Green Building – Green buildings with certificate

We only have one planet. How can we sustain it? How can we live, do business and build on our planet so that it is inhabitable for the next generation? By acting sustainably. It’s an obligation on all of society, including the construction industry. The key word here is Green Building, which means ecological construction, covering everything from selecting suitable construction locations to specially chosen materials, increased energy efficiency, and certified interiors.

The Green Building concept aims to preserve the ecosystem and the environment, and to benefit people and society. It therefore takes the changing relations between people, the built environment and the ecosystem into account. The aim is to leave behind an intact world fit for habitation by future generations.

The guiding principle of sustainability therefore ideally covers the whole life cycle of a building - from the project development and planning through to construction, operation, maintenance and disassembly. "Green" buildings are therefore characterised by a high-quality ecological design and superior resource efficiency in the areas of energy, water and materials. Damaging effects on health and the environment are reduced to a minimum.

The goal of the European Green Deal is to significantly increase environmental standards throughout the EU and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. The regulations governing overall energy efficiency for buildings will also be harmonized with the European Green Deal, with the goal of decarbonising the construction sector in the EU by 2050. The reform to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) resolved as part of the Green Deal stipulates, among other things, that residential buildings should reduce their energy consumption by 16 percent on average by 2030, and by 20 to 22 percent by 2035, for instance.

This means that the construction industry, architects, and building operators must prepare for stricter environmental requirements, in particular with respect to energy efficiency, resource protection, and CO2 emissions. The CO₂ footprint of a building will become a primary criteria in all future investments and calls for tenders. This applies both to new construction projects and existing buildings. Energy-efficient planning and building energy renovations, as well as corresponding certifications, are therefore becoming more important in the construction sector.

The Empire State Building, the most famous office building in the world, was fully renovated in 2009. Since then, it has been a model of sustainability and energy efficiency. It was awarded the LEED Gold Award in 2011, making it the largest building in the USA to receive a LEED award. LEED is one of the most well known certification systems for assessing the ecological, social and economic quality of buildings.

Sustainable buildings are more valuable, with lower operating and maintenance costs. With their high quality evident to owners, tenants and users, they are easier to sell or lease. Certified buildings can be compared at both a national and at an international level. Demand for certified buildings is constantly increasing.

Various certification systems for sustainable construction have been established in the international sphere. They rate buildings using a specific catalogue of criteria, but use different weightings and are based on typical national standards and regulations.

The most well-known Green Building Rating Systems are

• the British certification system BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method),
• the LEED certification system (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the U.S. Green Building Council,
• and the DGNB certification system (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen e.V. - German Sustainable Building Council).

These certifications allow building operators and owners to follow a structured procedure to take practical and measurable measures for the planning, construction, operation and maintenance of sustainable buildings. They are now applied worldwide.

The GWP value will become binding for buildings

Since buildings are responsible for a significant portion of greenhouse gas emissions, the GWP value of a building is another important indicator of its environmental compatibility.
GWP stands for Global Warming Potential, and describes the greenhouse gas potential of a substance or a building.

The GWP value of a building is calculated based on the construction materials used, the energy footprint and the building's useful life. The higher the GWP value, the more the building contributes to global warming.
Starting in January 2027, calculation of the GWP binding will be required for new buildings over 2000 m², then for all new buildings starting in 2030. This means that building owners and architects will have to focus more specifically on the GWP values of buildings.

The three biggest certifications for Green Buildings

The certification systems examine and certify the sustainability of whole buildings. The German DGNB Seal and the American and Canadian LEED certificate are currently battling to be considered the most comprehensive certification system. For example, Deutsche Bank decided to have all its company buildings, and especially newer buildings, certified according to DGNB and LEED so that it can compare its international property portfolio.

All three labels follow the same basic procedure. Buildings aiming for the award must meet a very complex catalogue of requirements. Various criteria are assessed using a points system and assigned to the building. An assessment is produced from all of the categories and sub-categories which indicates how sustainable the building is.

The GWP value is taken into consideration in most Green Building certification procedures. Buildings with a lower GWP value have a better chance of receiving a Green Building certification and achieving a higher assessment.

Building sustainability has become increasingly important in recent years. Certification systems for sustainable buildings are gaining recognition, alongside the development of new criteria and assessment systems. A building certificate is awarded when the quality requirements specified and published by an organisation have been met. These certifications are primarily used for quality assurance and to publicly communicate that the respective label has been obtained. Investors, owners, tenants and users can assess the quality of a building based on its certification. The three selected seals are difficult to compare since factors are weighted very differently.

Construction products significantly contribute to the sustainability of buildings. If planners or owners wish to gain certification, they need to schedule products which meet the certification requirements. Online databases help with product research and verification of the certification body. Manufacturers can document their commitment in the area of sustainability.

• IBU.data
  A database provided by the Institute for Construction and the Environment (IBU) which provides the ecological data from the environment product declarations (EPDs) in XML format. The EPDs can thus be used to calculate a building’s ecological assessments.
• DGNB Navigator
  The DGNB Navigator also lists construction products which feature environmental product declarations (EPDs) as well as complete information. The DGNB navigator builds a bridge between construction products and the DGNB certification system for buildings by providing the required data for building certification.
• greenbuildingproducts.eu
  A database for products which have been assessed according to DGNB, LEED or BREEAM criteria. The product database provides construction professionals with the required information and verification documents for the individual products in a pre-prepared form. The advantages include: Time-saving when researching products and collating evidence, planning security for Green Building Projects, and provision of all relevant evidence documents.
• building-material-scout.com
  Service platform for green building projects. The BMS offers a comprehensive tool for the planning and implementation of Green Buildings - from the automated evaluation of products according to the common sustainability criteria DGNB, LEED or BREEAM, to the simple and fast search for products with all relevant supporting documents, to the project documentation.