Deutsche Bank was awarded a preliminary certificate in gold from the German Sustainable Building Council (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen, DGNB) for the renovation of its towers in Frankfurt. The preliminary “German Certification for Sustainable Buildings” is presented by DGNB for buildings that are still in the planning or construction phases and are exemplary for sustainable building.

DGNB has emphasized that the complete renovation of Deutsche Bank‘s towers is an outstanding example for sustainable and environmental friendly buildings. Moreover it is a highly influencing project to the real estate sector as a whole.

“With the certification of our ‘greentowers’ in Frankfurt, we want to demonstrate in an exemplary way the potential for optimization and sustainable energy efficiency, for existing buildings, too,” said Holger Hagge, Global Head of Building and Workplace Development, Corporate Real Estate & Services, Deutsche Bank, during his presentation at “Consense”, the international congress and trade fair for sustainable building, in Stuttgart.

The ‘greentowers’ project is one of the first pilot projects and will contribute to testing the certification system expansion to include the “Complete renovation of office and administration buildings”.

In addition to the certification by DGNB, Deutsche Bank is also aiming for an LEED Platinum certificate issued by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Through the comprehensive modernization of its prominent Taunusanlage building complex in Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank is making an active contribution to combating climate change and will be reducing the buildings energy consumption and CO2 emissions by at least 50 percent. The renovation of the “greentowers” was launched in December 2007, and the move back into the building should be completed before the end of 2010. The world-renowned Milanese architect, Mario Bellini, was commissioned with the design. The building will feature a newly designed foyer, larger conference rooms and flexible office space. Through the planned public accessibility of the Art Café in the base of the towers facing Alter Oper and a more attractive open space in front of the building, the bank will be opened up to the public and have an improved integration in the public space.

The renovation of the Group’s Head Office reflects Deutsche Bank’s commitment to sustainability and is part of a series of measures in order to neutralize the CO2 emissions of worldwide operations by 2013.