31-42_breeam prospekt.qxd
05.03.2013
15:35 Uhr
Seite 39
Focus on Sweden – BREEAM SE In 2010, the Toyota Centre in Bäckebol, Gothenburg became Sweden’s first BREEAM certified project. Two years later, environmental certification of the built environment has made significant strides in the design and construction industry across Sweden. Sweden has long been considered a pioneer in environment and sustainability, and the high level of practice and knowledge in these fields has been the basis for the emergence and growth of environmental certification systems. The Sweden Green Building Council (SGBC) was established in 2010 as a non-profit organisation dedicated to managing and developing environmental certification work in Sweden’s building sector. Starting with a core group of 13 prominent construction and real estate companies, SGBC now supports a member base of almost 200, and also maintains an international presence as an Established Member of the World Green Building Council.
BREEAM SE pilot project MAX IV in Lund
Uniquely Swedish adaptation Using BREEAM, the market saw an opportunity to create a uniquely Swedish adaptation, sensitive to the realities of designing and building in Sweden and inclusive of Swedish standards, construction processes and property ownership and management structures. Development work, which has involved close collaboration with BRE, has been underway since early 2010. The first Swedish version, called BREEAM SE, will be launched in the spring of 2013 and will retain the structure and the weighting factors found in BREEAM’s international version. This alignment with the international version will allow comparisons with projects in other countries, creating value for shareholders by providing quantitative evidence of building performance. The certification will also make it easier for the tenant to select buildings with high environmental performance. Today, about 50 projects in Sweden are registered under BREEAM International, with an additional 20 planning to register under BREEAM SE. Pilot projects The SGBC is supporting the quality control and launch of BREEAM SE. Part of this work includes a pilot programme involving the pre-certification of four projects submitted by SGBC member companies, NCC, PEAB, SEB and AB ML4. One of these involves the 50,000 m2 MAX IV plant in Lund in southern Sweden, which will produce synchrotron radiation. Being developed by AB ML4, the building will be owned by the commercial real estate company Wihlborgs and property developer PEAB, and the tenant will be Lund University. The project will be certified in accordance with the new Swedish BREEAM manual. ‘I see great potential for BREEAM to be developed as the leading international certification system,’ says Jonny Hellman, Technical Manager BREEAM at SGBC. ‘I also hope to see incentives in the form of lower interest rates and faster building permit processes from politicians and authorities. Sweden can learn from the lessons of other countries in this respect.’