CCB Magazine

Every Friday, half of the youth skips school and runs across the streets with their fists raised against climate change. But every weekend Berlin also turns into a Mecca for celebrations and the Berlin clubs - around 250 - invite you to dance and ecstasy. This is not climate-friendly. Cluptopia, a cooperation project of BUND Berlin e.V., clubliebe e.V. and the Clubcommission Berlin, wants to change that: The team advises Berlin clubs on how they can become more climate-friendly and ecological. We asked: How does the Club for Future look like? Can we get a grip on climate change from the dance floor? 
 

Interview JENS THOMAS 

CCB Magazine: Hello Konstanze and Matthias, you support the Berlin club scene to become more climate friendly and sustainable. How exactly do you make a club climate-friendly?

Matthias Krümmel: This can be done in many different ways. There is not only one way.

Konstanze Meyer: Step 1 would be to switch to a genuine green electricity provider. Step 2 is to save as much CO2 as possible. This requires switching to a genuine certified green electricity provider according to the GSL standard. The seal distinguishes providers that offer an additional environmental benefit and do not produce energy from fossil fuels. Green electricity does not necessarily have to be more expensive either. Otherwise, we recommend many small steps, all of which are worthwhile and improve the energy balance of a club. 

A small club uses as much electricity on one weekend as a single household in the year. That means it's responsible for around 30 tons of CO2 emissions per year. Added to this are the CO2 emissions from heating, waste, water, mobility, etc. We advise Berlin clubs on how they can become more ecological. And there are many possibilities

CCB Magazine:Like what?

Konstanze Meyer:This includes, for example, the switch to LED lighting, the use of energy-efficient cooling devices and environmentally friendly mobility and logistics. But clubs can also do a lot in the area of waste and resource conservation: using cleaning agents that are as free of chemicals as possible, avoiding packaging waste, the consistent use of reusable dishes and containers for drinks - these are just a few examples. Plastic straws are also a part of this, even if their effect on the climate is overestimated. A big step would also be to insulate the buildings in principle. But that can be expensive.

In conversation with Clubtopia: Konstanze Meyer and Matthias Krümmel. Konstanze is responsible for ecological and social sustainability, Matthias for energy consulting. Photos: © Karoline Kohle

CCB Magazine:How expensive is a comprehensive climate-friendly conversion and modernization? And can Berlin's clubs even afford it? Many of them already have problems to afford the horrendous rental costs.

Matthias Krümmel: This is indeed not easy. However, many of the measures we recommend can also be realized without financial means or for a small thaler. It does not always have to be the fundamental modernization, which the landlord has to tackle anyway, unless you are the owner yourself. For example, existing technical equipment such as refrigerators or ventilation systems can be used more efficiently, sometimes even less. In this way the clubs save unexpectedly much electricity and money at the same time. Other measures, such as switching to energy-efficient LEDs, may cost a little, but they are worth it in the long term, usually after just a few months.

CCB Magazine:Ecological awareness is currently growing. Everywhere is for Future: Fridays for Future, Artists for Future, Entrepreneurs for Future. Do you sense this awareness among club owners and the Berlin club scene? Is there a serious interest in a climate-friendly conversion or even modernization?

Matthias Krümmel: Yes, there is. More and more club operators welcome the fact that climate protection is an important, if not the only, building block of sustainable management. The scene is also increasingly realizing that they themselves represent a cultural pillar of sustainability alongside economy, ecology and social issues. After all, night culture makes a decisive contribution to climate protection communication. Many people forget that.

CCB Magazine:Really?

Konstanze Meyer:Berlin has set itself the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050. This means that urban CO2 emissions are to be reduced by 4.4 million tons compared to the base year 1990, and thus by 85 percent. This is an ambitious goal. After all, the greenhouse gas CO2, i.e. carbon dioxide, is mainly produced by the combustion of coal, oil and natural gas. CO2 is largely responsible for global warming. And what does that have to do with the club and culture industry? Quite a lot! As a vibrant creative capital, Berlin has a formative club culture scene that is of great importance to the city. Over 300 diverse locations are visited daily by many celebrating people. On the one hand this is great, on the other hand it means a high energy demand.

Photos: © Clubtopia

CCB Magazine:Can you quantify that? How harmful are Berlin clubs to the climate?

