DGNB certification (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen) is an internationally recognized certification with a focus on sustainability in construction.
The certification originates in Germany. DGNB is a voluntary certification that assesses projects based on environmental, economic and social aspects. Depending on the overall assessment, which also includes the quality of the area, the process and the technical considerations, a project can be awarded either bronze, silver, gold or platinum certification.
In this article, we will take a closer look at the different types of DGNB certifications, what is required to achieve them, and the benefits that pursuing these standards can bring to your business.
According to the guidelines, there are different types of DGNB certifications, each of which assesses a building, a renovation, a construction or an urban area on the basis of an overall assessment. The DGNB certification covers many areas, including indoor climate, social conditions and biodiversity.
There are five different types of DGNB certifications:
When a new building is to be certified, it can be done through pre-qualification, where the project material is assessed based on the DGNB criteria. However, the final assessment of the certification can only be made when the building has been handed over. Certification of a new building can take place up to 3 years after completion, but is typically done immediately after delivery.
All types of new buildings can be DGNB-certified. If the building does not fit under one of the following building typologies, it can be certified under the FLEX arrangement:
The FLEX arrangement ensures that all types of new construction can be certified. At DGNB FLEX, an adapted version of the arrangement is drawn up for each individual building, so that the criteria match the type of building.
This is a certification for existing buildings. DGNB Operation is a tool to help building owners make development plans and promote sustainability initiatives in their buildings. During the process, sustainability data is collected and verified for the real performance of the building, which helps the building owner to optimize the operation of the building.
The DGNB Operation certification is relevant for all types of buildings, regardless of condition and age. In short, this certification is about collecting data on current performance, after which a plan can be drawn up to improve the building. When three years have passed since certification, the building must be re-certified, where the improvements are evaluated and plans are made for new measures.
This certification is for minor renovations and refurbishing of tenancies, and has been prepared to ensure that office tenancies are renovated and redecorated in a sustainable way between tenants. The certification must prevent tenants from having all the interior torn out and replaced with new ones between each tenant, as this significantly shortens the lifespan of materials and fixtures. DGNB Room also helps to ensure greater synergy between the inner and outer framework of a building.
The certification is based on the same holistic approach as the other DGNB certifications, and further consists of 3 qualities and 12 criteria, which form the basis for renovation and furnishing projects with a lower environmental impact. The certification can be achieved in cooperation between landlord and tenant, but it is also possible for the landlord alone to obtain a basic certification from DGNB Room.
The villa certification focuses on smaller housing projects, such as newly built single-family houses, multi-family houses and holiday homes of a maximum of 1500 m2 overall. Buildings over this area must continue to be certified under DGNB Renovation and Construction. DGNB Villa is a separate certification and differs from the others by not being awarded bronze, silver, gold and platinum, but instead an overall sustainability score, where up to 5 stars can be achieved.
In this type of certification, climate impact can also be calculated based on CO2 emissions per person instead of CO2 emissions per m2, which ensures that unnecessarily large homes are not rewarded. Up to 6 units of a maximum of 250 m2 per unit, can be certified together.
Urban areas of at least 2 hectares and with a residential share of between 10% and 90% can be certified under this type. This type of certification is designed to create sustainable development of urban areas. This is not a fixed standard and develops as more knowledge and experience is gained with sustainable measures in urban areas.
As urban areas typically take many years to develop, this certification can be achieved in three phases: Plan Certification during the planning phase, Midway Certification during the development of the urban area and Final Certification after the completion of the urban area. Furthermore, the certification for urban areas can only be achieved for silver, gold and platinum levels.
You can read much more about the various certifications, how they are obtained and the requirements for them, on DGNB’s website.
In order for a building to obtain DGNB certification, it is required that sustainable building materials with minimal environmental impact are used, that long-term solutions are implemented that reduce costs for maintenance and operation, and that the building creates a healthy environment for people to stay in with a good indoor climate and good outdoor areas.
The DGNB certification is based on a point system where the construction is assessed in six focus areas, giving a total score from 0-100%. The six focus areas reflect DGNB’s holistic approach and include:
Therefore, it is a central element of the DGNB arrangement that the building’s score must be evenly distributed across all 6 focus areas in order for it to obtain a DGNB certification. It is therefore not possible for a project to only use sustainable materials without thinking about the accessibility of the building or the long-term lifetime costs of the construction.
Depending on how high a score a building achieves, it can be awarded a bronze, silver, gold or platinum certification. In the illustration below, you can see how high a score the various certifications require:
For the DGNB Renovation and Construction certification, it is also possible to obtain the independent supplementary awards DGNB Heart, DGNB Diamond and DGNB Planet.
DGNB Heart is given to buildings where at least 75% of their stated points are awarded as heart points. The certification is awarded to buildings with an extra focus on the health and well-being of the users through optimization of the indoor climate. DGNB Heart has a special focus on the five main categories: Air quality, Acoustic, Visual comfort, Thermic comfort and Architectural value.
DGNB Diamond focuses on the architectural qualities of a project from a sustainability perspective. This is done continuously throughout the construction phases. The purpose of the certification is to clarify and support architectural quality in DGNB certified buildings based on the three main categories: functionality, durability and beauty. Here, it is assessed how the building’s design, choice of materials and use over time can create qualities that contribute significantly to the building culture.
DGNB Planet is an award created to bring buildings within the planetary boundaries. The planetary boundaries define nine areas that are essential for life on the planet, and for each of these areas an upper limit has been defined that must ensure the maintenance of our ecosystems. The planetary areas are climate change, biodiversity, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, land use, chemistry and fresh water. Based on these, a number of knock-out requirements have been set up in this award, and if a building does not comply with these, it cannot achieve the award.
DGNB Planet is continuously developed as more data and knowledge becomes available about the planetary boundaries and how they can be held up against buildings. Therefore, it is also an award that must be maintained in annual reports of the building’s biodiversity strategy and energy consumption.
Projektagenten makes it easy for customers to find construction projects with a focus on sustainability through our advanced filtering functions. Via the platform, users can filter and identify projects according to various sustainability criteria, such as DGNB, the Nordic Ecolabel or LEED and BREEAM certification, so that they can quickly get an overview of relevant options. This saves time and ensures that customers only see the projects that meet their specific sustainability requirements. You can read more about the other types of certifications in this article:
An essential part of the research effort at Projektagenten is to obtain information about the project’s focus on sustainability and any plans for sustainability certifications. Our researchers conduct several interviews with the project’s involved players, where they, among other things, obtain information about certifications, material selection and the general approach to sustainability in the project. This thorough approach ensures that our platform offers accurate and up-to-date information on each project’s sustainability profile.
With Projektagenten’s filtrations, professionals can quickly identify projects based on various sustainability parameters. This allows them to target their efforts towards construction projects where their knowledge and experience of sustainable construction is in high demand.
By focusing on projects with sustainability ambitions, both implementing and consulting professionals can strengthen their competitiveness, efficiently use their resources and position themselves as strong players in the growing demand for green solutions.
With DGNB certifications, builders also get a strategic tool adapted to sustainability ambitions for the specific projects as well as the actors involved in the projects. This simultaneously provides data and associated documentation verified by a third party, that can be used in connection with green financing and ESG reporting, which is increasingly required by the companies’ business partners.
