Sustainable Building – green revolution


The future depends on our sustainable work. Sustainable does not casually mean “eco“. Green buildings are smart. In green, intelligent buildings, environmentally friendly and automated high-tech ensures the efficient use of energy and resources. A pleasant atmosphere in the buildings is rewarded with a high quality of life and higher productivity.

Sustainable building – a decision for the future

In the past, sustainable building was taken for granted due to the available raw materials. But with the availability of new materials and processes came the revolution. Shortly thereafter, the newfound progress put a great strain on humans and animals. After the shocking oil crisis in 1970, the idea of nature conservation revived in the minds. The ideal to construct ecologically and sustainably became socially acceptable again.

Green revolution

Among other things, the goals of sustainable building are the reduction of waste of energy and resources. Furthermore, it is important to minimize the land usage and the strain on nature caused by the construction of a new building and this throughout the complete lifecycle (new construction, use, dismantling). Sustainable building thus encompasses all areas from the choice of property to architecture and energy, water, material efficiency, operation, maintenance and waste prevention to resource-efficient operation and finally deconstruction after a useful life of 50 – 100 years. The German Sustainable Development Strategy has been the basis for various measures since 2002. The development of a German quality label for Sustainable Building in cooperation with the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). This led to the development of the Assessment System for Sustainable Building (BNB) in 2009. By means of this system, construction measures become verifiable and measurable. International and national developments are constantly taken into account and updated in the BNB Guide.

DGNB – German quality label for Sustainable Building

People spend up to 90 % of their time in buildings. Thus, they have been proven to contribute to a large part of human well-being. Green Building certificates are guarantors of sustainable and environmentally friendly building solutions and take effect where people and buildings interact. In 2007, the DGNB was founded by 16 initiators from various fields of the real estate and construction industry. With around 1,200 members, it is Europe’s largest network for sustainable building. The DGNB is a holistic certification system and includes the environment, human and economic efficiency equally in the assessment.

Following criteria are relevant for certification

  • new construction
  • existence
  • renovation
  • building in operation
  • quarters
  • interiors

It does not apply to meet the criteria in individual categories, but the entire performance must be taken into account in the assessment. Certification is made in silver, gold and platinum. Assesments in the quality level bronze receive only existing buildings.

Advantages

  • lower operating costs with higher rental income
  • risk reduction by omission of hazardous building materials
  • better external impact and easier marketing due to higher quality of the building
  • reduced vacancy risk due to a flexible building design, which allows a possible conversion of the property easily
  • long-term value preservation through the use of high-quality and sustainable materials

Risks of the local environment are actively reduced.