Certification for sustainable construction launched

During the information event, it was learned that the new version 2.0 of the standard has become more compact and transparent without losing any of its effectiveness. It is now more open and impact-oriented for users. The sustainability of a building is assessed on the basis of 45 criteria covering the topics of economy, society and environment. The criteria are evaluated according to the Swiss school grading system. Above all, the goal was to bring a manageable and affordable instrument to the market that would help steer settlement development in the right direction in the future. The SNBS, including several auxiliary tools, is available free of charge to anyone who wants to build sustainably.

Certification procedure

SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA will be offering a fee-based certification procedure from August 24 for building owners who want to have their sustainable construction performance confirmed by an independent party. The certification body is already operational in the Zurich branch, Geneva will follow in 2016, and Ticino in 2017. The prerequisite for certification is that at least a grade 4 is achieved in all criteria. Exceptions are only possible in the case of renovations, because optimal solutions cannot always be implemented there due to the quality of the existing substance. The SNBS 2.0 can be certified in the levels Platinum, Gold and Silver. It can be used for new buildings and renovations for residential and office use; mixed uses with, for example, retail on the first floor are also possible.

First certificate awarded

The first SNBS 2.0 certificate was awarded at the event in Bern. It went to the "Twist Again" service building, which Losinger Marazzi AG, as real estate developer and total contractor, realized in the WankdorfCity district of Bern between 2014 and December 2015. The owner of the building is Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund Green Property, a real estate fund of Credit Suisse AG.