Comparison between DGNB and LEED market figures in Germany

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced their TOP 10 LEED countries for 2017. According to the evaluation methodology of the USGBC, Germany is in 5th place in the international LEED markets outside the United States (measured by certified gross floor area). This background information serves to better classify the numbers communicated there in relation to the DGNB.

According to this and the figures published on the USGBC website, there are 276 LEED-certified projects in Germany on 31.12.2017, which together amount to a gross floor area of 7.00 million square meters.

The following additional information is used for further classification:

• LEED has not recorded significant growth in the number of certified projects in Germany in recent years. The value for the year 2017 (57 projects) is at the level of 2014 (53 projects).
• One third of the LEED-certified projects in Germany in 2017 relate to the scheme "Core & Shell", which merely evaluates the building shell and explicitly excludes the expansion.
• The number of newly registered projects in 2017 is 41, the lowest since 2010.
• 96 percent of the projects certified in Germany were rated on the basis of the "LEED 2009" version or older.
• The total share of LEED international projects is 12 percent.

Compared with this, the corresponding key figures of the DGNB certification:

• In 2017, the DGNB awarded 1,052 projects, including 976 in Germany.
• If one excludes small residential buildings results the number of 306 projects, which were awarded by the DGNB 2017, of it 230 in Germany.
• In the past two years, the DGNB has recorded an annual increase of more than 20 percent in the number of certified projects in Germany.
• The number of newly registered DGNB projects in 2017 is 2,112, including 1,965 in Germany. Without the small residential buildings, the number of registered projects in Germany in 2017 will be 345.
• As of December 31, 2017, a total of 2,825 DGNB projects were awarded worldwide, of which 2,504 were in Germany.
• The corresponding gross floor area of DGNB certified projects is 51.7 million square meters, of which 33.3 million square meters in Germany.
• The percentage of DGNB certified projects abroad is 11 percent. Excluding the certified small residential buildings, the proportion of certified DGNB projects abroad is 23 percent.

In this context, reference is also made to the results of the annual Market Focus "Investment Market Green Buildings" published by BNP Paribas Real Estate. Accordingly, DGNB has consistently held a market share of more than 80 percent in new buildings in Germany for commercial real estate for years.

Market development DGNB and LEED in Germany:

Comparability of certification numbers

In principle, the DGNB would like to point out that the comparability of certification numbers as well as individual certified projects among each other is only limitedly possible. In addition to the sometimes fundamental substantive and conceptual differences between DGNB, LEED and other rating systems, the requirements can vary enormously depending on the project and the associated scheme. This applies both to the respectively addressed criteria and weightings as well as to the resulting scope of certification. In addition, all systems are based on the versioning principle, which means that the requirements for projects based on a system version from 2009 are fundamentally different from those for current versions.

Finally, DGNB wants to make clear that a certification is and only should be a tool to support a holistic and life cycle oriented design approach as well as a quality assurance for the completed project. It is DGNB's philosophy that the goal has to be to support the design, construction and use of better buildings which are future-proof and support our global climate goals while providing a healthy and high quality built environment for all of us.