Report to Society 2025

Environmental

Adapting to climate change

Competition to reduce soil sealing

Soil sealing in Germany continues to increase. According to the Federal Environment Agency, 5,594 square kilometres have been newly sealed over the last 30 years through development, concrete, asphalt or other paving — an area more than twice the size of Saarland.

However, particularly against the backdrop of extreme weather events occurring with increasing frequency as a result of climate change, greater land de-sealing is the order of the day. This is because de-sealed areas offer major advantages: during heavy rainfall, the soil can absorb and store water like a sponge, which then mitigates the effects of drought during dry periods. Green spaces cool the environment through evaporation, sequester CO₂, improve the microclimate, create habitats for plants and animals, and enhance the quality of life and living conditions for the population, particularly in urban areas.

Out with the stones. In with nature.

Since 2025, the Provinzial Group has been setting a practical example through a competition on land de-sealing. Under the slogan ‘Bodenluft – out with the stones. In with nature.’, the initiative calls on citizens, local authorities and businesses to break up sealed surfaces and re-green them. Participants remove paving from non-public areas such as gardens, driveways and courtyards and submit before-and-after photos. Prizes are awarded not only for the largest areas of unsealed land but also for particularly creative solutions.

The aim of the year-round competition is to highlight simple, locally implementable measures and thus raise awareness of the importance of unsealing. “In Germany, around 45 per cent of settlement and transport areas are sealed – a situation that we at Provinzial would like to change through our competition,” explains Dr Dietmar Schölisch, Head of Investor Relations & Sustainability.

Dr Wolfgang Breuer, CEO of the Provinzial Group, is particularly pleased that cities such as Detmold, Münster, Düsseldorf and Kiel are also supporting the initiative. “These cities are making a long-term commitment to an environmentally conscious urban environment and are offering citizens within their sphere of influence the opportunity to actively participate in and support our competition – true to the motto: working together for a good cause.”