Βuildings sustainability certification

In recent years, the need for more sustainable buildings has become imperative. Constantly moving in the context of sustainability and a sustainable environment, TÜV HELLAS cooperates with the German body DGNB in the certification of sustainable buildings.

In 2009 the DGNB System was developed. The certification system offers a planning and optimisation tool for evaluating sustainable buildings. It was developed to help organisations enhance the tangible sustainability of construction projects. The DGNB System is based on the concept of holistic sustainability, placing equal emphasis on the environment, people and commercial viability.

In terms of content, the DGNB System is based on three key pylons that set it apart from other certification systems available on the market:

• Life cycle assessment
• Holistic
• Performance orientation

Within the certification process, the entire life cycle of a project is consistently taken into account and instead of individual measures, the overall performance of a project is evaluated.

The DGNB Certificate is granted in Platinum, Gold or Silver, so it can also be used as an award and marketing instrument. According to article 115 of Greek Law 4759/2020 (modifying art. 25 of Law 4067/2012), DGNB silver award is deemed as outstanding environmental performance that could result to additional 10% in building’s area.

The DGNB System is based on the three central sustainability areas of ecology, economy and sociocultural issues, which are weighted equally in the evaluation. The DGNB System evaluates the location as well as the technical and procedural quality with a holistic approach. The performance of these qualities can be evaluated by means of certification criteria.

Every building goes through different phases (planning, construction, operation, inventory/conversion/ renovation and decommissiong at the end of life), which are linked to different requirements and conditions. These can be accompanied by the DGNB certification system in terms of a holistic sustainable construction method.