Germany holds green building summit

German construction and real estate professionals will discuss the creation of an integrated approach to sustainability certification during the Green Building Summit 2010 in Frankfurt on 23-24 February. While the issue of sustainability continues to grow in importance in the real estate sector, there is a confusing number of evaluation processes and certificates.

Globally, there are roughly 60 building labels which differ, sometimes considerably, in terms of their certification criteria, according to Holger Busch, real estate sector manager at Munich-based technical services group TÜV SÜD. He says many international sustainability standards lag far behind the quality, standards and legal requirements in the German construction sector. ‘In view of its high building standards, the German property sector needs independent benchmarks to ensure reliable sustainability certification of real estate in their relevant markets.’

A German office for example has a surface area of approximately 25 m² compared to 11 m² in the UK. Busch: ‘This is one of the many reasons why UK and US certifiers do not understand German buildings. As a result, too often, German buildings get a golden or platinum American certificate. This does not allow the comparison of buildings in their relevant markets, hence does not give an investor the correct criteria for selling or buying a property.’

In a bid to improvement the situation, TÜV SÜD launched the SCoRE certification system at Expo Real in Munich last October. The first SCoRE certificate was awarded to premises owned by financial services provider KGAL. ‘While the majority of all existing certifications are worked out by one single person, TÜV SÜD has formed a group of experts from four TÜV SÜD branches (building inspection, environment, energy and building construction, real estate valuation/appraisal) to work together in one project and to judge from an experienced and professional point of view. It was a leitmotif for almost a decade to develop a certificate with the knowledge of experts,’ he says.

Busch will take part in a panel discussion on comparable standards for sustainable buildings at the Frankfurt summit.