Products & Solutions

Better Cities, Better Living: A Bridge to Sustainability

The world is in the midst of the largest urban growth wave in history. That is precisely why cities play a key role on the road to a sustainable future. Silanes from Evonik are already helping to combine good infrastructure, careful use of resources, and a high quality of life.

Cities are the heart of society: the majority of people already live in cities. They generate 80 percent of the world's national product and consume about three-quarters of the world's energy; they are responsible for about four-fifths of global carbon dioxide emissions and about 75 percent of waste.

All this shows: cities can do a great deal to slow down global warming. UN Secretary General António Guterres, said in October 2019: "In fact, it is cities that are largely winning or losing the climate battle. The decisions made today and in the future regarding urban infrastructure [...] will have a decisive influence on the emission curve.”

In many industrialized countries, urbanization is progressing only slowly. In these countries, it is mainly a matter of preserving and maintaining existing structures. In emerging countries and countries of the global south, on the other hand, cities are growing rapidly into multimillion metropolises. Here, developing the infrastructure intelligently and at the same time as sustainably as possible is becoming a global task for the future. Findings from the World Cities Report 2020 reaffirm that sustainable urbanization is integral to sustainable development and for the fight against climate change.

Silane-based building protection products marketed by Evonik under the brand name PROTECTOSIL® can help on the journey to sustainable urbanization. The deep impregnations prevent water and substances dissolved in it from penetrating and attacking the building material. Thanks to the invisible, permanent protection against harmful environmental influences, the service life of concrete bridges or public buildings can be extended by several decades.

More Information