Memberships & partners

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit organization composed of leaders from across the building industry working to advance buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. USGBC’s vision: Buildings and communities will regenerate and sustain the health and vitality of all life within a generation.

To support the transformation of the built environment and expand the green building practices, the Council developed LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a green building certification system. LEED is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark in the U.S. for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.
USGBC also supports a rich education and research agenda, including “Greenbuild” – the largest international conference & expo focused on green building.

By transforming its Head Office in Frankfurt, Germany, into one of the world’s most environmental-friendly high-rise buildings, Deutsche Bank is demonstrating leadership and setting global benchmarks, resulting in sustainable improvements. For Deutsche Bank, the “Greentowers” project represents a unique opportunity to develop a role model for future projects and to verifiably document the achieved improvements through the building’s LEED certification.
The close cooperation with the U.S. Green Building Council provides new insights for both organizations and helps to align the LEED certification process with the specific requirements of the European market.

Learn more about the U.S. Green Building Council here: http://www.usgbc.org/

Established in 1982 by resource analysts L. Hunter Lovins and Amory B. Lovins, the Rocky Mountain Institute® (RMI) is an independent, entrepreneurial and non-profit organization which fosters the efficient and restorative use of resources to make the world secure, just, prosperous and life-sustaining.

RMI has worked with corporations, governments, communities and citizens to help them solve problems, gain competitive advantage, increase profits and create wealth through the more productive use of natural and economic resources. RMI’s three consulting groups – the Energy and Resources, Mobility & Vehicle Efficiency, and Built Environment teams – achieve success by focusing on interdisciplinary, whole-systems solutions. Services range from the development of statewide energy plans, through consulting on individual buildings, to implementing corporate sustainability strategies.

As the project’s peer reviewer, RMI has assisted Deutsche Bank by examining the green building concept and design documents, providing day lighting, water and energy design recommendations and is reviewing all LEED documentation prior to submission to the USGBC. RMI’s ability to think creatively and critically fostered focused, dynamic discussions during the various project stages and made a valuable contribution to ensuring that Deutsche Bank achieves its aim for a LEED Platinum certification.

Learn more about Rocky Mountain Institute here: www.rmi.org/

Drees & Sommer founded in 1970 by Gerhard Drees and Hans Sommer, has developed rapidly from a three member team into what is now an international enterprise with 950 employees. With decades of experience in the realization of international construction projects, Drees & Sommer offers results-oriented project management, expert engineering and real estate consulting and provides a wide range of professional services to its clients around the globe. Since 1990, Drees & Sommer has increasingly turned to issues resulting from climate change and CO2 emissions and has developed a holistic approach towards sustainable building solutions – long before green buildings became a trend.

With a dedicated team of LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED AP), Drees & Sommer is responsible for carrying out the project’s Green Building Management (GBM), which involves coordinating and supporting the planners and construction companies in the preparation of the LEED documentation as well as comprehensive reporting to Deutsche Bank. The GBM team also liaises with the Rocky Mountain Institute team to verify individual points and to clarify LEED measures within the specific German regulatory and construction standards context.

In parallel the GBM team ensures that the requirements and the criteria for the DGNB pilot certification are met. By supervising and managing the entire certification process, Drees & Sommer plays a key role in achieving the goals set by Deutsche Bank.

Learn more about Drees & Sommer here: http://www.dreso.com/english/default.htm

The German Sustainable Building Council (GeSBC) was founded in June 2007 by architects, planners, manufacturers, investors and academics. GeSBC’s objectives are to present and foster methods and solutions for sustainable building. This includes the planning of buildings, but also their construction and operation. GeSBC considers itself to be the central German organization not only for the exchange of knowledge and professional training, but also to raise public awareness for this future-oriented area of the building sector.

Together with the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs (BMVBS), GeSBC developed the German Sustainable Building Certification to be used as a tool for the planning and evaluation of buildings according to sustainability criteria and to highlight outstanding buildings. The certification system was introduced in 2008, and the first Sustainable Building Certifications were awarded at the “BAU 2009” trade fair in Munich.

Deutsche Bank, as a founding member of GeSBC, ensured early on that the integrated design concept of its “Greentowers” project was aligned with the aims of the new certification system. The “Greentowers” project will be one of the first pilot projects to be used for the testing of the extended certification system for “Major Renovations of Office and Administrative Buildings”. The pilot certification of the “Greentowers” will set an example that shows just how much potential for optimization and sustainable energy efficiency are possible for existing buildings, but also how a “green building” approach can be a worthwhile investment in existing buildings in a wide variety of ways.

Learn more about the German Sustainable Building Council here: http://www.dgnb.de/