Green Building Education Initiatives in Romania awarded within the RoGBC Green Awards Gala, May 10
May 21, 2012 at 4:11 pm | Posted in Events, General | Leave a commentTags: Bucharest, conference, Energy Efficiency in Buildings, Events, Green Building Council, RoGBC, Romania Green Building Council, sustainability
We are pleased to announce that for the 3rd edition of the Romania Green Building Council Awards competition we received a very impressive list of submissions for the Green Building Education Initiative of the Year category. The most appreciated education activities were:
- “Sustainable Development. Integrated concept of built space and energetic audit” – University of Architecture & Urbanism “Ion Mincu”
The Faculty of Urban Planning, Landscape Design Section has developed a new Curriculum of Master in architecture which responds to issues of sustainability, energy, and the environment within the “Sustainable Development – Integrated concept of built space and energetic audit” course. As case study for this course a partnership protocol was signed between Bucharest University, “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism, Babes Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, and University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine The students from Faculty of Urban Planning, Landscape Design Section were involved in the interdisciplinary summer practice.They identified the architectural patrimony of Geopark villages: Sarmisegetusa, Clopotiva, Densus, Santamaria Orlea and the vernacular architecture principal specific features.
- “Energy improvement in the built environment” Transilvania University Brasov – Faculty of Construction;
The Department of Construction & Building Services has organized and developed courses concerning the Management of Water, Energy, Indoor Air Quality and Daylight harvesting.
Notable environmental and sustainable achievements:
-Green Roofs and Cool Roofs have been subjects of papers published by doctoral students.
-A student contest concerning Energy Efficiency in Buildings, Renewable energy applied in buildings, Sustainable use of Materials took place in 2011 in the faculty.
-A laboratory that studies the usugae of heat pumps was recently finalized. MsC and doctoral Students have won an ASHRAE grant focused on Energy Efficiency in Buildings.
-In March 2011 RoGBC organized the “Managing Green Building Projects” course at Aula of Transilvania University of Brasov.
- “Research and Educational Center for High Energy Efficiency Buildings” – University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest;
University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, in partnership with University of Architecture & Urbanism “Ion Mincu”, ICPE, ISPE, UTCB and Agecom Baia Mare built two passive houses as a laboratory for students and educational purpose.
The monitoring system helps students to better understand:
- Conductive heat exchange through building walls, windows and doors.
- Convective heat exchange through heating recovery units.
- Heat exchange by radiation through radiant heating panels, windows. The monitoring system also uses a pyrometer to collect solar radiation.
Moreover, students learn how to calculate heat requirement of the building using dynamic models, sizing heating equipament, how photovoltaic panels can be integrated in the structure of the house (storage of energy, energy transfer to the national grid) and many other applications.
The winner for this category was “Research and Educational Center for High Energy Efficiency Buildings” – University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest.
New graduates of the “Romania Green Building Professional” certification and training program
July 15, 2011 at 4:20 pm | Posted in Certification | Leave a commentTags: Certification, conference, Green Building Council, sustainability, Training
We would like to congratulate the following persons for their commitment, participation, ideas and other contributions for the “Romania Green Building Professional” certification and training program:
Andreea Carastoian, Strucon Proiect
Raluca Primejdie, Architect
Lucian Opris, Bluehouse Capital
Monica Marza, West Group Architecture
The intensive program includes 56 hours of multidisciplinary training in sustainable construction principles. The RoGBC wishes each of you success in transforming Romania’s built environment to the highest levels of green performance.
Click here for the full list of Romania Green Building Professional graduates.
“Greening our Hotels – Green Hotels in Romania too” – September 28th, 2010, Bucharest
October 12, 2010 at 10:49 am | Posted in Events | Leave a commentTags: buildings, conference, Energy Certification, Energy Efficiency, Events, Green Building, Green Building Council, green buildings, Legislation, Legislative Outreach, RoGBC, Sustainable Construction
On September 28th, Romania Green Building Council held, at the Athenee Palace Hilton, a one day course on “Greening our Hotels – Green Hotels in Romania too”, in order to engage the hospitality industry and its related products and services in a discussion regarding the opportunity and importance of a more environmentally responsible approach of architectural design, rehabilitation and dealing with properties.