Matthias Krümmel: Already a small club uses on one weekend - a majority of the citizens of Berlin club landscape consists of small and middle clubs - as much electricity as an economical single household in the year. This means that a small club is responsible for about 30 tons of CO2 emissions per year. On top of this, there are the CO2 emissions from heating, waste, water, mobility, etc. In other words: far too much. But the good news is that we can do something about it - and with Clubtopia we want to support the clubs to improve their CO2 balance.

Konstanze Meyer:If we were to supply all 250 Berlin clubs with different types of electricity, we would come down from about 10,500 tons of CO2 to 700 tons - without catering, heat and climate, mobility, waste and resources such as drinking water, soil air pollutants, etc. That would be a real gain.

CCB Magazine:But aren't these comparatively small plants? The main climate killer is currently the worldwide consumption of meat. 45 percent of greenhouse gases are produced during the production of food, transport, processing and consumption. Only then do air and car traffic follow. Aren't clubs a marginality that should basically be neglected?

Matthias Krümmel: No, not at all. I would even say: the emissions from the cultural sector are more in line with your personal ecological balance sheet. We do climate protection anyway, even though China is a major emitter of CO2. We still talk about climate protection, even though and because we go out to celebrate at the same time. This is not a contradiction, but rather a conflictual area of tension, which we consciously enter - without being ecomoral. But as long as there is no ecologically acceptable infrastructure, the comparison with the big emitters and the giant consumers for our own lifestyle is not sustainable.

We advise clubs in a variety of ways, usually by means of an on-site visit. In addition, we record all CO2-relevant facts, research suggestions for improvement and prepare a CO2 balance sheet. Finally, we also support the clubs in the implementation

CCB Magazine:Can you describe your daily work? I am a club now. What can you do for me? How do you advise Berlin clubs?

Konstanze Meyer:We advise clubs in a variety of ways, usually by making an on-site visit. In addition, we record all CO2-relevant facts, such as how high the power consumption is, which devices are in the club, how often they are used, etc. From the collected data, we then create a CO2 balance sheet and research suggestions for improvement - which we then submit to the clubs. Afterwards we also support the clubs in the implementation. We also offer the clubs and club members support beyond energy consulting. On the net, for example, we offer an online guide for sustainable club operations, Green Club Guide, which is currently being refreshed and brought into a new form.

Matthias Krümmel: We also organize the Future Laboratories Future Party Lab. Here, professionals from the sustainability industry exchange ideas with the club scene. Together, innovative solutions for sustainable club nights are developed. The series of events is even accompanied by an ideas competition that highlights particularly innovative and climate-effective solutions and supports their implementation. And we regularly organize roundtables for a green club culture and invite committed club operators and event organizers to jointly develop a code of conduct for environmentally and climate-friendly behavior in club operations. In the future, this code of conduct will help club operators to take concrete steps to improve their climate balance and to communicate this to the outside world.

CCB Magazine:But will your suggestions be implemented afterwards? How "sustainable" are your consultations?

Konstanze Meyer:In the case of energy consulting, we see the results directly as soon as the clubs implement some of the proposed measures. For example, the SchwuZ club, which we accompanied this year, will switch completely to green electricity next year and thus save 82 tons of CO2 annually. These are initial successes, and we hope they will multiply.

CCB Magazine:Final question: There is currently a lot of discussion about which incentive systems need to be created to make people behave in a more climate- or environmentally friendly way. Bans are also an issue. What measures do you think are particularly useful for club culture?

Konstanze Meyer:A first measure would indeed be for clubs to finally have a perspective of staying in their location. If club operators could plan for many years in advance, they would be more willing to invest in climate-friendly technology and conversion measures - a great deal would already be gained. Club culture needs spaces. But in a growing city like Berlin, they are becoming increasingly scarce. Preserving places for Berlin's diverse club culture is therefore an essential prerequisite for the sustainable development of clubs.

Matthias Krümmel:The existing clubs also need financial support. For example, there could/should be a support program to promote ecological rehabilitation or to purchase energy-efficient equipment. Here we would like to see a fund comparable to that for noise protection in clubs - just for the implementation of climate protection measures. Generally speaking, the Club of the Future brings the ecological, economic and social dimensions of sustainability into harmony.

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