Future Workshop: Existing Buildings – a report from the Werkbank

Under the title ‘Future Workshop: Existing Buildings’, the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) has been inviting various market stakeholders since May 2026 to participate in the development of a new certification system for refurbishments. In a series of workshops, different perspectives were examined, experiences were shared, and new approaches for the future direction of the DGNB system were jointly developed.

The results of the “Future Workshop on Existing Buildings” workshops reveal a strong consensus that the refurbishment of the existing building stock is one of the key transformation tasks of the coming decades. The DGNB is expected to provide guidance, reduce complexity and develop a credible, practicable and widely applicable certification system. The future system should not only assess sustainability but, above all, enable transformation: it must be comprehensible, economically viable, scalable and effective for the climate, society and the preservation of the building stock.

The presentation outlines where we currently stand in the development process and invites you to get involved!