NEPI Rockcastle achieves ‘Excellent’ rating under BREEAM In-Use standard for green building certification, in Ploiești Shopping City

The largest investor and developer of shopping centers in Central and Eastern Europe, NEPI Rockcastle, has achieved BREEAM In-Use V6 Excellent certification for green buildings, for Ploiești Shopping City. This is the most recent version of the BREEAM accreditation and focuses on meeting the criteria of making a substantial contribution to climate risk mitigation and asset adjustment.

The new rating marks another important step in the company’s strategy to reduce its carbon footprint and upgrade its operations and developments to the highest ESG standards.

The certification process for the Ploiești Shopping City project, owned by NEPI Rockcastle, spanned over 3 months and included two stages. The first part consisted of the evaluation of the asset performance, and the score obtained was 75,3%. In the second stage, the management performance was examined, the result being 71,8%.

Ploiesti Shopping City obtained the Excellent rating under the BREEAM In-Use standard due to sustainable initiatives such as the smart building management system that decreases energy consumption, reduction of water use practices through water fixtures, implementation of grey water harvesting systems and water leakages prevention systems, smart waste disposal and collection, providing individual waste management with a focus on recycling endeavors, developing solutions centered on biodiversity through the internal and external green areas.

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“We consider that this certification is another proof that for us, the comfort, health and safety of visitors and tenants of Ploiești Shopping City are a priority. Reducing operational costs by lowering energy consumption is another important benefit, both for retailers and, consequently, for their employees. We are grateful to all our colleagues who made this achievement possible”, said Magdalena Gibney, Group Head of Sustainability at NEPI Rockcastle.

Among the sustainable practices and processes implemented in Ploiești Shopping City are the installation of 100% LED interior and exterior lights, and motion sensors placed on all technical corridors, technical spaces, and storages. Furthermore, the cooling and heating limits supervision are performed through a new, modern, and efficient Building Management System (BMS). Ploiești Shopping City does not use fossil fuels, but only refrigerants with low GWP (global warming potential) indicator.

“The BREEAM In-Use rating upgrade for Ploiești Shopping City is a natural step in NEPI Rockcastle’s business strategy, which focuses on providing sustainable operational assets for communities while respecting the environment. We manage energy consumption, resulting in reduced emissions, and are making significant progress in purchasing and generating electricity from renewable sources. In line with our ESG strategy, we are adapting our assets to be more sustainable, climate resilient and striving to create a better environment for our communities and tenants”, added Magdalena Gibney.

Ploiești Shopping City consists of a leasable area of 46,846 square meters and includes over 100 retail units, external parking with electric scooters charging stations, motorbike, and bicycle parking, benefitting of good public transport connectivity.

In addition to Ploiești Shopping City, three other shopping centres and a retail park owned by NEPI Rockcastle received the BREEAM In-Use V6 Excellent certification in 2023: Promenada Mall Bucharest, Shopping City Târgu–Jiu, Shopping City Piatra–Neamț, and Vulcan Value Center.

BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment methodology for master planning projects, infrastructure, and buildings. It recognizes and reflects the value in higher performing assets across the built environment lifecycle, from new construction, through performance in operation, to refurbishment. BREEAM does this through third party certification of the assessment of an asset’s environmental, social, and economic sustainability performance, using standards developed by BRE. BREEAM certification is a guarantee that a building respects the principles of sustainability, but also a benefit to building owners and occupants in terms of investment value, productivity, comfort, and well-being.