The workshop provided practice information about integrating available technologies in the design of more energy efficient and with low environmental impact buildings. In addition, the course was structured so that the participants had the time to interact with the speakers, during the “question& answer” sessions.
First part. Competitive advantages for building/ refurbishing green hotels.
In his welcoming speech, Steven Borncamp, president of RoGBC, gave a short introduction to the importance of the “green approach” in designing and operating new buildings, increasing international and local regulations for building materials and energy consumption, as well as the need for more action for generalized sustainable principles for all types of buildings. Stressing that “green” stands for quality, present and future, Mr. Borncamp also mentioned that for a slight increase of the costs for a green building (with 2-4%), the cumulative savings are about 40% per year, while the investment amortization is being done in the first 2 or 3 years.
Next, Linda Griffin, the new general manager of Hilton Athenee Palace, presented some recent actions that aim at reducing electricity consumption, promoting ecological means of transportation (bicycles for customers) and creating a Green Team, which would be involve in implementing sustainable initiatives in the hotel network as well as initiating a “customer awareness” program on environmental behaviors during accommodation.
David Nicholl- general manager of Schneider Electric- had a comprehensive overview on the benefits of generalized automation systems in all types of buildings, including hotels. Through the Active Energy Management systems, significant, controllable and predictable reductions are being made, throughout the building, while ensuring optimum comfort for residents. The integrated Schneider Electric solutions can lead to constant electricity and heat consumption reductions up to 30% in the long run.
Second part. Financial incentives, legislation and certification
Ms. Maria Daniela Toma – manager in Ministry of Environment- tackled issues of the environmental labeling of hotels. Introduced after 2005, eco-labels represent green building certification, based on 20 criteria which include, among others, indicators of ecological materials use, presence and quality of the vegetation in the site area, energy and water consumption, waste storage and recycling, cleaning systems’ efficiency, information about preventive ecological behavior etc. Specific matters regarding general aspects and regulations of green label certification are available on www.eur-lex.europa.eu. The fee for obtaining this certification is presently 200-300 euro/year.
Furthermore, two case studies were presented. Linica Stan, manager Saturn Hotel, presented the case of Saturn Hotel, Mangalia, while for Crowne Plaza Hotel, Bucharest, the presentation was held by Melania Secuianu, Administrative Manager Crowne Plaza Hotel.
Mark Velody – BERD consultant – held a methodological overview of financial procedures, with favorable interest or grants for energy efficient building projects.
Third part. Innovative solutions.
Rafael Mărculescu – Schneider Electric – completed David Nicholl’s presentation through an application of energetic management integrated systems. He showed that the implementation of this kind of systems is very useful for all types of hotel equipments (heating/ HVAC/ water management, lighting etc.) and that the investment amortization for Schneider systems is up to 3 years, meanwhile noticing reductions of 35% for heat, 60% for electricity, as well as the number of employees.
David Clark – Cundall Engineering – presented a hotel case study, underlining the three aspects – energetic benchmarking, clarifying the CO2 footprint criteria (design, passive/ active system, energy efficiency and the recovery of energies) and users’ information/ education, in this case the tourists.
Specific solutions
In the last part the presentations were about a) particular solutions (products and systems) for a successfully implementation of significantly reduction of electricity consumption, lighting through efficient LED and mercury light bulbs (Cuneșteanu – Philips România), b) packaging waste management (Lorita Constantinescu – Eco-Rom Ambalaje) and c) sustainable solutions for green spaces design, through water management and special effects for the aesthetic part and for air quality improvement (Katja Perrey – Katja Perrey Landscapes).
Organizer:
Romania Green Building Council (www.RoGBC.org) is a non-profit and non-political association which encourages the development of market, educational and legal conditions necessary in the transformation of the building industry, in order to create and refurbish intelligent buildings, both sustainable and profitable. RoGBC is an “Established Council” within the World Green Building Council (www.WorldGBC.org) .
