MARKET I OPPORTUNITIES
Left: The residential island park project “Projekt Waterhouses – Wohnen am Inselpark” in Hamburg was given DGNB Gold Pre-Certification in the “New Residential Building” category. Pre-certification means buildings can be optimised and better marketed already in the planning phase. Photo: HOCHTIEF Solutions AG, Design: moka-Studio
impact of the construction industry on natural resources is evidenced by further figures from Germany. The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs (BMVBS) approximates that 50% of the country’s national raw material requirements are accounted for by building construction and conversion. Some 60% of the waste materials produced in the Federal Republic arise from building construction.
Central task for the future
In view of the scale of this situation it becomes clear that sustainability will become a central task for the future in the construction industry. An example from forestry can quickly serve as an example to demonstrate the importance of sustainability. Here the sustainability principle means only felling as many trees as can be replanted. In the construction industry the term is defined in a wider sense and also includes ecological, economic and socio-cultural aspects.
For the construction industry to make building operations sustainable and introduce recycling management it needs new planning and implementation systems. “Green Building” is in ever greater demand and has long since been a key aspect in the investment strategies of the finance and property development sectors. Buildings built, run and dismantled in a verifiably energy-efficient and also resource-saving manner ensure high value retention making them easier to rent and sell. The trend towards sustainable building is also being promoted at policy-making level. Annex I of the European Regulation on the Marketing of Construction Products introduced in spring 2011 includes sustainability as the seventh basic requirement for construction works. This requirement contains criteria such as the durability and recyclability of building works and building materials as well as the use of environmentally compatible raw and secondary materials in construction works. As of 1 July 2013 EU manufacturers of construction products must disclose relevant data here as part of their performance declarations. However, it has not yet been finalised how exactly the environmental information is to be declared.
Sustainability certification for buildings is still carried out on a voluntary basis. However, interest in this from the property market is growing and policy-makers are pushing this trend forward. It is likely this voluntary basis will become compulsory in the long term.
Sustainability certifications
There are already numerous national building assessment and certification systems in place worldwide. The best-known international systems are the American LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) and the British BREEAM (Building Research Establishment (Ltd.) Environmental Assessment Method). Also enjoying broad acceptance levels
The demand for resource-saving, sustainable construction also involves optimising energy- efficiency in buildings. The construction sector is still the largest energy consumer. This is
largely due to outdated energy systems in existing buildings. It is therefore vital that
the modernisation of energy systems be promoted
beyond their own national borders are Germany’s BNB and DGNB certification schemes.
As none of the international systems met the German building ministry’s high rating requirements Germany, with technical support from research and business developed its own rating system for sustainable building – the “Bewertungssystem Nachhaltiges Bauen” (BNB). All new federal and state office and administration buildings are already now certified according to the “Sustainable Building” guidelines under the BNB system. It is also already planned for these guidelines to be extended for residential buildings.
The certification system of the German Sustainable Building Council (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen – DGNB) was developed on the basis of principles shared with the BNB system but it also contains further-reaching assessment criteria. Like BNB certification the DGNB’s German Quality Seal for
Sustainability Assessment Concept for Buildings, (EN 15643-1:2010) Photo: IBU
Issue I 2012 I
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