A direct comparison of the contents of the EU taxonomy with the certification systems of the DGNB illustrates the high degree of correlation between the respective approaches. This already shows that investors and financial institutions are well prepared for the requirements of the EU taxonomy via the application of various certification systems of the DGNB:
In the DGNB System for New Construction Version 2023, the requirements of the taxonomy and the DGNB System have been harmonised in order to avoid parallel documentation efforts. The requirements are again clearly presented in additional documents. In the Version 2018, ten out of the 15 technical assessment criteria can be compared with the requirements set out in the DGNB System for New Construction of Buildings. On the other hand, if the taxonomy criteria are fulfilled already about 10 percent of the total performance index of a DGNB certification can be achieved. In new construction, this mainly comprises criteria of ecological, technical and process quality.
The comparison between the criteria of the taxonomy and the DGNB System in the area of renovation shows complete coverage. All evaluation criteria of the EU taxonomy are included in the DGNB System for Renovation of Buildings. Thus, these can be reliably tested and verified within the scope of a DGNB Certification.
The DGNB System for Buildings in Use thematically covers the requirements of the taxonomy for acquisition and ownership and thus enables reliable documentation within the framework of DGNB Certification. With its special focus on strategic climate action, DGNB provides all owners of existing buildings with an analysis and management tool to record the relevant information for buildings in a structured manner. In the case of current non-compliance with the taxonomy requirements, the DGNB System thus offers a sound basis for decision-making in order to achieve climate action goals economically and as sensibly as possible.
In future, the DGNB plans to include the latest version of the EU criteria in all new and further developments of the DGNB System and to integrate taxonomy verification as a standard part of certification. ESG verification will thus become a standard part of DGNB certification.
Study: Certified projects perform better in terms of their degree of fulfilment and assessment efforts
In addition, the DGNB, together with the Green Building Council España (GBCe), the Austrian Sustainable Building Council (ÖGNI) and the Green Building Council Denmark (DK-GBC), conducted a study on the marketability of the EU taxonomy in March 2021. The basis was the first version of the taxonomy criteria published in March 2020. One of the findings of this research was that certified buildings were able to demonstrate compliance more frequently, meaning they were better prepared to meet the requirements of the taxonomy. Certified buildings also had an advantage over non-certified buildings in terms of the time and effort required to complete the assessment. Learn more
Back to the overview "ESG and Sustainable Finance"
Further topics