A business center will be located in Vilnius – an example of a sustainable solution in the world

Now, after the certification of Uptown Park, 100 percent The Eastnine building is rated with the highest sustainability ratings according to the LEED and BREEAM systems. In applying for the certificate, we had to make the Uptown Park building even more efficient in terms of energy and water consumption, conduct an analysis of the premises’ sufficient daylight and make the necessary changes and meet a number of sustainability and social welfare recommendations and requirements. Noirdi thanks the tenants who volunteered to adopt the principles of sustainable operations in their offices, helping us to achieve this goal. This is the best demonstration of how we are becoming more and more creative, and the tenants are interested in the environment we live in and create ourselves, says Rta Narutavi, director of the Eastnine business center of the leading real estate company.

Mindaugas Mikolainis, manager of Greenbalt oil building certification, comments that Uptown Park received the LEED certificate for the first time and achieved the highest rating possible for already built buildings. The LEED evaluation is based on the international methodology of the US Building Council. In less than two years, the representatives of the evaluation council went to the United States to evaluate the documentation and implemented measures for about three months.

5 main criteria

M. Mikolainis says that the main criteria evaluated by LEED representatives when certifying green buildings are the promotion of an alternative to cars when traveling to and from work, the results of a survey on rental transportation methods, the efficiency of energy and water consumption, the analysis of sufficient daylight in indoor spaces, and ecological cleaning and hygiene measures. use of the tool.

In order to meet all the requirements, appropriate work has been undertaken in the business center.

For example, in order to improve the opportunities to use alternative means of transport to cars, first of all, RMMs rent according to the results of the survey, which showed that 45 percent the user of the building lives no further than 5 kilometers from the workplace. appreciate it, we are preparing bicycle repair stations, we have improved the number of parking places for bicycles, we are preparing charging sockets for scooters, says M. Mikolainis.

In order to improve the efficiency of energy consumption, energy audits of ASHRAE level 1 and 2 detail are required, a central building automation and control system has been prepared in the business center, as well as a relative indoor air humidity support system.

M. Mikolainis adds that water-saving pressure-changing devices and aerators have been prepared in Uptown Park. Using water aeration systems, potable water savings can reach about 30 percent.

During the certification, the daily light measurement analysis was also performed in common and rented premises. Measurements have shown that the construction of the working area ensures the quality of work around the access of natural light and visual space.

In order to improve the percentage of recyclable waste, the waste streams of recyclable glass were separated from general waste, and a collection point for electronic waste was also prepared. In addition, responsible persons responsible for large electronics and environmentally hazardous waste have been appointed as needed.

Tenants also contributed

Mr. Narutavi shares that in order to meet LEED Platinum requirements, some tenants of the business center have volunteered to help with the certification. For example, purchases of hygiene products were interrupted, non-ecological paper towels were replaced with certified ones, 37 percent. paper waste disposable paper towels. The cleaning company inventoried and adjusted its purchases of cleaning products, so that 86 percent buy cleaning products bt Ecolabel certified products. Others transferred existing furniture for use by newly cycled tenants, with the aim of reducing potential unnecessary construction waste. It is a good idea that meaningful work brings people together, says R. Narutavi.

She adds that solutions focused on the environment and sustainability will undoubtedly continue to be the direction business centers around the world are heading, between j and Eastnine. We aim to demonstrate leadership in this area. We have been working with various aspects of building sustainability for many years. 100% of our buildings are certified according to the highest LEED Platinum or BREEAM Outstanding standards. But we don’t stop there, we strive to improve the working conditions of tenants. We are constantly cooperating with consultants in Sweden and Lithuania in order to get information about applicable good building practices in our buildings and create systems that allow us to maintain A+ office class level, comments the manager of Eastnine business center.

M. Mikolainis points out that the current building certification trends in the world are really positive. Excluding the main LEED market in the US, globally in 2020 no less than 10,000 square meters per year. in 2022, the number of LEED-certified buildings was 209. 601, and in 2023 is indicator reached 754, that is 360 percent. growth Such a three-year change shows that the trends of sustainable existing real estate are growing very rapidly. This is a clear signal that real estate agents and tenants do not only value building standards in terms of good practices and their application in the market, comments M. Mikolainis.

The LEED highest class environmental assessment system has been developed for more than 20 years. It is managed by the United States Building Council. The system is intended to assess the environmental characteristics of the building and to encourage the harmonious development of the building’s life cycle. Although the certification program started in the United States, it has become the benchmark for ecological building evaluation in the world.

Business centers managed by Eastnine Group have participated in the LEED evaluation since 2016, 6 to 9 buildings in Lithuania have the highest Platinum ratings, and the remaining 3 have the highest BREEAM Outstanding ratings.

Currently, Eastnine manages 9 buildings in Lithuania belonging to business centers 3Burs Vertas, Uniq, Uptown Park, S7, 3 in Latvia Alojas Biroji, Valdemara centrs, Zala 1 and 1 in Poland Nowy Rynek D.