The German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) has fundamentally revised its certification standards for new buildings. The changes primarily affect requirements for material selection, lifecycle assessment, and circular economy. For planners, architects, and investors, this means: Previously practiced routines in documentation procedures must be adapted.
At the center of the revision is a stronger weighting of CO₂ accounting over the entire lifecycle of a building. While operational energy consumption was the main focus previously, gray emissions from manufacturing, transport, and disposal of building materials are now moving to the forefront. This has direct implications for material selection: High-strength concretes with high cement content or energy-intensive insulation materials are evaluated more critically, while circular building methods and reusable constructions bring bonus points.
For documentation, the DGNB will now require more detailed Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for all significant building products. This affects not only load-bearing elements such as concrete, structural steel, or cross-laminated timber (CLT), but also insulation materials, facade materials, and interior finishing products. Manufacturers without complete EPD data could face disadvantages in certified projects in the future.
Another focus is on deconstruction capability. New buildings must demonstrate that constructions are reversibly jointed and materials can be separated by type. This favors mechanical connections over bonded systems and modular construction methods over monolithic solutions. In particular, multi-story timber construction benefits from this requirement, since timber constructions are generally easily deconstructable.
The stricter criteria are likely to initially increase construction costs, as more extensive planning and higher-quality materials are required. At the same time, the market value of sustainably certified properties is also increasing, as institutional investors increasingly incorporate ESG criteria into their purchasing decisions. Projects with DGNB Gold or Platinum already achieve higher sales and rental prices.
For building material manufacturers, the revision means innovation pressure: Those who cannot provide transparent environmental balances or do not have recycled building materials in their portfolio will lose market share in high-quality new construction projects. Berlin Hyp has already demonstrated how ambitious certifications can become a competitive advantage.
