Alongside BREEAM, LEED, and WELL certifications, DGNB often receives less attention, even though the certification developed by the German Sustainable Building Council reached its “coming of age” in 2025 (founded in 2007) and has had an international version since 2020. It is a particularly rational, thorough, and holistic certification that is well worth getting to know better!
DGNB In-Use certification
Why I believe DGNB—and especially the In-Use certification—should be promoted:
- It encourages the development of the existing building stock. If we accept the argument that fewer new buildings are needed, this is a strong reason to explore systems that evaluate existing buildings. Personally, knowing that over 10% of the Hungarian building stock is vacant, I believe that new construction is only truly justified by some missing function (e.g., socially necessary facilities). Meanwhile, there is a tremendous amount of work to improve the condition of existing buildings.
2. The DGNB In-Use certification addresses the three pillars of sustainability in an integrated manner, providing a highly holistic assessment:
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Environmental quality – energy efficiency, material use, water management, emissions
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Economic quality – operational costs, management efficiency, value preservation
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Social (or societal) quality – comfort, health, safety, accessibility, and user satisfaction
This integrated approach makes DGNB In-Use particularly well-suited to optimizing the sustainability and performance of existing buildings.
source of image: https://www.dgnb.de/en/certification/buildings/.
3. The DGNB certification is balanced and does not include minimum requirements, meaning that the entire certification cannot fail over a single (sometimes minor) issue. Moreover, the assessment methodology is designed so that, after the initial data collection, the owner or operator gains access to information that allows them to make well-founded decisions regarding the building’s development and ongoing operation.
For example, by understanding how much energy the building consumes (and in what breakdown), the comfort parameters, user feedback, and having a detailed view of operational costs, the owner is no longer operating in the dark when planning improvements or managing the building.
4. DGNB not only rewards past performance but also recognizes demonstrable commitment and the achievement of SMART goals, with particular emphasis on proper documentation. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—the acronym “SMART” comes from the first letters of these words.
5. By the end of Q1 2026, the proposals following an open consultation will be finalized. What is already certain is that the new version will place even greater emphasis on carbon reduction, biodiversity promotion, and rainwater reuse solutions. These changes also aim to better align the certification with EU Taxonomy requirements and support compliance with CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation), GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark), EPBD (EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive), CRREM (Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor), as well as ISO 14001 (environmental management systems) and ISO 50001 (energy management systems).
The real change begins with how we care for our existing buildings. It is time for the DGNB In-Use certification to receive the attention it truly deserves.