German DGNB goes international
Buildings in China and Bulgaria are to be certificated according to the German DGNB standard (German quality certification for sustainable construction) soon. Also other countries decided to use the German DGNB certification, which international alignments were presented at the “Consense” conference in Stuttgart.
“The global roll out of the DGNB standard was our goal from the very start”, proclaimed Christine Lemaitre, managing director of DGNB. „Therefore, the certification system is set up to be adapted quickly to the demands of other countries and there tradition of constructing.”
The basic is a new international core system for certifications of sustainable buildings which follows laws, norms, and technical regulations of the European Union. “This is the difference between the DGNB and any other label in the market”, said Peter Mösel, member of the presidential board.
If you want to get an LEED certification you must have many documentary proofs according to the American ASHRAE standards. That means a lot of work for everybody involved in the project because the proof of energy consumption is fundamentally different between ASHRAE and the German regulation EnEV.
The new system of DGNB was installed prior for the partner organisations to benefit. Together with the DGNB they adapt the certification system to their country. If there is no local regulation for a certain certification parameter, the partner organisation can take over the criteria of the international core system. The same method is used to calculate the ecological balance – if there is no country specific data for a construction material, the international data of the core system will be the basic.
But the DGNB system is even more: It already contains the expected European norms “in their structure and philosophy”. This means to consider the life cycle of a building and its performance – not only single actions.
The assure the quality in adapting the DGNB standard to other countries there is an international board which coordinates the cooperation.
The basic is a new international core system for certifications of sustainable buildings which follows laws, norms, and technical regulations of the European Union. “This is the difference between the DGNB and any other label in the market”, said Peter Mösel, member of the presidential board.
If you want to get an LEED certification you must have many documentary proofs according to the American ASHRAE standards. That means a lot of work for everybody involved in the project because the proof of energy consumption is fundamentally different between ASHRAE and the German regulation EnEV.
The new system of DGNB was installed prior for the partner organisations to benefit. Together with the DGNB they adapt the certification system to their country. If there is no local regulation for a certain certification parameter, the partner organisation can take over the criteria of the international core system. The same method is used to calculate the ecological balance – if there is no country specific data for a construction material, the international data of the core system will be the basic.
But the DGNB system is even more: It already contains the expected European norms “in their structure and philosophy”. This means to consider the life cycle of a building and its performance – not only single actions.
The assure the quality in adapting the DGNB standard to other countries there is an international board which coordinates the cooperation.
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