What and Why green buildings in Finland, Heli Kotilainen, CEO of the Finnish Green Building Council

1. %
Why and What Green Building?
Heli Kotilainen 17.9.2015

2. WHY A SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT?
WHAT IS GREEN BUILDING AND SUSTAINABLE CITY?
GUIDANCE AND CERTIFICATIONS
GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL NETWORK
Contents

3. Why a sustainable built environment?
• Finland has approximately 1.5 mill. properties, with a total value of 369
bn. €
• The energy use of buildings accounts to the energy production of 16
nuclear power stations.
• The share of buildings on total greenhouse gas emissions is 40 %,
commitments to reduce total GHG emissions have been made.
• The European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive obliges new
construction units to approach ’Near Zero Energy Buildings’ by 2020.

4. Why a sustainable built environment?
Productivity and economic efficiency
•Good indoor air quality can improve productivity by 10%
•New ways of working reduce the need for business premises and work
spaces by 40 – 50%.
•The control and guidance of technical building services can save 10- 20%
of a property’s energy consumption which would nationally amount to the
energy production of 2-3 nuclear power stations.
Aalto yliopisto (2014), WorldGBC (2013)

5. Why a sustainable built environment?
Health
• About 35% less short sickness absences in offices with a good indoor air
quality.
• People sleeping in the proximity of windows get 46 minutes more nightly
sleep than others.
• In office work the scenery and amount of daylight can explain up to 6 % of
the variation in sickness absences.
• Decreased stressors at work and at home.
- blood pressure, cortisol, heart rate
Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices, WorldGBC (2014)

6. Why a sustainable built environment?
WorldGBC (2013)

7. WHY A SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT?
WHAT IS GREEN BUILDING AND SUSTAINABLE CITY?
GUIDANCE AND CERTIFICATION
GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL NETWORK
Contents

8. What is Green Building?
• Takes an intelligent approach to energy
• Safeguards our water resources
• Minimises waste and maximises reuse
• Promotes health and well-being
• Keeps our landscape green
• Creates resilient and flexible structures
• Connects us
• Considers all stages of a building life-cycle
WorldGBC / Europe 2013

9. Green Building
Life cycle
CO2 and €
Energy efficiency
Good indoor
environment
• Heat
• Lighting
• Acoustics
• Air quality
Material efficiency Property use
• Energy and water
use
• Efficient use of space
• Healthy
• Comfortable
• Smart
Accessibility
Community
structure
What is Green Building?

10. Services
Service networks
Transport systems
Infrastructure
Equality
Accessibility
Availability of services
Different population groups
Costs
Life Cycle costs
Investments
Community structure
Integrative
Performance
Flexibility
Culture and landscape
structure
Landscape structure
Built cultural environment
Landscape and townscape
Resource Efficiency
Energy
Materials
Natural Resources
Lived environment
Safety
Health
Comfort
Ecosystems
Ecological context
Biodiversity
E C O N O M Y
H U M A N E N V I R O N M E N T
Risks
Emisission
Noise
Contaminated soil
What is Sustainable City?

11. WHY A SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT?
WHAT IS GREEN BUILDING AND SUSTAINABLE CITY?
GUIDANCE AND CERTIFICATION
GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL NETWORK
Contents

12. Ways to improve guidance towards sustainability
• Kyoto Protocol (before 2012),
• International climate change negotiations (after 2012)
International
Agreements
• EPBD Energy Performance of Buildings Directive – obliges new construction units to
approach ”near zero energy buildings” by the year 2020
• RES Renewable Energy Directive
• EED Energy Efficiency Directive
• Climate and Energy Strategy (2020)
EU directives &
targets
• Energy and Climate Road Map (2050, carbon neutral society)
• National Climate and Energy Strategy (2020 targets)
• Land Use and Builiding Act
• National Building Code of Finland
National regulation
and controls
• Building Performance Indicators, Green Building Council Finland
• Environmental assesment methods, LEED & Breeam
• Energy efficiency contracts for municipalities, rentals and office spaces 2008
Actors themselves

13. International certifications tools

14. LEED (US) & BREEAM (UK)
LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (USGBC, US)
• Certificates are granted by the USGBC
• Levels: Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum.
BREEAM: Building Research Establishment’s Environmental
Assessment Method (BRE, UK)
• Classification system can be nationalised in a country-specific manner (e.g.
Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands)
• Certificates are granted in the UK
• Levels: Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent, Outstanding

15. More than 1500 environmentally classified buildings in
Finland
Promise
• More than 1 500 sites since the last 10 years. (Senaatti, SOK,
Tapiola, Kesko, VVO, ATT)
LEED
• Certified 8, Silver 22, Gold 55 and Platinum 11. Overall 96
• KOy Lintulahdenvuori (Platinum), Nordea, Kauppakeskus Sello,
Kaari, Trio and Skanssi, Moveres Business Garden, US
Embassy Innovator Centre
BREEAM
• Pass 2, Good 22, Very good 31, Exellent 2, Outstanding 0.
Overall 57
• KOy Vantaan Honkatalot, Sponda renovation in downtown
Helsinki, Business Park Polaris (Castor), and Lahden Duo 2
Sello kauppakeskus
Moveres Business Garden

16. The costs and benefits of Green Building
© ERMS / Fimera Oy 2014
•In general 0 % - 4
% higher building
and design costs
•High level
certificates 0 – 10 %
•Zero energy
houses 12,5 %
•Renovation 0,3 %
- 12 %, can be up to
40 %
The business case for green building, WGBC, 2013

17. National assessment mechanism for building
processes
• Develop a Finnish assessment mechanism for integrating sustainability to
building processes, which is more simple and light than the international
certifications (by 2016)
• Use
- New construction, deep renovations
- Offices, health centers and commercial buildings
- Public service buildings
- Residential buildings
• Compatible with Building Performance Indicators. Coordinated by Building
Information Foundation RTS.
• Formerly a national environmental classification PromisE

18. Development of classification systems in
Sweden
Myönnetytsertifikaatit+
hakemukset

19. Building Performance Indicators
%
ECONOMY
# Lifecycle Cost €
(EN 15643-4)
ENERGY
# Imported energy
# Imported primary
energy
# Baseload power
GLOBAL WARMING
# Life-cycle carbon
footprint kg CO2e
(EN 15978)
# Operating carbon
footprint kg CO2e
(GHG Protocol)
OCCUPANTS
# Indoor air quality
classification (S1-3)
# Share of satisfied
occupants %

20. Building Performance Indicators
• Simple tool to develop in a long-term sustainable manner
• Takes into account the whole life cycle
• Economy, energy, environment and property users
• Comparability and ”shared language”
• Complements legislation
• Based on international standards
• Either to existing buildings or in the design phase.
• For management, planning, building, upkeep, selling, renting, tendering,
competitions…
• Benchmark, education, online tool

21. Other models and tools in Finland
• Energy Efficiency Agreements, implementation of the EU energy
efficiency (2008-16) / Energy Authority
- Residential buildings (The Ministry of Environment)
- Tertiary buildings (The Ministry of Transport and Communications)
• ESCO-model, service business, where external expert makes energy
efficiency related actions. Expenses are covered by savings achieved. /
Motiva Oy
• Green Office, 170 organisations in Finland and elsewhere / WWF
Finland
• Nordic Ecolabel for residential buildings, schools and day-cares /

22. WHY A SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT?
WHAT IS GREEN BUILDING AND SUSTAINABLE CITY?
GUIDANCE AND CERTIFICATION
GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL NETWORK
Contents

24. Green Building Council Finland
Events
• Green Forum –breakfasts, seminars
Projects
•Energy efficiency in communities, Nordic Urban Development, Nordic Sustainable Materials,
Build Upon / renovation in Europe, Sustainable Buildings and Construction
GBPro –training
•Continuation training, that increases skills related to sustainability choices in the built
environment.
Newsletters and web site
•Current news from us and other sources.

25. Members according to field, 111 organizations
Product manufacturers
18 %
Import, wholesale, and retail
0 %
Design and consulting
34 %
Construction companies
7 %
Property development and
contracting
7 %
Property maintenance and
services
4 %
Owners
8 %
Users / Occupants
4 %
Education
3 %
Public
administration
4 %
Associations and foundations
11 %

26. Sustainable Buildings and
Construction Programme (SBC) 2015-16
Objective 2016
•Promoting sustainable production and consumption in the building
sector globally.
•Sharing best practices and brining market information and
networking opportunities to actors in the Finnish sustainable
building sector especially in the developing countries and economies
in Africa
•Deliverables 2016
•Three Trust Fund –projects (100 … 200 kUSD)
•One Flagship –implementation project (> 2 M USD) prepared
•50 committed project partners (mainly companies)
•An important media event highlighting the results of the Finnish-
led project at the Habitat III Conference in October.
Pekka Huovila, 4.9.2015

27. •pp.kk.vvvv
Disclaimer: The sole responsibility for the content of this report lies with the authors. It does
not necessarily represent the views of the European Commission, and neither EASME nor the
European Commission are responsible for any use of this material.
Co-creating Europe’s National Renovation Strategies 2015-16
OBJECTIVE 2016
• Create supporting material for preparing national renovation strategies in
participating Member states.
• Promoting renovation to actors in the sector.
• Sharing best practices in renovation and learning together.
DELIVERABLES 2016
• 88 events, of which 6 will be organized in Finland around the country together with
partners.
• 1000 stakeholder groups participating at the EU-level.
• The creation of RenoWiki-database to support energy efficient renovation building.
The website will gather all the materials created.
• Project concepts and innovations to solve the challenges of renovation: Financial
Innovation, Business Model Innovation, Public Sector, Innovation and Behavioural
Innovation.

28. Climate Street –project 2015-17
•A street for climate-friendly solutions is based in downtown Helsinki and the district of
Tikkurila in Vantaa, where the companies and inhabitants of the area can participate together
with the city officials and other partners in the development of the city of the future.
•Testing platform and a place of reference for low-carbon products and services, both for
participating companies and the city.
•Companies can develop their services together with the end users.
•City of Helsinki, City of Vantaa, Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY and
Aalto University.

29. Future challenges & possibilities
Life Cycle
Analysis and
embodied
energy
Renewable
energy
forms
Materiel
efficiency
Life Cycle
thinking in
investments
Healthiness
System
thinking &
areal level
Spatial
efficiency
New
materials,
wood in new
forms
ICT and BIM
(Building
information
models)

30. %
Additional information:
heli.kotilainen@figbc.fi
www.figbc.fi