Photo: Bojan Bogdanović, SrbGBCAlthough green building is becoming more and more present in Serbia and the number of certified green buildings is increasing, we are still quite far from transitioning to sustainable development of the construction sector. The current energy crisis has reminded us more than ever of the importance of energy efficiency and energy security, which can definitely be enhanced by more massive green building, but also improving energy performance of the existing building stock. The Serbia Green Building Council (SrbGBC), as a national member of the world (WorldGBC) and European (WorldGBC Europe) Green Building Council, promotes green building through its activities at every level, encourages dialogue between the public and private sectors, as well as changes in legislation, and to see where we have arrived on that road, we spoke with the President of the Council, Bojan Bogdanović.
The term green building has been widely used in recent years, but it seems to be more part of the popular environmental narrative than actually present in practice. What do the data say: how many buildings in Serbia have a green certificate so far?
Globally, green building is gaining importance, and in our market, based only on the number of certified buildings, one could speak of an almost geometric growth. The first certified building in Serbia was registered in 2013, in the first quarter of last year there were 29 (LEED and BREEAM), and at the moment there are 110 certified buildings registered in Serbia (LEED 26, BREEAM 44, EDGE 40), with a large number of those thar are in the process of certification. We believe that our promotion of green building contributed significantly to this. Last year, the Serbia Green Building Council organized an event to support developers in the form of awarding certificates of appreciation to leaders who certified their buildings in the previous two years. We proudly point out that the largest number of them are actually members of the Council.
It could be concluded that this increase in interest in green building is certainly not only in the domain of the “environmental narrative“ but is a consequence of the recognition of economic benefits by developers. In the circumstances of the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine, increasingly intensive investment in energy efficiency and renewable sources in the buildings themselves not only brings significant energy savings, costs and benefits for the environment (due to the reduction of CO2 emissions), but also contributes to energy security. Nevertheless, despite the fascinating growth of interest in green building, unfortunately, compared to the total number of buildings built, this percentage is so small that it is not even worth mentioning.
Green building is not directly related to certification, but the implementation of green aspects is necessary if someone opts for certification. The bottom line is that credits awarded within defined categories are key to evaluating green building. The choice of type and variant of certification is free will, and results in some form of certification rating as a confirmation of green building.
How green a building will be depends on the approach, principles, methods and tools involved. Depending on how green you want to be, so many aspects of green you will implement (renewable energy sources, rainwater collection, implementation of recycled material, reuse, introduction of innovative solutions that reduce energy and electricity consumption, save water, green roof, smart systems in the form of sensors which regulate aspects of comfort...).
MPC PROPERTIES BUSINESS CENTER NAVIGATOR 2 HAS THE LEED GOLD CERTIFICATION / PHOTO: MPC PROPERTIES
What kind of certificates exist and how much do they increase the value of the facility?
There are very different forms of certification on a global level, but there are officially sixty of them administered by the World Green Building Council and which, as a national member of the same, we support by introducing our members to them (LEED, BREEAM, EDGE, WELL Health-Safety). The very growth of certified buildings speaks in favor of the fact that there are justified economic, environmental and social reasons for green building. Numerous studies confirm the justification of this kind of construction precisely for the reason of increasing the value of a facility. A form of green financing has also been activated in the construction sector, which requires confirmation in the form of a green certificate. Some of the developers in Serbia (our members) already have a positive experience in this in terms of significantly lower interest rates, not to mention the cost effectiveness during the use of such a facility.
Although the value of the facility is mainly viewed through economic parameters, its environmental value is also important, as the ultimate goal of sustainable development – reduction of the negative impact on the environment by creating a resilient built environment. There is also a measurable positive impact on the end user, whether it is the business, commercial or residential sector. Specifically, by introducing smart systems (positive economic aspect and savings) that monitor and manage aspects of comfort, the quality of the interior space for the end user, the satisfaction of staying in such a space, as well as a positive impact on his/her health hereby increase.
DELTA HOUSE, THE NEW OFFICE BUILDING OF DELTA HOLDING, HAS BEEN CERTIFIED AS A LEED GOLD BUILDING / PHOTO: DELTA REAL ESTATE
How much can the price of green building be a factor that demotivates investors? Is a green building necessarily more expensive than an ordinary one?
The greener the building, the more economically justified it is. If this were not the case, there would be no market demand for them. It is only a matter of the investor’s perception whether he bases his business on long-term or short-term plans. In long-term planning, where the green building, during its life cycle, remains in the ownership of either the owner as the end user, or the owner who rents the space, it is more than a cost-effective investment. Its higher initial investment is indisputable, but also the fact that they later have a facility that has lower operating costs during use and maintenance. For now, they are mostly represented in the commercial sector, which only confirms the strong motivation of business in turning to green building.
