In terms of content, this year's "Consense" will deal with three main topics. The first day will focus on the added value created by sustainable building – informatively illustrated by reports of the experiences of investors, project developers, architects, engineers, construction companies and manufacturers of building products. In addition, new projects that have been issued with the DGNB certificate since the beginning of the year will be presented and discussed.  

The second topic will concentrate on the international cooperation and competition that exists between different certification systems. For 2009, the DGNB has announced that it is certifying foreign projects for the first time. In conjunction with the American LEED and British BREEAM teams, the organization is also working on uniform methods for calculation of the carbon footprint. This indicator represents a building's total CO2 emissions over its useful life and, in the opinion of the DGNB, must be the core of any really serious evaluation system.
The third topic will move the discussion away from the individual building and in the direction of sustainable urban development.

The overall aim, said DGNB president Werner Sobek, is to lend more weight to the real-estate industry during this year's "Consense" than in 2008.

As in the preceding year, workshops will supplement the program of presentations. They will be used to talk about the revised DGNB certification system, six new versions of the system for different types of buildings, DGNB auditor training, the issues of life-cycle costs and eco balancing as well as how the DGNB certification software works and the possibilities of building to meet recycling requirements. Excursions to buildings that are located in Stuttgart and the environs and that have been awarded the DGNB certificate promise to provide some insights into the practical side of sustainable building.

For more information on Consense 2009:
http://www.dgnb.de/de/veranstaltungen/consense-2009/index.php?edit_document=1