Recordings from the DGNB Annual Congress

Opening of the DGNB Annual Congress 2026 (in German)

At the opening event of the fifth DGNB Annual Congress, Dr Christine Lemaitre and Johannes Kreißig discuss the current state of sustainable builiding.

Speakers:

• Johannes Kreißig (DGNB)
• Dr Christine Lemaitre (DGNB) 

Host: Felix Jansen (DGNB)

Keynote speech 'Turnaround in sight? – Global perspectives on sustainable construction' (in German)

Speaker: Oliver Rapf (BPIE – Buildings Performance Institute Europe)

Keynote speech 'News from Brussels and Berlin: The European Buildings Directive and its implications for the building policy debate in Germany' (in German)

Speaker: Prof Dr Martin Pehnt (ifeu – Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg)
 

Download the presentation (in German)

Themed discussion room 'The (difficult) path from global to national: Why climate action in construction is not already standard' (in German)

with an introductory presentation by Barbara Metz

Speakers:

• Barbara Metz (Deutsche Umwelthilfe)
• Prof Dr Martin Pehnt (ifeu – Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg)
• Oliver Rapf (BPIE – Buildings Performance Institute Europe)

Host: Dr Christine Lemaitre (DGNB)

Keynote speech 'How sustainable construction is possible even on a tight budget' (in German)

Speaker: Gabriele Pfründer (Gebäudemanagement Schleswig-Holstein AöR (GMSH))

Themed discussion room 'Local authorities and federal states in a tight spot: how sustainable construction can work even when funds are scarce' (in German)

Speakers:

• Gerhard Greiner (Architekten- und Stadtplanerkammer Hessen (AKH))
• Reiner Nagel (Bundesstiftung Baukultur)
• Jürgen Odszuck (Stadtverwaltung Heidelberg)
• Gabriele Pfründer (Gebäudemanagement Schleswig-Holstein AöR (GMSH))

Host: Matthias Schäpers (DGNB)

Themed discussion room 'Maximum impact with minimum effort: how much simplification can certification tolerate?' (in German)

Speakers:

• Dr Anna Braune DGNB)
• Zoe Ilias (ATP sustain GmbH)
• Lars Knabben (e² energieberatung GmbH)
• Jan Zak (ikl GmbH)

Host: Felix Jansen (DGNB)

Wrap-up of the first congress day: Take-aways from Day 1 of the DGNB Annual Congress (in German)

In the concluding wrap-up of the first day of the congress, we review all the ideas from the keynote speeches and themed discussion rooms and summarise the most important findings.

Speakers:

• Dr Anna Braune (DGNB)
• Dr Christine Lemaitre (DGNB)
• Matthias Schäpers (DGNB)

Host: Felix Jansen (DGNB)

Talk 'Bauturbo Rapid Housing Development: What Next? New Opportunities for Local Authorities' (in German)

Speakers:

• Leon Beck (Architects for Future Deutschland e.V.)
• Sylvia Pilarsky-Grosch (BUND Baden-Württemberg e.V.)

Host: Dr Christine Lemaitre (DGNB)

Keynote speech 'Risks and resilience in the face of climate change' (in German)

Speaker: Dr Steffen Hinss (Munich Re)
 

Download the presentation (in German)

Themed discussion room 'From Ambition to Financing: Sustainable Finance for Real Estate Projects' (in German)

Speakers:

• Sabine Döbeli (Swiss Sustainable Finance)
• André Meyer (GLS Gemeinschaftsbank eG)
• Sascha Rodenberg (NRW.BANK)

Host: Seema Issar (DGNB)

Themed discussion room 'Debate on costs revisited: How much truth is behind the myth of additional costs associated with sustainable construction?' (in German)

Speakers:

• Jens Böhnlein (Siemens Healthineers AG)
• Thomas Kraubitz (Buro Happold GmbH)
• Nicole Wallner (Ten Brinke Group)

Host: Felix Jansen (DGNB)

Themed discussion room 'Award-winning architecture: Why the Mehrzweckhalle Ingerkingen (i.e. Ingerkingen multi-purpose hall) is a model of renovation culture' (in German)

with an introductory presentation by Kilian Juraschitz

Speakers:

• Kilian Juraschitz (Atelier Kaiser Shen)
• Prof. Dr. Julian Lienhard (str.ucture GmbH)
• Markus Müller (Architektenkammer Baden-Württemberg)

Host: Felix Jansen (DGNB)

Themed discussion room 'Responsibility 2.0: The impact of sufficiency as a guiding principle in architecture' (in German)

