The Role of Law in Transformative Environmental Policies—A Case Study of “Timber in Buildings Construction in Germany”

Abstract

Over the last decades, environmental law has significantly contributed to limiting the environmental impacts of our mode of living. Yet environmental problems still prevail and are strongly linked to our production and consumption systems. Therefore, the current challenges must be tackled with a systemic approach. The concept of transformative environmental policy identifies approaches for policymakers to interfere in socio-economic systems in order to give them a more sustainable structure. This article seeks to identify the contributions that law can make to a transformation towards sustainability. For illustrative purposes, I point out the concrete steps in a case study on increasing the use of timber in buildings construction in Germany. I argue that law plays a role in all three phases of a transformation/transition. The legal framework must enable innovations and experiments in the first transformation phase, come up with restricting regulations for old non-sustainable structures in the second phase, and in the third phase provide course stability for the new system. I conclude that the concept of transformative environmental policy helps to design adaptations of the legal framework in order to transform socio-economic and socio-technical systems towards more sustainability.

Towards sustainable blue energy production: an analysis of legal transformative and adaptive capacity

“…One of the few studies on the subject is an article by Grit Ludwig. 17 She discusses the role of law in transitioning to timber construction in Germany. Based on the literature on transformative environmental policy, she divides transition 18 into three phases and notes that the role of law varies depending on the phase of the transition.…”

Responsible Innovation in Industry: The Role of Firm’s Multi-Stakeholder Network

“…Transformations depend on structural changes on institutional, societal, legal, and technological level. Transition-based governance strategies include necessarily several layers in their analytical preparation (Ludwig 2019).…”

Mind the Gap: A Policy Gap Analysis of Programmes Promoting Timber Construction in Nordic Countries

“…Nevertheless, Milestone et al [19] indicated that there is still work to do in engaging communities and other actors in the wood value chain to increase the use of timber, especially when it is produced and used locally. Moreover, these programmes should aim to advance the use of forest resources in a sustainable way, giving priority to use in construction over the use of primary forest products as energy sources [20]. Wang et al [21] revealed that, in the UK, the trend in wood construction increasingly includes the use of hybrid structures, such as a combination of wood and steel or composites (e.g., wood and plastic).…”