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In this interview, Timber Finance talks to Mr. Rhomberg, the fourth generation CEO of the Rhomberg Group, who calls on the construction industry to change its mindset. His vision of constructing high-rise buildings from timber stems from a deep reflection on sustainability and a clear awareness of the urgent challenges of our time.
Mr. Rhomberg, you are the fourth generation Managing Director of the Rhomberg Group and are calling on your industry to rethink. You write that the result of your deliberations on the subject of sustainability was to build high-rise buildings out of timber. Can you explain this thought process to us?
The initial spark came when I took over the management from my father Walter-Heinz Rhomberg in 2002. I asked myself one question: do I want to use this opportunity to really make a difference? Do I want to make a difference?
It is important to note that Rhomberg, as a construction company, is active in an industry that at the time – and unfortunately still today – consumed around 40 percent of all resources and is responsible for around 40 percent of the waste generated and 60 percent of transportation movements worldwide. This made it all the more sensible to take action here.
And the direction it had to take became clear all the more quickly: elementized, systematized construction with a lot of prefabrication and with timber as the central raw material.
The reasons for this are simple: timberis quite simply the most sustainable of all building materials – it grows back, is available locally almost everywhere in the world, is 100 percent recyclable and, most importantly, is the most efficientCO2 store in the world. Combined with the advantages of prefabrication and systematization, especially in reducing the use of materials as well as noise andcarbon emissions, timber takes construction to a whole new level in terms of environmental and climate technology.
Incidentally, my next goal is not to build anything new at all. Instead, I am increasingly focusing on redensification, conversion and the development of already sealed areas.
What challenges do we need to tackle – as a society and as a construction industry – so that your visions of high-rise timber buildings can be widely implemented?
We need to move away from silo thinking and the attitude that “knowledge is power”. We will only be successful if we are prepared to share our knowledge and learn from each other. With CREE Buildings, we have already set out on our journey: our international construction collective relies on proven, reproducible and constantly evolving solutions for multi-storey timber hybrid buildings – and on knowledge sharing and the collaborative CREE platform.
What instruments (e.g. better information, subsidies, taxes, regulation of building emissions, CO2 certificates, etc.) do you think would be useful to drive forward the transformation of the building sector?
Absolutely. There are already many very good solutions that allow us to build in a sustainable, resource-efficient and environmentally friendly way. The knowledge and the technologies are there! Just think of the PlusEnergy house. The question is: why is this not available everywhere?
Politicians must definitely provide the right incentives for this, for example by increasing the carbon price and offering subsidies for renovations. But the construction industry itself can and must also take action. We don’t need any impetus from outside! Take exnovation, for example: we need to move away from products, construction methods and work processes that are no longer ecologically compatible much sooner.
Where do you get your motivation for all your professional work?
As I mentioned at the beginning: I want to make a difference. My motivation is to leave my children a world that is just as worth living in as the one we inherited from our parents. That is real sustainability.
What motivates you to join Timber Finance as a Senior Advisor?
We pursue the same goals and have the same motivation – we’ve already talked about the relevance of collaboration and sharing. In addition, with Rhomberg Ventures, which is also invested in CREE Buildings, I have already closed the gap between investors and sustainable companies, including those in the timber industry.