Cristina Şiu
Romania Green Building Council
Manager Marketing & Events
021-222 5135 / 021-260 0051 / 021 – 222 0011
Public Eco Acquisitions in Romania Conference
October 7, 2010 at 3:45 pm | Posted in Events | Leave a commentTags: conference, Public Eco Acquisitions in Romania, RoGBC event
TERRA Millennium III Foundation is inviting you to attend the ,,Public Eco Acquisitions in Romania” conference that will take place on Tuesday, 13th of October 2010, at Ronda Conference Room in Hotel Golden Tulip Times from Bucharest ( Decebal Blvd no 19 ).
The event will promote the public eco acquisition policy and it’s implementation instruments and will be moderated by Iulia Degeratu from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Miruna Bohâlţea from the National Authority for Regulating and Monitoring of Public Procurement, central and local public authorities officials, private companies that activate on the eco production/services field and specialized environmental ONGs.
The agenda is available here
The registration form is available here
11 March – Initiatives for a strong, green economy for Romania
March 8, 2010 at 1:13 pm | Posted in General | Leave a commentTags: Bucharest, conference, Green Building, Green Building Council, Green economy, Initiative, sustainability, Training
The Romania Green Building Council will hold an information session on March 11 to present details of two new initiatives and an event important to the development of a Romanian green economy based on an energy-efficient and environmentally-responsible construction and real estate sector.
The RoGBC will describe details of a “Green Building Innovation Center” opening in April 2010 and a certified “Romania Green Building Professional” training and certification program launched immediately. In addition, information will be provided for a “Green Jobs” event for students and professionals describing employment opportunities in green tech and sustainable construction related fields will be held in May. Both initiatives are critical to the creation of better job opportunities and higher quality and more affordable homes and buildings.
Who: Participants from all construction disciplines are invited. Seats are limited. If the event is sold out before you register your name will be added to a waiting list.
When: March 11, from 9.30 to 10.00am.
Where: The meeting will take place on the 11th Floor of the Bucharest Stock Exchange Building; 34-36 Carol I Boulevard, Sector 2.
Cost: This event is free of charge.
Members of the media should contact Alex.Baranga@RoGBC.org to register and to ensure access to the event.
For more information on the Romania Green Building Council, see: www.RoGBC.org
Schneider Electric helped cutting the CO2 emissions of the Copenhagen summit venue
December 17, 2009 at 8:12 pm | Posted in Events, Member Projects, News from Members | Leave a commentTags: Bella Center, buildings, climate change, Co2 reduction, conference, Copenhagen, Copenhagen Summit, Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency in Buildings, Schneider Electric, Sustainable Development
If a picture is worth 1.000 words, how many words do you think an energy efficient building makes up for? And it’s not just any building, but the location of the Copenhagen summit, Bella Center. RoGBC member company Schneider Electric helped cutting the CO2 emissions for the site of the UN Climate Change Conference.
To be more exact, the company modernized some technical installations, including the ventilation and cooling systems, 107 circulation pumps and about 2,000 light fittings. 5,268 energy-efficient light tubes were installed and the heating and lightning control system were automated, so that they adjust to fluctuations both indoor and outdoor and take up only the amount of energy needed.
Bella Center is monitored by a building management system that generates hourly reports about the electricity consumption. The Bella Center upgrade prevents about 1,150 tons of CO2 from being emitted every year. Maybe all these numbers don’t seem all that impressive, but think of it this way: the emissions that were avoided by Schneider Electric through the energy efficient system in Bella Center would be equal to about 7 million kilometers on the road in your car. Not bad, is it?
That is Schneider Electric’s way of encouraging the debate in Copenhagen and expressing hope that it will leave behind some revelations on how to save the planet, or at least get on the right track by reducing the CO2 emissions and protecting the environment more than before.
Read more about the retrofitting of the Bella Center on activeBE.com, the online Schneider Electric Building Energy online community.
GreenBiz Forum 2.0
October 1, 2009 at 12:23 pm | Posted in Events | Leave a commentTags: conference, GreenBiz Forum
The excellent feedback the organizers of the first edition of GreenBiz Forum received convinced them that a second edition is a must.
