Heidelberg's Jürgen Odszuck: New Chairman for Sustainable Building!

Heidelberg's Jürgen Odszuck: New Chairman for Sustainable Building!

On July 17, 2025, Jürgen Odszuck, the first mayor of Heidelberg, was unanimously elected chairman of the building committee of the Baden-Württemberg city council. The election took place during the constituent meeting in Fellbach. Odszuck, who has been active in the city council since 2016, succeeds Mayor Martin Haag from Freiburg and has already campaigned in the past for issues such as better housing provision and the deregulation of the state building regulations. His main focus is also on the new state development plan (LEP), which serves as a guide for spatial design in Baden-Württemberg [heidelberg.de].

The responsibility for the building committee is significant, especially in a federal state that represents almost 6.9 million residents in 204 member cities. Odszuck, who also sits on the Construction and Transport Committee of the German Association of Cities and has been working on the “Circular Construction” strategy advisory board of the Federal Ministry of Construction since 2023, sees great opportunities in the combination of urban mining and circular construction. This approach could not only make ecological sense, but also bring economic benefits.

Heidelberg as a pioneer in urban mining

Heidelberg has set itself the ambitious goal of becoming the first circular municipality in Europe and is thus penetrating new dimensions of construction. As part of the “Circular City” pilot project, existing buildings are used as raw material storage to promote the circular economy. The city supports initiatives such as HeidelbergCement AG and the environmental consulting institute EPEA.bba-online.de.

A central point of the project is the digital material register, which enables a comprehensive economic and ecological analysis of the building stock. The analysis is currently focusing on Patrick Henry Village, which is a former US Army settlement. Here, over 465,884 tons of materials are to be recorded in a digital system, with the materials mainly consisting of concrete (50%) and bricks (20%). The possibilities for recycling these materials are enormous and could represent a model for other cities in Germany and Europe.

Sustainable building practices for the future

Jürgen Odszuck's concern is clear: forward-looking and sustainably designed construction practices are crucial to remaining sustainable. In Germany, around 50% of waste comes from construction and demolition waste, a large proportion of which is often recycled in inferior form. The urban mining principle, which is considered groundbreaking in Heidelberg, aims to extend the life cycle of building materials and thus significantly reduce the CO2 emissions caused by the production of concrete VDI-Verlag.

Odszuck and his team are working on innovative solutions to not only master the challenges of the circular economy, but also to provide targeted new impulses. His commitment could therefore pave the way for wider changes in the construction sector and make the vision of higher quality, more sustainable construction a reality.