Skanska sustainable office portfolio to hit 1 mln sqm in 2020

Skanskaʼs Nordic Light Trio development in Budapest

No less than 40 office projects built and developed by Skanska in the CEE region have been certified in LEED Core & Shell. Since 2012, the company has delivered more than 700,000 sqm of LEED-certified (81,000 sqm in Hungary) and 34,600 sqm of WELL-certified office space across the region.

Last year, Skanska’s Visionary development in Prague became the first WELL- certified office building in CEE. The company says that delivering LEED and WELL certified sustainable office space is one of the key steps towards Skanska Groupʼs target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2045, with a 50% reduction by 2030.

"Sustainability drives Skanska’s operations and supports our business strategy based on our mission: building for a better society," says Katarzyna Zawodna-Bijoch, president and CEO of Skanska office business unit in CEE."We fully concentrate on delivering buildings developed according to the highest standards. Our strategic offer, Futureproof Workplaces by Skanska, is a promise to our customers that no matter which Skanska project they choose, it will be developed with a special focus on design, sustainability and innovation.

"LEED and WELL certificates are the best evidence that our company fulfills the promise and delivers environmentally friendly buildings focused on peopleʼs wellbeing. Our efforts have also been recognized on a wider scale. Skanska has been ranked 20th in the list of companies changing the world. It is a great recognition and great responsibility at the same time. We are fully aware of climate change, and that is why we are still working on further steps towards minimizing our impact on the planet," she adds.

Skanska has recently got new recognitions for its buildings across the CEE region. Spark C in Warsaw received a WELL Core & Shell certificate as the first building in Poland and the second office building in CEE. Praga Studios in Prague, Equilibrium office project in Bucharest, Nowy Rynek in Poznań and Spark B in Warsaw were all awarded Platinum-level LEED Core & Shell certificates.

According to the company’s calculations, newly certified developments will increase the total stock of Skanska by 220,000 sqm of LEED-certified and 79,800 sqm of WELL-certified office space. At the turn of 2020 and 2021, the developer also plans to introduce WELL-certified projects in Hungary and Romania.

András Schmidt, sustainability manager of Skanska Property Hungary says, "Skanska’s commitment towards green and human-center developments is clearly visible with the achievements that we have in Budapest as well. Our Mill Park office project has already received LEED Gold certification, with one of the largest green space amongst Budapest office projects; while Nordic Light Trio will be our first WELL-certified building in Hungary, also aiming for the newest version of LEED certification for this project."

"This means that by the end of the year we will deliver 14 000 sqm LEED-certified office space on the Budapest market, and our goal is to continue our pace towards developing sustainable buildings for a better society," he adds.