113 Architecture questions - Who decides whether a building is sustainable?
Who decides whether a building is sustainable?
The building sector is responsible for a quarter of Co2 emissions worldwide. To counteract this, it is currently becoming increasingly important to pay attention to sustainability when planning and realising a building. But who determines whether buildings are sustainable and by what methods?
There are several institutions in Austria that certify buildings, e.g. ÖGNI (according to DGNB standard), ÖGNB or Klimaaktiv. These bodies award points according to their catalogue of measures and classify the building in the category achieved depending on the degree of fulfilment. The better the building is rated, the more sustainable it is.
The DGNB system is described by the ÖGNI as follows: "In order to make sustainable construction plannable, assessable and measurable, the DGNB has developed a certification system which, as a planning and optimisation tool, helps all those involved in construction to implement holistic sustainability quality. Various certification criteria are applied individually to different building types in order to assess sustainable construction."
In international comparison, there are a number of important certification systems, including , the most frequently used system worldwide, or breeam (UK). The certification system works in a similar way to the Austrian and European systems, with points being awarded for different sustainability criteria. The projects go through a certification process and are categorised in the category achieved.
With the EU Commission's Green Deal, a package was put together to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050. In 2019, the EU member states reached an agreement on a binding definition for environmentally sustainable activities and investments. Criteria for environmental targets were developed and published in the regulation on the EU taxonomy, a classification system for sustainable and less sustainable economic activities. The taxonomy regulates the circumstances under which an economic activity may be considered sustainable.
Last but not least, the new OIB Guideline 7 on the sustainable use of natural resources, which is being developed by an expert advisory board consisting of experts from the federal states, is to be published in 2027. This new guideline contains specifications on the reusability and recyclability of buildings and parts of buildings, the durability of the building and the use of environmentally friendly and secondary building materials.
