“Environmental issues are in the public limelight, we can see the demand from out visitors and we can notice that more and more visitors coming to our mall are eager to learn about the green technologies in place,” agrees Sophia Trofimova.
How much does it cost to be green?
According to the experts of Colliers International, green construction is normally 10–20% more expensive then non-green one. If you are aiming at Very Good or Excellent certificates, you must be ready to invest more into both construction and consulting. To obtain a BREEAM Excellent, a developer would have to invest 20% more the average amount of money as it is the second best certificate. In the UK, for example, only about 10% of new non-residential projects have received this certificate. There is nothing higher than a BREEAM Outstanding, which has only been granted to 1% of non-residential projects in the UK.
This way, higher costs are determined by the target certificate. “Though these days, when designing a project there are already high requirements to construction materials and technologies, so the certification costs do not really change the picture much,” insists Anna Minakova.
In order to obtain a certificate, a developer must complete a set of actions and solutions to introduce to decrease carbon footprint. “The implementation costs vary and depend on the sophistication of the project and green technologies used. For instance, in SEC Aquarelle in Pushkino, together with designing the engineering systems according to the BREEAM requirements, we also drew out a green design, which pushed the costs up,” says Maria Chernakova, CFO, CEETRUS Russia.
Certification deadlines are in line with the construction deadlines. “Certification process starts together with the project design. It is when we invite a consultant to guide us. It can take up to two years from the moment we sign a deal with a consultant to the day we receive a certificate,” shares her experience Anastasia Gribkova, chief engineer, Environment Engineering, Globus hypermarkets.
What is with the numbers?
Green projects in commercial real estate in Russia are isolated cases. “Compared to Europe, electricity costs in Russia are quite low and for most developers the economic benefits from using energy efficient technologies for construction of shopping and entertainment centers are not clear. In addition, such projects in Europe are often subsidized by their governments, with the shopping centers being nominees for various competitions, which improves their public standing,’ comments Igor Temnyshev, Regional Director of Construction Project Management with Сolliers International.
One significant example is Fornebu S in Oslo. The construction of the center was only held based on all modern requirements and technologies, including the energy saving ones, but even the construction debris was removed and totally recycled. In 2015 Fornebu S became the first mall to receive a BREEAM Outstanding certificate to prove its leadership in the environmental efficiency.
The Middle East and Asia are also actively working on constructing green and efficient buildings where, on the one hand, there is a lack of resources, and on the other, a rather harsh climate, though the main concern there is not to save heat but to properly cool a building.
“The holistic approach to environmental protection and recycling has only recently found the spotlight nationwide and they are not yet regulated by law,” comments Maria Chernakova. Another dealbreaker is the costs of professional consultants on BREEAM, expensive construction materials and equipment and working out bugs out of the systems.
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