Therefore, on the 13th of October, at the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest, eco-aficionados (but not only) will be able to enjoy:
- The presence of Martin Neureiter, Task Group Leader for ISO (International Standards Organisation) for the ISO 26 000 on CSR standards, which will be elaborated in 2010
- The exclusive release of Ogilvy Earth for Romania
- GreenFair, a stand display of the most important green/CSR projects in Romania
- One-on-one meetings with thenvironment Romanian NGOs
- Round tables and interactive debates on topics like financing green ideas, corporate citizenship, corporate projects and green culture
- Meeting international speakers
The event gathers participants from the top and middle management of big corporations, PR specialists, corporate communication officers, brand managers with a keen interest in green marketing strategies, NGOs, specialized media, eco-business entrepreneurs looking for business partners and solutions providers, but also representatives of the environment public authorities.
RoGBC member companies benefit with a 25EUR discount from the participation fee. For more details, please contact us at: alina.kartman@rogbc.org
GreenBiz Forum is part of the GreenBiz project, a media platform dedicated to entrepreneurs, managers and marketing specialists active in green business. GreenBiz includes business events, a specialized blog – Green360.ro and an editorial column in the Biz magazine.
The first edition of GreenBiz Forum took place on June 25th 2009 and comprised a series of conferences and workshops, gathering 30 partner companies, 21 corporate, NGO and governmental speakers, as well as an audience of 200 people.
Please make sure to visit www.bizforum.ro for more information.
RoGBC signs position paper “Romania and Climate Change Policies – Economic Stimulus from a Green Economy”
September 19, 2009 at 4:46 pm | Posted in Events, Legislative Outreach | Leave a commentTags: buildings, climate change, conference, Energy Audit, Energy Certification, Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency in Buildings, GBC, Green Building, Green Building Council, green buildings, LEED, Legislation, Legislative Outreach, renewable energy, strategy, sustainability, sustainable architecture, Sustainable Development, WWF
The Romania Green Building Council (RoGBC) along with WWF Danube-Carpathian Romania, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Association of Energy Auditors for Buildings (AAEC) signed a shared position paper, regarding the measures that should be taken in order to encourage energy efficiency. The document, entitled “Romania and Climate Change Policies – Economic Stimulus from a Green Economy”, draws the attention on the economic opportunities associated with the implementation of environment policies, especially in the construction field. Some of the opportunities highlighted are the reducing energy costs, ensuring energy safety, raising comfort and creating new jobs.
In addition, the position paper underlines the necessity of immediate action in order to move towards a greener economy and explains that the practical measures to be applied do not represent budgetary costs, but investments towards a sustainable development. .
The position paper is available for reading here.
Costs and valuation of green buildings
July 20, 2009 at 1:22 pm | Posted in Events | Leave a commentTags: conference, costs of building green, Energy Efficiency, Events, Green Building
Ecological buildings are slightly more expensive, but more valuable as well, when compared to standard constructions. This was the main conclusion of the informative workshop organized in Bucharest, by the Romania Green Building Council, July 7th.
On the long run, both the tangible, and the intangible benefits of a sustainable building make it far more profitable than a regular building. For developers, investing in a green building instead of a traditional one means reducing risks, since such an investment attracts buyers interested in the reduced operational costs, better working and living environments, and other benefits of a green building. „Building green requires more upfront investment only if compared to building sub-standard quality constructions. You can try to save money by constructing poor quality buildings but strengthening building codes and enforcement, falling costs of technology , the missed benefits of better planning and design principles, and growing awareness among buyers of energy cost considerations will make it a poor investment strategy.“ explained Steven Borncamp, President of the Romania Green Building Council.
When talking about the tangible benefits of green buildings we are referring to energy savings of 30 % to 50%. To these we add benefits that are more difficult to measure, but are very important to companies, like a better reputation, better CSR programs, a decrease in employee absenteeism and an increase of employee productivity. A study published by Greg Kats for the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative shows that employee productivity is 1% higher in companies operating in LEED – one of the international green building certification schemes – buildings. The certification costing only .6 percent more of total costs for the basic green building certification compared to standard buildings.
