The German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) is increasingly focusing on the qualification of skilled workers in construction execution. The DGNB is currently developing an extensive qualification programme for trades, with training courses to be conducted regionally by cooperating specialist trade businesses. In addition, two new membership categories for trade businesses and commercial enterprises were approved at the non-profit association's general assembly on 17 June 2026 in Stuttgart. At the same event, Prof. Alexander Rudolphi, the initiator and long-serving president of the association, was appointed Honorary President of the DGNB.
Johannes Kreißig, Managing Director of the DGNB, emphasised the relevance of construction execution quality for implementing sustainability requirements in building projects. He pointed out that this requires specialised skilled workers who master the criteria for product selection and processing. Although DGNB certification already includes a criterion for quality assurance in execution, there has been no specific training offering for trades until now. This gap is now being closed. The DGNB plans close cooperation with specialist retailers to offer regional further training in cooperation with the industry.
The planned on-site training courses are intended to provide specialist tradespeople with relevant knowledge on sustainability aspects of their craft. This includes background information on sustainable building as well as concrete points such as the effects of product emissions on health and the environment, always in the context of the overall building. Initial pilot training courses to adapt the content didactically to the target group have already been conducted. In the future, trade businesses with appropriately qualified skilled workers can be listed with the DGNB to demonstrate their expertise to potential clients.
The DGNB is working closely with Peter Bachmann, founder of the Sentinel Haus Institute and CircularSkills, in designing the trade offering. The precise structure of the new training programme for executing companies will be developed in the coming months within a newly established working group. Companies interested in participating can contact the DGNB by mid-September. The working group will prioritise determining for which trades the further training will be developed first. The introduction is planned for the BAU 2027 trade fair in January.
In line with the new priorities, the DGNB is introducing two new membership categories that address the specific needs of trades and commercial enterprises. For trade businesses, entry-level membership for companies with up to nine employees starts at an annual fee of 250 EUR. Further price tiers are provided for businesses with up to 49, 249, and 999 employees. In retail, annual membership fees start at 550 EUR for companies with an annual turnover of up to 2.5 million EUR, with the highest tier for companies with over 500 million EUR annual turnover set at 5,500 EUR. The decision to introduce these categories was made on 17 June 2026; registration in the association register is still pending.
During the general assembly, Prof. Alexander Rudolphi was appointed Honorary President of the DGNB. This honour recognises his commitment to sustainable building, which significantly contributed to the founding of the association in 2007. Rudolphi served as DGNB President from 2007 to 2008 and from 2013 to 2020. The engineer is considered a pioneer of sustainable building in Germany, participated in the development of the HafenCity Hamburg Environmental Award, among other things, and was active in teaching and practice. He also supervised a large number of construction projects during certification as an auditor.
