The German Sustainable Building Certificate was developed by the German Sustainable Building Council
(DGNB, a private nonprofit organisation) together with the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building, and
Urban Affairs (BMVBS) to be used as a tool for the planning and evaluation of buildings in this
comprehensive perspective on quality. On the more general level, the purpose of establishing DGNB was to
create a second generation system for building certification, based on upcoming European standards for
sustainable buildings and with focus on sustainability as an entity including ecology, economy, socio
cultural and functional topics, techniques, processes, and location.
The DGNB certification system was launched in 2009, followed shortly thereafter by the launch of its
internationalization. By September 2010, more than 250 auditors were trained and more than 100
buildings certified or precertified. The main part of the certified buildings is office and administration
buildings, but also retail and industrial buildings, new educational facilities, new residential buildings and
new hotels are covered by DGNB criteria.