"We are very pleased that our Croatian partners have decided to work even more closely with us and to promote the DGNB system locally," says Dr Christine Lemaitre, CEO of the DGNB. "On the one hand, it illustrates that we share a common, ambitious understanding of the requirements of sustainable construction in large parts of the EU. On the other hand, through partnerships like this we can have a much deeper impact on the respective markets and pursue our overarching goal: making sustainability in construction the new normal."
"We have decided to integrate the DGNB System in the Croatian market because it is the most advanced certification system following a holistic approach through the analysis of the life cycle of buildings", explains Dean Smolar, Executive Director of the CGBC. "And it is not just an evaluation system but also a high-quality project planning tool that provides significant market value to buildings without any additional, expensive administrative processes needed."
The Croatia Green Building Council was founded in 2009 and has more than 100 member organisations. Both members of the World Green Building Council, DGNB and CGBC have already been working together for many years at project level. A first joint training of the DGNB Academy in Croatia has also already taken place.
Unlike other DGNB system partners, the CGBC does not yet have any experience as a certification body, which is why the cooperation will be particularly close, especially in the early phase, in order to implement the necessary framework conditions in Croatia. The other system partners of the DGNB are the Austrian Sustainable Building Council (ÖGNI), the Green Building Council Denmark (DK-GBC), the Swiss Sustainable Building Council (SGNI) and the Green Building Council España (GBCe). "The commitment of the Croatian Green Building Council is a further step towards establishing the DGNB System as the leading European quality seal for sustainable building," says Peter Engert, Managing Director of ÖGNI, which will support the adaptation of the DGNB System for the Croatian market.
In contrast to other certification systems, the DGNB System consistently follows a holistic and life-cycle-oriented approach to sustainability. It is internationally regarded as the most advanced and ambitious system of its kind. Thus, it is based on norms and standards that apply throughout Germany or the EU, so that there are no unnecessary documentation requirements that do not directly contribute to improving sustainability quality. For projects abroad, the criteria are evaluated together with local partners for their applicability with regard to the specific regulatory and climatic requirements and adapted, if necessary.
To date, more than 8200 building and district projects have received a DGNB certification in 27 countries worldwide. More information on DGNB certification is available at www.dgnb-system.de/en.
