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:
Compared with this, the corresponding key figures of the DGNB certification:
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:
DGNB (incl. small residential buildings) |
DGNB (without small residential buildings) |
LEED | |
Certified projects in German in 2017 | 976 | 230 | 57 |
Registered projects in Germany in 2017 | 1.965 | 345 | 41 |
Certified projects in Germany overall | 2,825 | 1,333 | 276 |
Share international projects total | 11 % | 23 % | 12 % |
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.
Felix Jansen
Director PR, Communications and Marketing
Phone: +49 711 722322-32
f.jansen at dgnb.de