The same study indicates that an initial increase of 2% in the upfront costs for green design will yield life cycle savings of more than ten times the initial investment, or 20% of total construction cost.
Another element which raises the value quota of green buildings is the fact that green buildings are slower to depreciate than normal buildings. Since they use much higher building standards than normal buildings, green buildings have more chances to maintain a good position on the market, even when basic standards are heightened.
Today, when thinking of a green building, we also think of premium prices. Yet tomorrow it is possible to notice a change. The specialists are expecting that, in the near future, buyers will no longer agree paying more for green buildings, but will probably ask for a price deduction for traditional buildings.
Moreover, significant market shifts are expected to happen in the green building sector with mandatory Energy Performance Certificates enforce in Romania from 2007 by the EU’s Energy Performance in Building Directive (EPBD). A stronger version was approved by the European Parliament, earlier this April. Following a likely adoption by the Council of Ministers, each Member state must transpose the stronger standards into national legislation and draft new laws, action plans, and strategies to accomplish the set targets. The goal is having all Member states ensure that all new buildings are at least “net zero energy” buildings by 31 st of December 2016 with public buildings subject to these standards three years earlier.
Romania Green Building Council organized a half day workshop to equip real estate developers and investors, valuation experts, financiers, facility managers, architects, engineers, project managers and other stakeholders with a better understanding of the ways in which sustainability affects the level or risk, and subsequently the value, associated with a green building.
Trainers for this event were: Steven Borncamp – RoGBC, President and CEO, Florin Dobrescu – Technical Advisor and Member of the Board of the RoGBC and General Manager of STARDOME, and Laura Nemoianu – Marketing & Operations Manager for the RoGBC. The trainers highlighted the key business case value factors for the various stakeholder groups and explained how sustainable buildings provide benefits in each instance.
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UNDP and Ministries of Environment; Foreign Affairs meeting
August 24, 2009 at 9:56 am | Posted in Legislative Outreach | Leave a commentTags: climate change, comments, conference, Green Building Council, meeting, Sustainable Development
Representative of the Ministry of Environment's climate change team briefs the attendees on the activities to date
I just returned from a consultative meeting organized by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Romania, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting’s subject was entitled “Romania in the Context of Negotiations for the New Global Climate Change Agreement, Copenhagen, December 2009 – United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention COP 15″. Attendees included dignitaries of the above-mentioned organizations as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, various academic institutions, NGOs and private sector representatives. We as stakeholders were asked to provide concrete recommendations as Romania prepares its position for national and international policy for the post-Kyoto period beyond 2012.
On behalf of the Romania Green Building Council, I made the following points:
1) That studies being performed to calculate the economic impact of greater CO2 / greenhouse gas reduction commitments should also include the reduced economic risk from greater energy efficiency and energy security. In addition, recognition of the significant contribution of buildings, new and existing, to greenhouse gas emissions must be elevated in the continuing climate change discussions in Copenhagen and beyond.
2) Financing mechanisms that reward green building, green tech, and renewable energy solutions and are paid back by future energy savings are a low cost way for encouraging innovation and helping Romania to prosper from adopting a low carbon economy.
3) Density bonuses, property tax exemptions and expedited permitting (among other incentives) for green buildings can provide better quality investments, sustained economic growth, and, of course, better buildings. A greater amount of green property investments offset the cost of tax reductions to municipalities and promote high-quality jobs.
4) Greater willingness to review and allow environmentally-superior construction materials is necessary to increase the energy efficiency of buildings and reduce their environmental impact. Reaching climate change commitments can be achieved by more innovative thinking and new policies instead of requiring greater spending.
5) Companies should be supported in their transition away from fossil fuel. We must let the market economy function but provide support in specific cases where the environmental costs are not captured by the normal market mechanisms.
Eliza Teodorescu presents recomendations from the Climate Action Network Romania
The Legislative Outreach Task Group of the Romania Green Building Council is preparing, in cooperation with WWF Romania a position paper to be delivered to the Government of Romania which will include the above points along with more details on policies and tools to ensure Romania’s climate change response brings sustainable economic growth.
We look forward to your comments.
- Steve