IGBChats #20: DGNB Independent Review: A First for EU Taxonomy in Ireland

By Liam Guinan, Associate Director at Passive Dynamics

When a building is described as a “green asset”, what does that actually mean and who makes that claim? As sustainable finance shifts from broad ambition into technical evidence, the EU Taxonomy has introduced a common rulebook for defining environmentally sustainable activity.

For the built environment, this is critical for investors, developers, lenders and design teams seeking a shared basis for decision-making. However, unlike certification systems such as LEED or BREEAM, there is no central body reviewing every submission. In many cases, alignment is assessed and reported by the organisation itself, creating a gap between ambition and independently tested assurance.

From Self-Assessment to Independent Challenge

That was the thinking behind a pilot we, Passive Dynamics,  carried out with DGNB, German Sustainable Building Council, alongside Park Developments, a trusted and ambitious client and IGBC member, on their logistics development, Unit 736  at Northwest Logistics Park. The project became the first in Ireland to be reviewed by  DGNB for alignment with EU Taxonomy 7.1, making it an important test case for how the regulation could be applied in the Irish market. 

Rather than stopping at an internal assessment, the project team chose to go a step further and seek a voluntary third-party review and opinion on alignment with EU  Taxonomy 7.1. Through this collaborative process with DGNB, we were able to test how the regulation could be applied in the Irish market and what a robust evidence base needs to look like in practice.

Park Developments reflects on the importance of this milestone:

“Receiving third-party assurance of our EU Taxonomy alignment from the German Sustainable Building  Council gives us added confidence in both our design and execution to the highest sustainability standards.  It also reflects a fantastic level of collaboration across our design and construction teams, guided by our EU  Taxonomy partners, Passive Dynamics.”

The value of the third-party assurance process was not only in the final alignment opinion. It was in the questions asked along the way. 

– Is the evidence complete? 

– Are the assumptions clear? 

– Do the design reports, calculations, product information, and project documentation tell the same story? 

– Could someone outside the project team follow the logic and reach the same conclusion?

What Independent Review Actually Adds

This is where we found the real value of the pilot. Independent review does not replace the regulation, and it does not change the criteria. What it can do is provide an additional layer of confidence that the criteria have been interpreted consistently, that the evidence has been tested, and that the alignment claim is more than self-declaration.

For us, the lesson from Unit 736 was that EU Taxonomy alignment is not just something to confirm at the end of a project. It is something to design for, document, and test as the project develops. The Taxonomy gives the market a common language for sustainable activity. Independent feedback helps make sure that language is being used carefully,  credibly, and with evidence behind it. 

“Innovation is not only about being first; it is about proving that the first step can  become a standard for others.” Ciarán McCabe

The Next Step for EU Taxonomy in Ireland

For Ireland, this pilot raises an exciting question: could IGBC and the wider industry help shape a similar assurance pathway, providing developers, investors and project teams with a clearer, more trusted route to Taxonomy-aligned buildings?

The pilot project suggests that Ireland is ready to move from sustainability ambition to verified practice.

In order to support this, IGBC is exploring the potential to offer EU Taxonomy third-party review as a common framework for verification across Europe in partnership with other GBCs.

More information

Passive Dynamics

Passive Dynamics is a member of the IGBC and a multidisciplinary sustainability consultancy founded in Ireland in  2020 to meet the increasing demand for specialist, performance-driven expertise in the built environment. From high-precision thermal modelling and energy performance assessments to LEED, HPI, EU Taxonomy, embodied carbon and climate resilience services, Passive Dynamics helps project teams respond to evolving regulatory,  environmental and market expectations. Its work is focused on improving measurable building performance, reducing operational and embodied carbon, and helping clients make informed, future-ready sustainability decisions. 

Liam Guinan

Liam Guinan is Associate Director at Passive Dynamics, an Associate Member of the  Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and a sustainability and  building performance engineer. Since joining Passive Dynamics in 2022, he has  supported and managed projects across EU Taxonomy alignment, LEED certification,  BER, Part L and nZEB compliance, helping project teams translate sustainability  requirements into practical, evidence-based design outcomes.

This blog post is part of IGBChats, a series that allows members of the Irish Green Building Council to showcase sustainability case studies, innovative projects, and best practices in the built environment—interested in contributing? Please review the submission guidelines here.