Balancing the business- and eco-spheres

Green construction is not just marketing. Eco-buildings have now become the norm. It seems that everyone benefits from the trend: developers, tenants, investment funds and the environment

A few numbers for you to meditate upon: in Europe buildings generate 50 pct of annual carbon dioxide emissions, consume 45 pct of all energy, are responsible for the pollution of 20 pct of the land and use 17 pct of the water. "According to the Kyoto protocol, EU members have undertaken to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission and increase renewable energy usage by 2020 - in accordance with the so-called '20-20-20 target'. In order to achieve these targets we have to focus on green construction. We simply have no other choice," insists Devin Saylor, the director responsible for the certification of green buildings in Eastern Europe at Colliers International.

Green fashion and business
More and more buildings are now eco-friendly. It is estimated that app. 50 pct of commercial buildings will be eco-friendly by 2015. Developers and investors are making some effort to emphasise this. Acquiring a recognised eco-certificate (LEED, BREEAM and DGNB are the most familiar ones in Europe) has become a public relations and marketing tool. "Is there anything wrong with that? In my opinion there is not. On the contrary, the fashion for so-called 'green buildings' generates benefits for developers, tenants and the environment itself. And so we should all be glad," believes Devin Saylor. But to put aside the marketing aspect, it is the generation of profits that is most important for developers. Specialists claim that ecological construction, at least so far, could be helpful in this respect. In what way? "Obtaining a certificate increases the value of a project. It is usually the case that green buildings are higher quality facilities. Consequently a 'green' office building is also a class 'A' office building. Other research confirms that such facilities can generate higher profits. RICS estimates that a green building generates 6 pct higher profit from rent compared to a traditional one. Moreover, the sales premium reaches as much as 16 pct," explains Devin Saylor. Monika Rajska, managing partner of Colliers International in Poland, confirms this. "We can see clearly that more and more tenants and investment funds are only interested in eco-friendly buildings. In a way it forces developers and building owners to implement green solutions and consequently go through the certification process," she remarks.
According to Monika Rajska: "The greatest misconception about green buildings is that they cost substantially more to construct than non-green buildings. The first green buildings were more expensive because there were fewer options for green products and materials and more work went into making buildings green, including extra research and learning about the documentation process. The market for green products and materials has since increased substantially, which has resulted in the availability of higher quality products at prices comparable to non-green choices." However, she adds that: "Unfortunately, the connection between higher costs and green buildings still exists. In fact, a green building does not have to cost more than a non-green building. Many green features and strategies can be achieved through early planning, the right decisions and coordination with project team members."
There is no denying that developers pay a lot of attention to expenditure. "The majority of our new designs will be eco-friendly. On the one hand, tenants expect this from us; on the other, it is our company's policy. We have opted for the DGNB certificate. However, we shouldn't forget that the implemented solutions must make sense from the economic point of view. We have built a passive building in Austria. However, it turned out that it was not a good investment. That's why we will not develop buildings of this type in the future," says Markus Neurauter, a management board member of Raiffeisen evolution.

Eco-tenant
However, leasing space in a green building brings with it extra responsibilities. "The fact that a tenant chooses offices in an ecological building does not mean that this is where their concern for the environment should finish," emphasises Jarosław Witek, a senior mechanical engineer at Arup. As he goes on to point out: "The most comprehensive building certification systems, LEED and BREEAM, impose certain obligations on the tenants, assuming that they also need to contribute to the true eco-friendliness of the building." Jarosław Witek believes that cooperation between developers and tenants varies depending on the certificate chosen. Some green certificates assume that a tenant has to undertake to comply with certain standards. If a building is to be an energy-saving one then it is the tenant's responsibility to ensure that saving energy is really taken care of in the offices, which they furnish themselves - for example, by choosing suitable furniture and fittings. In the case of the BREEAM certificate, the so-called ?green lease agreement' is used. "In this case, by signing the agreement, the tenant is legally obliged to adopt certain solutions, including low energy consumption and improvements to the air quality of the premises. For example, it is the tenant's responsibility to install blinds in all windows. Such an agreement might deter some tenants to a certain extent in countries with shorter traditions of green construction," notes Mr Witek. But there is a solution. A guide can be prepared for tenants, showing how to adjust to green standards (the so-called green guide for tenants). "Such a recommendation seems to be the simplest one, but during the certification process a building will only receive half the maximum number of points for this solution," he suggests.

Searching for the ideal
'Eurobuild CEE', helped by Colliers International and Arup, is gathering experts from around the region to judge the most sustainability conscious developers and tenants in the CEE region, who will be announced at the Awards gala. Eurobuild Awards director Richard Stephens says: "Ecological construction is now a major trend. Green buildings have ceased to be a marketing tool and are now the standard. That's why this year we will try to determine the best project of this type. We will also look for tenants that stand out in terms of their concern for the natural environment."

Radosław Górecki
In cooperation with Mladen Petrov