REDEVCO Turkey has been awarded a BREEAM Certificate, with a rating of "Very Good", for the Erzurum shopping center project, prior to its opening in the third quarter of 2009. The certificate demonstrates that the shopping center meets very strict requirements for green design, and goes beyond national legislation.
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Erzurum shopping center, designed by Chapman Taylor Architects and RedevConcepts, will open in the third quarter of 2009.
Like its other developments in Turkey, REDEVCO's Erzurum project served as a pilot project for the development of the BREEAM Europe Retail scheme. This international standard for green buildings was developed in association with members of the International Council of Shopping Centers Sustainability Working Group and the Building Research Establishment (BRE). BREEAM (BRE's Environmental Assessment Method) is the world's longest-established and most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings.
Paul Gibbon, Director of Sustainability for BRE Global, said: "We are delighted that an international company such as REDEVCO is committed to certifying their new development projects according to BREEAM, helping drive the establishment of a common international standard for green buildings".
Erzurum is the first BREEAM-certified building in Turkey, but it will certainly not be the last, since REDEVCO has registered more new developments to be BREEAM-certified. Jaap Gillis, COO at REDEVCO, adds, "Rather than developing a variety of different standards, we as an international company prefer to encourage all emerging Green Building Councils to adopt BREEAM as the standard for Green Buildings."
Once Erzurum has been opened, the shopping center will also apply for a BREEAM in Use certificate, to ensure that the environmental performance of the building is continuously improved, a key principle of REDEVCO's environmental policy.
The shopping center will generate its own on-site energy. "Using co-generators and absorption chillers, we will generate centrally heating, cooling and electricity, emitting less CO2 per sq. m. than other shopping centers in Turkey, while our tenants can benefit in time from lower energy costs," Harold Reniers, Technical Director at REDEVCO, says.
REDEVCO has long regarded sustainability as an important part of its business activities. As a responsible property owner and developer, and a founding member of the Turkish Green Building Council, it has felt duty-bound to use technologies that are already available to bring about groundbreaking improvements in the energy efficiency of new shopping centers. Harm to the environment is minimized, and tenants may have the opportunity to benefit as their corporate energy bills are cut. To this end, and with a view to encouraging "green building", REDEVCO intends to have all its retail projects in Europe certified according to BREEAM and to take account of BREEAM guidelines when developing new properties.
Source: Redevco
