Openframe news
Read the latest presentations and news from Openframe here
ESG in practice: PKA Ejendomme improves climate, operations and property value with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel
PKA Ejendomme was presented with the official certificate from Ecolabel Denmark for the certification of their first two properties. From left are Hans Andersen, ESG Manager at PKA Ejendomme, Henrik Dahl Jeppesen, CEO of PKA Ejendomme, Martin Fabiansen, Director of Ecolabelling Denmark, and Henrik Hougaard, Relations Manager at Ecolabelling Denmark. | Photo: PR / PKA Ejendomme
How do you translate ESG from reports and strategy documents to concrete action in real estate operations?
PKA Ejendomme is leading the way as the first player in the Nordics to certify their property operations with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel – proving that sustainability and economic value go hand in hand.
From ESG report to real estate strategy
When one of Denmark’s largest pension funds chooses to organize its entire building operation around the Nordic Swan Ecolabel’s 38 criteria, it’s about more than responsibility. It’s about value creation – both for the residents, operations and the value of the properties themselves.
"We chose the Nordic Swan Ecolabel because it is easy to understand - and to act on. It makes a concrete difference in everyday life and makes sense for both employees and residents - and for the bottom line."
Hans Andersen, ESG Manager at PKA Ejendomme, explains:
For PKA Ejendomme, the certification means, among other things, that operations have been insourced – with caretakers and management directly in the organization – making the criteria an active part of the business strategy.
Digital structure makes the difference
Certification requires documentation, structure and overview. That’s why PKA Ejendomme has adopted Openframe as the digital backbone for the entire process.
“We started in Excel, but with several buildings it quickly became unmanageable. Openframe has given us the digital backbone we need to scale, which the consultants and Ecolabel Denmark can also work efficiently with,” says Hans Andersen.
Corporate social responsibility as a healthy business
At Ecolabelling Denmark, Head of Public Relations Henrik Hougaard calls PKA’s approach both brave and wise:
“Nordic Swan Ecolabeled operation is a new opportunity to take existing buildings to the next level – not only environmentally, but also structurally and commercially. PKA Ejendomme is a first mover – and has shown how it can be done without creating unnecessary complexity.”
PKA Ejendomme is already in the process of certifying another 20 properties – and eventually the entire portfolio.
“We want to show that responsibility and economic sense can go hand in hand – and that good property management today can also be sustainable and a good investment. We invest for the long term – and the best way to do that is to ensure quality, environmental considerations and efficient operations all in one,” concludes Hans Andersen.
When sustainability in procurement becomes a stumbling block
- and how to get around it
Freemium
If you’ve been involved in a tendered project, you probably know the feeling:
Time pressure. Sustainability certification requirements. And a jungle of criteria to manage and assess – long before the project has even started.
Screening in the tendering and bidding phase is necessary, but it’s often cumbersome, complex and characterized by manual work. That’s why we’ve created something we believe can make a difference.
A simple start to something complex
We have launched Freemium – a free version of Openframe – which makes it possible to do a screening on DGNB, Nordic Ecolabel or EU taxonomy – without payment, onboarding or obligations.
Just click “Try for free” on our website, create your project – and you’re ready to go.
Make it easier to respond to certification requirements in tenders
The tender phase is not the place where extra time is available. Nevertheless, sustainability goals need to be defined already here.
This requires both overview and methodology.
With Freemium you get:
- Access to all criteria sets (DGNB 2020, 2023, 2025, Nordic Ecolabel, EU taxonomy)
- Ability to set objectives for all indicator tasks and create a screening overview
- Dashboard and criteria overview that gives you overview and insight
- Possibility to delegate tasks
- A structured way to start working with sustainability before the project is won
If you win the project, everything is set up and ready for the next step.
You don’t need to set up your entire team or spend time on lengthy setups. You can work with one portfolio and one project – exactly what you need in the tender phase.
“It’s not about making sustainability easy. It’s about making it easily accessible.”
A tool for the early phase
The freemium version is created for the screening phase.
You get access to the entire platform’s overview tools, but with some limitations
- You cannot invite other users into the project
- You cannot complete indicator tasks
- A screening/tendering report is underway and will be added soon
In return, you get the most important thing: a structured starting point for working with sustainability – already in the tender phase.
Built for efficiency and collaboration
Openframe was developed with one goal in mind: to reduce the manual and leave more time for the strategic.
You get an overview of status, plan and responsibility – so you can stay calm and focused, even in complex projects.
Especially in the early stages, when the framework is being set, it is advantageous to be able to gather the threads in one place.
If you do a thorough screening from the start, you’ll avoid surprises later and achieve both certification and sustainability vision.
Try it yourself – and feel the difference
If you work with tendered projects and want to integrate sustainability more systematically without adding complexity, try Openframe for free.
We can’t wait to hear what you think!
23-May-2025
Openframe now supports the Nordic Swan Ecolabel for new construction
and renovation throughout the Nordics
Openframe now supports the Nordic Swan Ecolabel for new construction and renovation across the Nordics
We have good news for all of you working with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel: Openframe now supports the certification of both new construction and renovation – directly in the platform.
This means you no longer need to spend time decoding long manuals or figuring out which requirements and tasks actually apply to your project. In Openframe, you simply select the Nordic country and the relevant building type, and the platform automatically presents the right criteria and tasks.
Why is it smart?
Nordic Swan Ecolabel certification is complex and varies from country to country. Some criteria only apply to certain types of buildings, which often creates unnecessary extra work when trying to manage the process and keep track of what is mandatory, optional and documentation required.
