Sustainability and green
For in-depth information on sustainability aspects of this project, please view the related Sustainability case study in PDF.
Väla Gård is certified to the international environmental certification system LEED’s highest level, Platinum. The project received the highest LEED score in Europe and the third highest score in the world (March 2013). This means that the office building is assessed from the viewpoint of a number of key areas with regard to the environmental impact of the property, including energy use, water consumption and the location of the buildings.
Solar cells and ground-source heating system
We have constructed the offices in the greenest manner imaginable. The property has a well-insulated climate shell and all windows are of passive house standard. In addition, we have located solar cells on the roof, which will generate electricity for the building. During the summer, surplus electricity from the solar cells will be delivered to the energy grid to be bought back later in the winter. We plan to purchase shares in wind power to compensate for the electricity used by our business operations.
The property also has its own ground-source heating system that keeps down energy use and reduces carbon emissions. The system will be able to meet the heating and cooling needs of 7,000 square meters.
During the construction process, we have been extremely careful regarding the material we have utilized. We have tried to use as much recycled material as possible and locally produced products have been prioritized. In addition, no material has been disposed of at waste dumps.
Reduced sick leave and increased productivity
The results of a number of major investigations show that companies that have moved into LEED certified premises have noticed a reduction in sick leave rates and increased productivity among their employees. The right lighting, air and temperature can reduce sick leave by up to 39 percent and increase productivity by between 3 and 10 percent.
These are positive results that we believe in and, accordingly, we have created premises that promote the well-being and health of the personnel. Väla Gård has excellent air quality, temperature, ventilation and natural daylight. Being green should be easy; therefore, we have built a bus stop and are also planning to start an electric car pool for the employees.
