic Forum took a close look at the circular economy and described it as the business opportunity of the day. Weingraber is convinced. “There is no way around the circular economy in the real estate industry, at the latest with the EU taxonomy. Companies that adapt to it in time and use the right tools take responsibility for the environment and climate, work on the future requirements of the industry and can develop long-term, sustainable business models. This makes partnerships with precisely such future-oriented companies, as Madaster has established with its nine Austrian Kennedy partners, all the more important. We will consistently expand this network in 2023,” says Weingraber.