06
GERMAN CITIES EMBRACE THE GREEN TREND // GREEN BUILDINGS //
Green buildings on the rise – an interview with Hermann Horster, Head of Sustainability at BNP Paribas Real Estate Germany, on sustainability in the real estate sector, different types of certifications and the hidden capital city of green buildings
Mr Horster, what exactly is a “green building”? [Hermann Horster: The term is actually somewhat misleading. Today it’s not just about ecological specifications like an office building’s energy efficiency or which building materials were used. Social aspects like employee wellbeing at the workplace need to be taken into account as well. And, of course, the combination of cost effectiveness and sustainability is another important aspect. So the term “sustainable building” would actually be a better fit than “green building”.]
How can you tell that a building is sustainable? [Hermann Horster: The most obvious criterion is whether the building has been certified. There are currently three recognised certifications: DGNB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen e.V.) in German-speaking countries and LEED or BREEAM in the English-speaking world. DGNB’s market share in the new-build segment is 80 per cent and around 64 per cent in total (including stock buildings). LEED is also primarily used in the new-build segment while BREEAM primarily certifies stock properties. However, that doesn’t mean that buildings that haven’t been
