DGNB Sustainability Challenge

The DGNB Sustainability Challenge is looking for genuine innovations that question the existing, initiate something new and bring about change. Innovation has many faces. This also applies to the construction and real estate industry and its approach to sustainability issues. The DGNB Sustainability Challenge aims to provide a platform for such innovations and to award prizes to the best of them.

Until March 23, 2023, interested people applied with their innovation, research project or start-up.

After the initial selection process by the jury, the top three participants per category had the opportunity to present their projects at a digital pitch event on 23 May 2023.

Innovators are invited to apply for the DGNB Sustainability Challenge in the following three categories:

Category: Innovation

Companies with a product or service innovation that is different from existing solutions on the market and makes an important contribution to climate protection or the circular economy.

Category: Start-up

Start-up companies (up to 5 years after the company was founded) that break new ground with their innovative business model and promote sustainability in the construction and real estate industry.

Category: Research

Scientists with ongoing or completed research projects who make an important contribution to the transformation of the construction and real estate industry towards more sustainability.

Additional: Special prize for a student project

In their application, participants must highlight what is genuinely new about their product, business model or research project and what contribution they make to sustainability, climate protection or the circular economy.

In addition to access to the international DGNB expert network, the winners can look forward to the following:

• Extensive media coverage
• Opportunity to present at the digital pitch event and DGNB Sustainability Day
• Video interviews on the DGNB Youtube channel
• Recording of the keynote speeches
• Poster exhibition of the projects in the Living Showroom for sustainable building in Stuttgart

Selection procedure and announcement of the winners

In line with last year's procedure, the competition jury will select the winners in addition to the best participants per category (innovation, start-up, research). In the "Research" category, a special prize will also be awarded for student projects. In addition, there is an audience award for all categories, which is based on the results of online voting and on-site voting at the DGNB Sustainability Day.

At a digital pitch event on 23 May 2023, the finalists of the three categories can present themselves and their ideas to interested parties. This event will be followed by the online voting for the audience award.

On 20 June 2023, the finalists can present themselves once again to the visitors of the DGNB Sustainability Day - in short presentations and with their own exhibition space.

The jury of the DGNB Sustainability Challenge will once again include representatives of the DGNB Innovation Advisory Board as well as other experts in order to include an even wider range of expertise in the selection.

Digital pitch by the finalists

After the initial selection process by the jury, the top three participants per category will have the opportunity to present their projects at a digital pitch event on 23 May 2023.

You can watch a recording (language: German) of the event in 2022 on the DGNB YouTube channel. To the video

Afterwards, everyone will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite via online voting on the DGNB blog. Together with a vote on 20 June on site in Stuttgart, the audience award will be determined.

The jury for the DGNB Sustainability Challenge

Experts from the Management Board and the Innovation Advisory Board of the DGNB, as well as from the thematic areas of research, innovation and start-up in the context of sustainable construction, form the jury of the DGNB Sustainability Challenge.