Low Carbon Building Criteria: Germany

This guide outlines the technical standards for commercial and residential buildings in Germany to be eligible as nominated use of proceeds in a Certified Climate Bond under the Climate Bonds Standard.

• To be eligible for certification, a German building must either meet a low carbon emissions trajectory or an approved proxy, or undergo an upgrade or retrofit that reduces emissions intensity by 30-50%, depending on the bond's tenor.
• Residential buildings in Germany are eligible for certification if they meet a pre-approved market proxy based on the Energieausweis database from the Germany Energy Agency. For a 10-year bond issued in 2018, assets must achieve an EPC rating of "B" or above; generally, they must achieve a rating of "A" or "B".
• Commercial buildings in Germany can qualify via a proxy route or a trajectory route. To qualify via the proxy route, assets must meet three criteria: they must be part of an existing MBS pool undergoing refinancing, be built after 2008, and hold an EPC rating.
• For commercial buildings in Berlin, eligibility is determined by an emissions intensity trajectory that aims for zero emissions by 2050. For a 10-year bond issued in 2018, the emissions intensity for a building in Berlin must be at or below 56.23kg/ CO2e.
• Emissions trajectories are established by identifying the top 15% most emission efficient buildings in a city (measured in kg CO2/m2) and drawing a linear pathway to zero carbon by 2050.

APA

Climate Bonds Initiative (2018). Low Carbon Building Criteria: Germany. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Crit%20Brochure_Germany%20Brochure%281%29.pdf

Chicago

Climate Bonds Initiative. Low Carbon Building Criteria: Germany. 2018. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Crit%20Brochure_Germany%20Brochure%281%29.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Bonds Initiative |title=Low Carbon Building Criteria: Germany |date=June 2018 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Crit%20Brochure_Germany%20Brochure%281%29.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatebondsinitiative2018low, author = {{Climate Bonds Initiative}}, title = {{Low Carbon Building Criteria: Germany}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Crit%20Brochure_Germany%20Brochure%281%29.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }