COVID-19 recession to increase interest in ‘green’ certification of buildings in Ukraine – expert

The growth of interest in "green" certification of buildings is associated with the general development of the Ukrainian real estate market and the desire to qualitatively distinguish the project from competitors; the demand will also increase due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) recession, Project Manager of "green" LEED, BREEAM, DGNB certification at DELTA Ukraine Maksym Zaika said.

"We forecast that the demand for 'green' certification will grow, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 recession, because certified buildings are not only more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, but they also offer their users a healthier, better quality environment than conventional buildings," he told Interfax-Ukraine.

The most represented segment of real estate in "green" certification in Ukraine is the office one; there are prospects in retail, logistics and residential segments.

According to DELTA Ukraine, five office buildings, two residential complexes, one supermarket and one logistics complex are currently undergoing certification.

"Office buildings are the buildings of the innovation park UNIT.City B11, B04 and B06 and business center Mag.nett, located on Velyka Vasylkivska Street, which are certified by DELTA Ukraine according to the U.S. 'green' building rating system LEED. Under this system, we also certify the project of a logistics complex in Kyiv region," Zaika said.

Delta Ukraine is part of the Austrian company Delta Holding, established in 1977 in Wels. It provides services for construction, design, construction management, general contracting, and green building certification. The company has subsidiaries in Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine.

DELTA Ukraine certifies projects by LEED, BREEAM, BREEAM In-Use, DGNB and EDGE methods. DELTA carried out the first DGNB certification in Ukraine in 2014 (Billa supermarket in Kyiv) and the first LEED certification in 2019 (B12 business campus in UNIT.City).

Of the latest certifications – Grand business center in Kyiv for Dragon Capital Property Management according to the international environmental assessment method BREEAM In-Use International. The business center building was highly rated "VERY GOOD."

Source: www.en.interfax.com.ua