Comparison of environmental and sustainability rating systems "BREEAM", "LEED" and "Deutsches Gutesiegel Nachhaltiges Bauen"

Assessing the sustainability of buildings has gained a lot of importance over the past years. While the certification schemes "BREEAM" and "LEED" are already well known internationally, the new German certification scheme "Deutsches Gutesiegel Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB)" was introduced to the market in 2009. BREEAM, LEED and DGNB are customized to meet the requirements of their national and regional contexts and therefore differ not only in terms of the issues covered by the system, but also in complexity, the assessment criteria and the assessment methods used. Apart from that, specific requirements of different building types (housing, offices, etc.) are met by a number of related rating systems in each certification scheme. This article analyses the three systems mentioned above and lays out their characteristics. The given information is intended to help interested parties, who want to choose the appropriate certification scheme for their individual project.