Speakers:

• Matthias Foitzik (foundation 5+ Architekten)
• Ruth Klingelhöfer-Krötsch (Klingelhöfer Krötsch Architekten)
• Prof Stefan Krötsch (Klingelhöfer Krötsch Architekten)
• Prof Amandus Samsøe Sattler (DGNB President; ensømble Studio Architektur Berlin)

Host: Matthias Schäpers (DGNB)

Themed discussion room 'Global challenges, local answers: How to shift common architectural practice to become more appropriate'

Speakers:

• Illya Azaroff (Architect and Founder, +LAB studio; President, American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2026 / New York City, United States)
• Rosie Paul (Co-Founder, Masons Ink Architecture 2030 / Bengaluru, India)

Host: Dr Christine Lemaitre (DGNB)

Wrap-up of the second congress day: Take-aways from Day 2 of the DGNB Annual Congress (in German)

In the concluding wrap-up of the second day of the congress, we review all the ideas from the keynote speeches and themed discussion rooms and summarise the most important findings.

Speakers:

• Seema Issar (DGNB)
• Dr Christine Lemaitre (DGNB)
• Matthias Schäpers (DGNB)

Host: Felix Jansen (DGNB)

Talk 'Setting the scene at DGNB's first International Day'

Speakers:

• Johannes Kreißig (DGNB)
• Dr Christine Lemaitre (DGNB)

Host: Felix Jansen (DGNB)

Themed discussion room 'Expanding the network: Insights into the markets of the newest DGNB System Partners'

Speakers:

• Sanela Klarić (GBC Bosnia and Herzegovina)
• Maksym Kryvosheiev GBC Ukraine)
• Tanja Mance (GBC Croatia)

Host: Dr Christine Lemaitre (DGNB)

Themed discussion room '3 spotlights in 1 hour' – SHIFT: A short introduction and working areas

Speakers:

• Juergen Benson-Strohmayer (TAELON7)
• Raquel Díez (GBCE)
• Sebastian C. Koth (Technical University of Munich)

Host: Dr Christine Lemaitre (DGNB)

Themed discussion room '3 spotlights in 1 hour' – Social Positive Award

Speakers:

• Isabella Aurich (SGNI)
• Martin Haas (haascookzemmrich STUDIO2050)

Host: Dr Anna Braune (DGNB

Themed discussion room '3 spotlights in 1 hour' – EU Taxonomy Verification in Austria – Insights

Speaker: Petra Kühnel (ÖGNI)

Host: Felix Jansen (DGNB)

Themed discussion room 'CPEA & Taxonomy: Building a common language for buildings'

Speakers:

• Julie Emmrich (World Green Building Council)
• Ursula Hartenberger (CPEA)
• Sebastian Krautzer (ATP sustain GmbH)

Host: Seema Issar (CPEA)

Themed discussion room 'More than green: How DGNB Certification is making an impact internationally'

Speakers:

• Rolf Demmler (SoftGrid Shanghai Ltd.)
• Thomas Kraubitz (Buro Happold)
• Robert Smodiš (Murexin)

• Richard Teichmann (Teichmann & Compagnons Property Networks GmbH)

Host: Johannes Kreißig (DGNB)

Themed discussion room 'Knowledge as a key factor: How sustainable building is becoming mainstream'

Speakers:

• Rolf Demmler (SoftGrid Shanghai Ltd.)
• Stefan Fries (e3 consult s.à.r.l)

• Dr Yasmina Sarhan (German University in Cairo)

Host: Maresa Schmid (DGNB)

Themed discussion room 'First Movers Roundtable: Pioneers of DGNB Certification internationally'

Speakers:

• Barbara Beckmann (EK Energiekonzepte AG)
• Lukas Gerstle (HORNBACH Baumarkt AG)
• Attila Kovacs (CBRE)
• Gernot Schubert (Hilti AG)
• Marion Wallner (Delta)
• Steffen Wiegerling (HORNBACH Baumarkt AG)

Hosts: Johannes Kreißig (DGNB) and Levan Ekhvaia (DGNB)

Wrap-up of the third congress day: Final thoughts and take-aways

In the concluding wrap-up of the third and last day of the congress, we review all the ideas from the keynote speeches and themed discussion rooms and summarise the most important findings.

Speakers:

• Seema Issar (CPEA)
• Johannes Kreißig (DGNB)
• Dr Christine Lemaitre (DGNB)
• Maresa Schmid (DGNB)

Host: Felix Jansen (DGNB)