Green buildings in Poland - Certification in numbers

There are already 357 buildings in Poland pre-certified and certified in BREEAM and LEED. During the last twelve months the number of certificates grew by more than 44% in relation to the total number of certificates noted at the end of 2014. The BREEAM system of certification is invariably more popular with 75% of the certified stock – according to “Green buildings in Poland | Certification in numbers 2016” report by Colliers International.

Six years have passed since the first green certificates were awarded in Poland. In the meantime, our market has adopted two international standards for the assessment of buildings – the American LEED and the British BREEAM systems. Another certificate is the French HQE, which has so far only been used by Bouygues Immobilier Polska to assess their 4 residential projects.

Last year, 63% of the whole market for certificates was made up of certificates for buildings at the design and construction stage. The analysis of the various certification systems shows that BREEAM is used almost to the same degree among in-use buildings (46%), and those at the design stage (54%). While the LEED system shows a significant predominance over the certification of buildings at the design stage (over 90%).

Double certification, obtaining a certificate at the in-use stage after earlier gaining certification during the construction stage, is still a rarity. Such cases have been recorded within the BREEAM system in relation to four buildings in Poland: Futura Park in Krakow, Trinity Park III in Warsaw, Łódź 1 and the Sterlinga Business Center in Łódź.

“Offices remain the leading type of green buildings and represent 70% of all certified buildings. Invariably, there were three times fewer certified buildings in the retail sector (79). In turn, the industrial sector accounted for 25 certified warehouse and production buildings throughout Poland,” said Andrzej Gutowski, Senior Associate, Green Building Certification, Colliers International.

Currently, nearly 47% of green buildings are located in Warsaw, where over the last year 42 new certifications have been recorded. Among the regional cities, the largest increase in certified facilities took place in Wroclaw (9), Krakow (8) and Gdansk (7).

“The prospects for the development of certificates seem promising. Szczecin is the first city in Poland to have taken the initiative to introduce tax relief for the design of green buildings, which must achieve a minimum level of Gold in the case of LEED or Very Good for BREEAM. If other cities follow, it seems that green certificates can play an even more important role in the planning of investments in the coming years,” added Andrzej Gutowski.

Colliers International