The situation is quite different in the residential area, where the plans are short-term and end with the sale of the investment immediately after construction. Although there are those, among the investors of residential buildings, who work to improve the quality and some aspects of green can be glimpsed (most often with a part of the green roof), the majority of them are not motivated for larger initial investments, because they do not encounter such demand; there is no motivation for more investment, because the market is potent and there are no problems with sales. Hence, this trend of “demotivation“ will continue until the moment the market does not become more demanding, until price and location are not the only concerns, until future apartment owners when buying apartments do not include long-term planning in terms of future expenses that they will have during the use of it, that is, until they do not take into consideration the savings they can achieve.
NCR CAMPUS RECEIVED THE HIGHEST RATING LEED PLATINUM / Foto:Twitter/@NCRCorporation)
In many EU countries, investors are obliged by law to abide by the principles of green building. Can you give us some examples of such practice?
Within the World Green Building Council, there is a program called The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, which implies an even more advanced green building that leads to a zero energy and emission transition. So far, six regions and countries (USA, UK, Spain, Germany...), 28 cities around the world (London, New York, Copenhagen, Paris, Oslo, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto...), as well as 138 organizations/companies have committed themselves to it.
At the European level, there is a binding directive for members, which refers to the aspiration of nearly zero energy performance of buildings, as a segment of green building. In Britain, BREEAM certification is mandatory for the public sector. Also, the practice for larger cities to require the certification of facilities that exceed certain square footage, precisely for the reason of their influence within the built environment, is growing worldwide; certification of green building in the context of reducing negative environmental impact is being insisted on. The influence of international financial institutions (EBRD, World Bank, etc.) and commercial banks, which, by providing stimulating financing conditions that promote green building, help the wider and more frequent implementation of green building principles in practice, is also very important.
What is the situation in our country when it comes to laws? Are there plans to adopt some binding regulations, for example, on the use of recycled construction waste?
There is a mutual initiative and the Council has already had meetings with relevant ministries. There is a lot of potential for cooperation, and we are invited to make proposals in the area of legislation, but also to work even harder on educating all stakeholders and the public, because this is exactly the biggest challenge in green building. As a member of the Alliance for Green Transition, there is a certain membership activity of SrbGBC in that part, as well as engagement within the Proposal of the Circular Economy Development Program in the RS for the period 2022-2024. For now, the implementation of the circular model in the construction sector is at the level of individual engagement, in the form of the application of recycled material or reuse, and the role of SrbGBC is also here at the educational level.
IMMOFINANZ STOP-SHOP RETAIL PARKS IN SERBIA HAVE A BREEAM CERTIFICATION / PHOTO: IMMOFINANZ
Is the state considering introducing subsidies for companies interested in this type of investment?
At the state level, green bonds have been announced, citing green buildings as a potential. Subsidies were also one of the topics at the SrbGBC meeting with the ministries, which confirms the state’s interest in developing that concept.
As per Serbia, certified facilities, many of which are owned by SrbGBC members (Ušće Tower 2, Delta House, Sirius, Navigator 2, Atrium, Stop-Shop, etc.), imply sufficient confirmation of interest in this type of investment. In order to remain neutral towards the members and faithful to our transparent approach, as well as open to various types of cooperation, we shall only cite as an example one of the most recently certified facilities, the NCR K2 Business Center, which received the highest rating of LEED - Platinum. Also, more and more financial institutions are strengthening green financing, which will surely affect the construction sector as well.
In Europe, there is a trend of renewing the existing building stock, in order to reach the modern level of energy efficiency. Is there an initiative to implement this on a larger scale in our country?
In the conditions of the current energy crisis, the energy efficiency of facilities is one of the important aspects of green building and, at the same time, a current topic at the state level, considering the huge part of the building stock that is energy inefficient. The state provides incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, as do the international financial institutions and some commercial banks. Support mechanisms for commercial and individual residential facilities are becoming more and more available. The biggest challenge concerns multi-family residential buildings where, from an engineering point of view, energy rehabilitation is not demanding, but organizationally it is very complicated due to tenant agreements, obtaining permits, supervision of works... The Ministry of Mining and Energy, EBRD and USAID are mainly working on the development of energy rehabilitation projects for residential buildings.
How aware are we that the traditional way of construction, and even the buildings we live in, are not sustainable and will not withstand the challenges of climate change in the future? How does the Council carry out its mission of raising awareness, both of investors and citizens?
The entire activity of the Serbia Green Building Council is subordinated to the goal that aspects of green building are recognized as key factors of the transformation of the construction sector and the built environment. Essentially, the goal of the transformation is to neutralize its negative impact. All events of the Council are for the purpose of information and are educational in nature, whether talking of professional conferences, activities intended for the general public, as well as work with the youngest, through webinars, projects and other activities, which you can find more about on the website of the Council www.serbiagbc.rs.
One of the forms of membership activity is the engagement of the SrbGBC working group in the ETF competition and the expansion of the campus of the technical faculties, within which, for the first time, aspects of green building are required in the competition program for a public purpose building.
Text: Jovana Nikolić
Photo: SrbGBC
