BRE further strengthens its presence in China with new partnerships
BRE further strengthens its presence in China as the first office project achieves BREEAM Excellent status
4 February 2019
BRE has gained further momentum in expanding its global presence with three new partnership announcements and a momentous BREEAM certification in China this month.
Beijing’s COFCO Landmark building has been formally certified as the first office project in China to be awarded BRE’s BREEAM Excellent rating for both design and construction. The milestone comes alongside the announcements that BRE has partnered with the CSUS GBGRC (Green Building Research Centre,) CBS (China Institute of Building Standards Design & Research) and CNEEX (Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange,) which are China’s leading built environment and carbon exchange organisations.
The COFCO certification reflects the rapid growth of BREEAM in China. In the space of two years, the numbers of registered BREEAM projects in China has doubled. There are now more than 80 BREEAM certified buildings and 30 certified assessors providing BREEAM services across the market. A Chinese language version of the BREEAM International New Construction 2016 manual has also been launched in response to growing demand.
The COFCO Landmark has also been certified by domestic and other international green building schemes. It has additionally been awarded the “Sustainable Achievement of the Year” at the RICS Awards 2018. COFCO was presented with the certificate by BRE Global on 15th January 2019 at the company’s annual customer appreciation conference.
The project team at COFCO Landmark worked closely with the design team at an early stage, integrating BREEEAM principles and maximising sustainability outcomes through the key decision-making stages in the design and construction of the building and a variety of innovative methods such as breathable build curtain and water circulation technologies, were used on the project to create a sustainable build environment.
Niall Trafford, CEO of BRE Group, comments: “China’s rapid urbanisation in recent decades has brought the importance of sustainable development to the fore. With the BREEAM Excellent certification of Beijing’s iconic COFCO Landmark building, I firmly believe that we are witnessing another significant milestone in China and COFCO’s determination to build sustainably. We look forward to seeing more firms realising and exceeding their sustainability goals.”
Catherine Ma, Deputy General Manager of COFCO Landmark, said: “We are dedicating ourselves to building a green, healthy and smart space for our tenants. We see sustainability as one of our main visions and we will also share our experiences and green building concepts with others.”
The new partnership between BRE and CSUS Green Building Research Centre (CSUS-GBRC) will deepen the shared understanding of the two organisations’ green building schemes. The signing ceremony was held on 17th Jan 2019 in Shanghai where Trafford signed the Memorandum of Understanding in front of a host of China’s policy makers and industry experts.
CSUS-GBRC is the research and development department of the Chinese Society for Urban Studies. Its main responsibility is the quality audit of buildings’ sustainability in China, standardisation of green buildings, green buildings’ research, consultancy and training.
BRE and CBS will use their expertise in BIM to promote the work of both businesses; to strengthen the development of BIM training courses; and build to build the BIM professional certification system in China through training in line with international standards.
BRE’s work with CNEEEX will focus on green manufacturing and standards with emphasis on green supply chains in China. BRE will also assist CNEEEX in establishing an EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) programme, procedure and database. The partnership will also encompass construction materials testing and certification, with the goal of uplifting quality standards for building materials in China.
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Notes to Editors
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