Making sustainability measurable: the Sustainable Building quality seal

Buildings are a key lever for climate protection. Taking into account construction, modernization, and demolition, the building sector accounts for around 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable planning therefore requires assessment approaches that take environmental and social impacts into account.

The Quality Seal for Sustainable Buildings (QNG), developed by the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development, and Construction (BMWSB), combines established certification systems such as DGNB, NaWoh, BNB, LNB_QNG, and BiRN with supplementary federal requirements. Among other things, emissions and energy requirements throughout the life cycle, the origin of building materials, pollutant avoidance, and accessibility are evaluated. The requirements are usage-specific and apply differently to residential and non-residential buildings. The QNG is part of the Federal Funding for Efficient Buildings (BEG) program. In the “Climate-Friendly New Construction” program, a QNG-compliant certificate is a prerequisite for funding, with a distinction being made between the QNG-PLUS and QNG-PREMIUM levels.

Making sustainability measurable and understanding its role in planning and funding more precisely is a central topic for IREES in the building sector. The focus is on how sustainability assessments can be systematically integrated into existing processes and structures. The Quality Seal for Sustainable Buildings (QNG) serves as a practical frame of reference.

🔍 More about our projects in the field of sustainable construction: PROJEKTE – IREES GmbH

🔍Further information about QNG can be found at: https://www.qng.info/

IREES-RESEARCH FOR FUTURE 🌍🍃