Openframe makes the process much clearer. With tasks laid out as workflows and clear requirements and documentation, it’s much easier for teams to collaborate and maintain an overview – even across national borders.
You get:
- Automatically adapt requirements to country and building type
- Clear structure and roles in the certification process
- Easy access to documentation requirements
- Effective communication across disciplines
What is the Nordic Swan Ecolabel in construction?
Nordic Swan – or the Nordic Swan Ecolabel – is the official Nordic Ecolabel. In construction, the certification is about ensuring high sustainability throughout the building’s life cycle: from material selection and energy consumption to indoor climate and recycling.
It’s a certification with high credibility among authorities, residents and investors alike – and it supports both climate goals and social considerations.
The certification has strict requirements, and that’s what makes it valuable. It cuts through the greenwashing and proves that the building meets some of the world’s strictest environmental standards.
We are ready to help
Openframe is built to remove the complexity from sustainability certification. With the Nordic Swan Ecolabel integrated as a fully supported scheme, we make it even easier to deliver ambitious, documented and sustainable projects.
Whether you work in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland or Iceland – and whether you’re building new or renovating – we’re ready to help you.
Want to see the Nordic Swan Ecolabel in Openframe? Try it for free here
Key requirements in Nordic Ecolabel version 3.1
- Low energy consumption and CO₂ impact
- The building must comply with stricter requirements for energy consumption and CO₂ emissions – including documentation of energy needs and climate impact throughout the life cycle.
- Strict requirements for chemicals and materials
- Comprehensive requirements for materials and chemical products – including bans on many substances and requirements for declaration in the Construction List.
- Indoor climate and comfort
- Focus on daylight, ventilation, acoustics and emissions. For example, formaldehyde and VOC levels must be below set limits.
- Waste management and resource efficiency
- Requirements for sorting, documentation and management of construction waste – and incentives to use recycled materials.
- Quality assurance throughout the construction process
- Control and quality assurance requirements from design to delivery.
- Tightness and moisture protection
- The building must meet airtightness and moisture protection requirements to ensure energy efficiency and durability.
20-May-2025
Do sustainability certifications shape our goals – or have we just gotten better at playing the game?
At Openframe, we have the ability to analyze sustainability data across many different construction projects – allowing us to identify patterns not necessarily seen in individual projects. By looking at the data on a meta-level, we can both share knowledge and develop features in our platform that make certification more structured and efficient.
One of the ways we do this is by looking at how sustainability goals are set in projects within the DGNB framework. Certification typically takes several years, so goal setting is the earliest place we can gain insight into how sustainability ambitions are taking shape – even before points are awarded.
What we have analyzed
For this proof of concept, we have examined 30 DGNB 2023 projects, focusing on how their score distribution. The projects cover different typologies: residential, office, commercial, hotel and daycare – with residential being by far the largest category (22 projects).
We wanted to investigate
- How consistent the targeting is across typologies
- Whether some types of projects are more aligned than others
- How variation and deviations affect goals
What we found out
- Across all project types, there were 8 indicators where the targets were set exactly the same
- In housing projects separately – the largest typology group – we found 39 goals were set identically –a significantly greater alignment
- At the same time, we saw fewer deviations when focusing on one building type, suggesting that projects naturally converge on the same sustainability priorities
It suggests that structured frameworks like DGNB don’t just help set direction – they make goal setting more predictable and consistent. At Openframe, these insights will form the basis for the development of data-driven templates that support a more effective approach to sustainability from day one.
How we found it
To quantify uniformity and variation in the observed target values, we introduced two metrics:
Data Consistency Index (DCI)
Measures how close the measurements are to each other – by comparing interquartile range (IQR) with the full range.
A DCI of 1 means that the middle 50% of the values are equal, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that all values are – there may still be some deviations. If the range is zero (meaning all values are exactly the same), the DCI is automatically set to 1.
Normalized Variability Index (NVI)
Shows the total variation by comparing the standard deviation with the highest value.
A low NVI means fewer outliers and greater consistency. If the highest value is zero, the NVI is automatically set to 1. Where DCI measures how similar the center field of data is, NVI shows the variation in the entire dataset. By using both measures together, you get a clearer picture of both how well projects align and where there are discrepancies.
Key insights:
- Across all project types, we saw perfect agreement in 8 out of 257 possible measures (DCI = 1, NVI = 0)
- In residential projects separately, it was 39 out of 257 – significantly more uniformity
- The bottom line? When projects share typology, their sustainability goals are much more consistent.
Using these metrics, we found that residential projects are significantly more aligned in their sustainability goals compared to mixed typologies. This supports that typology has a significant impact on how certification strategies are shaped.
What’s the next step?
The above is just the first step in a series of analyses. In the next ones we will take a closer look:
- How goal setting relates to the final certification score
- Which DGNB qualities (environmental, economic, social, etc.) are most – or least – consistent
- How deviations behave in different project types
By continuing to analyze the patterns, we will develop even better tools that make it easier to work structured and targeted with sustainability goals.
Follow us for more insights – and feel free to share your own experiences along the way.
08-Apr-2025
What does DGNB 2025 mean for you as a builder?
In the April issue of Teknik & Miljø, published by KTC and Tech Media, Frederik T. G. Julian from Openframe dives into how the new DGNB 2025 manual changes the rules of the game for public clients. With stricter requirements, focus on renovation and integration of the EU taxonomy, future certifications require both structure and digital overview.
Read on for three concrete tips on how you as a client can approach the process strategically – and see which tools can help you along the way.
