2019 – 2020, Warsaw, Gliwice, Krakow
A new system of multi-criteria assessment of residential building quality has been created in Poland on the initiative of PLGBC, focusing on environmental aspects and issues important for the health of residents. Work on the Green House certificate lasted for more than a year, from May 2019 to January 2020.
Horizone Studio was one of the specialists of the working group set up by PLGBC and led by Dr. Dorota Bartosz to create the certification.
The Green Home certification is part of a broader, Europe-wide Green Home and Green Mortgage. program, implemented as part of the European Union’s SMARTER Finance for Families project under the EU’s Horizon 2020 Framework Program, with 17 organizations specializing in sustainable construction participating in various European countries.
As part of the SMARTER project, a Green House Certificate Working Group was formed at PLGBC, consisting of a dozen specialists in various fields. For a period of one year, this group met regularly, once a month, in workshops discussing the shape of the certificate and the various evaluation criteria.
The group included representatives of such companies and organizations as SMAY, Green Vest, Sweco Consulting, Horizone Studio, Kwadratura, Comfort of Silence Association, Group 5 Architects, Skanska Residential Development Poland, WSP Polska, Knauf Insulation, JW.+A and Tactus.
The idea was to create a friendly tool, simpler to use than BREEAM and LEED certifications, adapted to the local conditions of the Polish housing market. We wanted the certification to have a chance for real implementation, and not just be a dead document. That is why representatives of the PZFD Polish Association of Developer Companies were invited to consult on the work on certification.
The implementation of green technologies and the transformation of the economy towards environmentally friendly solutions are currently among the most important tasks that the European Commission has set for itself and the people of Europe. The construction industry is part of this transformation.
The certification of residential developments under the Green Home system is intended to lend credibility to buyers about the quality of residential developments and to distinguish developers in terms of innovation and care for the environment.
The Green Home certification is also linked to the Green Mortgage program promoted by the EU. Financial institutions cooperating under the project, by offering preferential mortgages for certified green homes, will reduce the risk of default by borrowers. This is expected to be possible, among other things, due to the lower operating costs of green homes (lower consumption of heat, electricity and water) and the higher market value of the certified property.
The Green Home and Green Mortgage program is aimed at residential developers, private investors, financial institutions offering mortgages and companies offering services, products, materials, technologies and other sustainable solutions that contribute to the construction and operation of the greenest, most energy-efficient residential properties.
The Polish Association of Development Companies, the largest organization of developers in Poland, has decided to recertify the Green Home certification to its membership. Information on the PZFD website about the certification.
The certification is to be implemented starting in 2021.
