Sustainable buildings certification – DGNB

German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB)

The German Sustainable Building Council – established in summer 2007 – promotes sustainable construction in Germany and consequently develops requirements for sustainable construction in cooperation with its members. In January 2009 during the BAU conference the first certificates were given out in Munich. In 2009 auditing and certification of sustainable office buildings (new buildings) started. At the same time a transfer of the system to further types of buildings (industrial building etc.) took place.

Since the very first beginning we attended the German Sustainable Building Council. As one of 16 initiators we significantly co-developed the certification system. The Life Cycle Assessment is an integral and mandatory part of the German Certificate for sustainable construction.

We are participating in the (further) development of the certification system, especially when dealing with ecological criteria or upgrades of the system (e.g. for urban quarters). As expert counselors we assist the DNGB in the verification of unclear LCA results and train auditors in background knowledge about LCA (Var10 – Life cycle assessment) and in the application of criteria profiles about ecological quality (O2.1 Criteria-Knowledge of ecological quality). Furthermore we represent the DGNB in the discussion about rules for calculating the “carbon footprint” of buildings. Under the roof of UNEP Sustainable Buildings & Climate Initiative, the American system LEED, the British BREEAM, the French HQE, the Australian GreenStar, the Finnish VTT and the DGNB will present a worldwide uniform capture of the climate-relevant footprint of buildings at the conference in Copenhagen (COP 15) in December 2009.

Features of the German Certification for Sustainable Construction

The certificate contains up to 63 requirements (criteria), for which specific (often qualitative) values or goals have to be reached. The certificate shows following structure:

• Ecological quality
• Economical quality
• Socio-cultural and functional quality
• Process quality
• Technical quality and
• Location quality (separate disclosure)

Depending on the achieved degree of fulfillment of all these qualities, the certified objects get a grade and a label in Bronze, Silver or Gold.

The certificate is assigned after the completion of the construction. For this purpose an audit conducted after construction or during the planning phase is evaluated by a compliance test. This audit has to be executed and submitted by an auditor who was trained and accredited at the DGNB.

In the run-up to the audit the owner has an additional opportunity to show the wanted achievement of objects with a legal pre-certificate, in order to use the declaration of intention for marketing purposes.

Your certificate in cooperation with us

No matter if you as builder or general contractor search for a comprehensive assistance for the pursuing of a certification, or if you as architect are interested in the consideration of sustainability criteria, we consult you in all areas of audit and the required Life Cycle Calculations – Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Cost Calculation.

With our DGNB-Auditor (from Dec.2009) we create comprehensive audits, normally in teams, which are put together individually, to provide the best work efficiency.

Are you interested in the certification of a sustainable building or in the work of the German Sustainable Building Council? We are your contact – beginning with the creation of Life Cycle Assessment as well as Life Cycle Cost Analysis and ending with audits accompanying the planning phase.