Protecting biodiversity in the construction sector

DGNB – acronym for the German Sustainable Building Council. A non-profit organisation based in Stuttgart, since it was founded in 2007 the DGNB has been committed to demonstrably good buildings and urban districts that are worth living in. In straightforward terms, this means building an environment around ourselves with foresight. Our overarching aim is to promote change in the building and property market, engendering an appropriate understanding of quality as a foundation for responsible and sustainable action. With around 1300 members the DGNB turned into Europe's biggest network for sustainable building.

Our aspiration is to raise public awareness of the necessity of sustainable building and, above all, to demonstrate that it is indeed achievable. Furthermore, we realize the impact and influence of the construction and real-estate.

Commitment

DGNB e.V. is willing to commit to: 

• Built up partnerships aiming at sectorial biodiversity commitments (e.g., municipalities/ cities, building product manufacturers, construction and real estate industry, financial sector).

1. Target 2021: develop sectorial biodiversity commitments and reporting templates for all relevant stakeholder in a cooperative procedure
2. Target 2022: at least 100 biodiversity commitments signed

• Gather binding support from other multipliers from our network to involve and motivate their members to make a biodiversity commitment
• Strengthen and anchor biodiversity in own initiatives (“Phase Sustainability”, “Klimapositive Städte und Gemeinden”) and raise awareness for the topic
• Expand existing academy programme and knowledge sharing related to biodiversity
• Provide a toolbox for best-practice examples related to biodiversity on the DGNB website
• Expand our committee work related to biodiversity: involve, motivate and discuss
• Further development of the certification system in the area of biodiversity on site and in the supply chain
• Communicate biodiversity related topics continuously to our members and the entire network
• Develop a good-practice guidance for the built environment and the real-estate sector
• Report transparently on progress made

Category

• Access to benefit sharing
• Climate change mitigation and adaptation
• Conservation and restoration of land ecosystems
• Conservation and sustainable use of species
• Stewardship
• Sustainable consumption and production
• Urban sustainability 

Sector

• Built environment

Further information

• DGNB biodiversity commitment [pdf]