Press release

DGNB at a glance - October 2012

DGNB at a glance

Stuttgart, October 2012.

The beginning: The German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) was founded in Stuttgart on 25 June 2007. In an effort to promote sustainable building, the Council resolved to develop a certification system to identify and to distinguish particularly environmentally friendly, economically efficient buildings that conserve resources and have been optimized in terms of user comfort – the DGNB Certificate.

Membership structure: All areas of the building and real estate sectors are represented in the DGNB. These include architects, engineers, construction companies and building contractors, manufacturers of building products, investors, building owners, proprietors, project managers, building operators, supply and disposal service companies, members of public authorities and non-governmental organizations, and representatives from academia and testing institutes. At present, some 1,200 member organizations belong to the DGNB.

Organizational structure: The central bodies of the DGNB are the Board of Directors, which represents the members, and the administrative office, which serves as the association’s operational and managerial organ. Its activities are bundled into working groups, expert groups and committees. At present, over 500 experts from among the members are involved in these bodies on a voluntary basis. Professor Manfred Hegger is President of the DGNB and Dr. Christine Lemaitre is its CEO.

Events: Consense, International Trade Fair and Congress for Sustainable Building, Investment, Operations and Maintenance, is organized every year by the DGNB together with the Messe Stuttgart. The DGNB is, furthermore, represented at all sector-relevant trade fairs such as “EXPO REAL” – International Trade Fair for Commercial Property and Investment – and the “BAU” trade fair. As of 2012, the DGNB will be an official partner to the German Sustainability Award.

DGNB Certificates: The first DGNB Certificates were awarded for New Office and Administrative Buildings at the BAU trade fair in Munich in January 2009. Certificates can now be awarded to buildings with the following schemes:

Existing buildings

  • Office and administrative buildings

New buildings

  • Educational Facilities
  • Office and Administrative Buildings
  • Retail Buildings
  • Hotels
  • Industrial Buildings
  • Hospitals
  • Laboratory Buildings
  • Fit outs
  • Urban Districts
  • Residential Buildings
  • Public Assembly Buildings

Multiple certification for new buildings

  • Educational Facilities
  • Retail Buildings
  • Hotels
  • Industrial Buildings
  • Residential Buildings

Mixed occupancy for new buildings
Structures used for two or more purposes can receive a certificate for:

  • Office and Administrative Buildings
  • Retail Buildings
  • Hotels
  • Residential Buildings

Other schemes are currently in development, for instance for smaller residential buildings.
To date, some 500 buildings have been awarded DGNB Certificates or Pre-certificates in Germany and abroad, with an estimated 400 projects currently registered for certification.

Academy: The DGNB Academy provides opportunities for further training targeted to individual needs. It provides a broad professional audience with basic knowledge about sustainable building. Here, it is possible to qualify as a “DGNB Registered Professional”. Those who see the DGNB Certification System as a career opportunity can train as a DGNB Auditor or Consultant. Our on-site training sessions offer precise know-how on special topics relating to sustainable building.

More than 700 Auditors, Consultants and Registered Professionals have been accredited by the DGNB to date.

DGNB Navigator: The Navigator is a comprehensive online database. Architects, planners, building owners and everyone else involved in construction will find detailed and extensive information on products used in construction here. For example, this includes information on the environmental impact of products, calculating life cycle costs, energy requirements or the emission behavior of products included in the database.

Internationalization: Based on the international version of the DGNB System, which itself is founded on current European norms and standards, this system can be used in all countries and adapted to country-specific requirements.
Together with international partner organizations in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Switzerland and Thailand, the certification system is being used in these countries or is currently being adapted to their individual characteristics. The DGNB is actively involved in training projects in Brazil, China, Russia and Ukraine.

More detailed information concerning the DGNB international network can be found at www.dgnb-system.de.

Additional information
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen e.V. (DGNB – German Sustainable Building Council)
Kronprinzstrasse 11
70173 Stuttgart, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)711 72 23 22-0
Fax: +49 (0)711 72 23 22-99
E-mail: info@dgnb.de
www.dgnb.de
www.dgnb-system.de

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