The certification system offered by the Romanian Green Building Council (RoGBC) includes a decrease of the total cost below that of a conventional property, said Andrei Botiș, president of RoGBC, during the ONLINE conference “Green solutions for commerce, industry and buildings”, organized by Energynomics. Currently, RoGBC has certified or pre-certified over 50 projects with over 10,000 apartments, with a market value of over 2 billion euros, in the main cities in Romania – Cluj, Iasi, Bucharest and Brasov.
Thus, “the Green Homes certification system is based on 7 very important elements – in addition to the energy efficiency part, we aligned ourselves with the European requirements regarding the circular economy. In the construction, site and property management part we are very interested in indoor air quality and material quality. We also analyze the bioclimatic design and the location, on having the project in a location that meets the maximum score from our point of view. The project was also based on the costs, more precisely, the total mortgage costs plus energy costs, plus the repair costs to result in a lower total cost than in a conventional property”, said Andrei Botiș.
At the same time, the concept of green mortgages was launched, a concept previously presented by Energynomics following interviews with RoGBC founder Steven Borncamp. “Thus, we managed to convince several partner banks; the first to join our program was Raiffeisen Bank, in 2014. A green mortgage is much more advantageous than a standard one, the monthly savings being consistent. Subsequently, Alpha Bank joined our program, and today we have over 7 partner banks in Romania and several partner banks at European level”, added Botiș.
“Our project was awarded by the European Commission, so we managed to implement this project in 14 countries in Europe. We are now in advanced discussions on other continents. We have as partners several renowned institutions at European level, including the Copenhagen Center for Energy Efficiency, one of the most recognized in the world.”
DOWNLOAD THE PRESENTATION OF ANDREI BOTIȘ
The Smarter program offers one of the most complex ways to calculate the indices needed for certification and is aligned with all institutions that promote sustainability. “We are aligned with the European Taxonomy. In June 2021, together with the National Bank of Romania and 80 other financial and non-financial institutions, including the World Bank, European Investment Bank and other banks and companies, we were part of a working group that developed the first Guide of Green Financing in Romania, which, at the moment, is the basis of all financing in Romania ”. The guide can be downloaded from the BNR page.
“Also, together with the European Commission, we have developed a system that offers a certificate to all providers of green solutions – construction materials or services.”
The ONLINE conference “Green solutions for commerce, industry and buildings” was organized by Energynomics, with the support of our partners: BCR, Enel X Romania, EnergoBit, Schneider Electric, Simtel, Wiren.
