ProCredit Bank Head Office becomes the first property in Ukraine to achieve the EDGE Advanced Green building certification, showing that despite adversity, the future is green in Ukraine.
Project Name | ProCredit Bank Head Office Ukraine |
Developer | ProCredit Bank |
Location | Kyiv, Ukraine |
Building Type | Office |
Total Floor Area Certified | 2,536.3 m2 |
Certification Date | May 2023 |
Savings achieved | 52% Energy savings; 45% Water Savings, 86% Less embodied energy in materials |
ProCredit Bank Ukraine is part of the international ProCredit group of development-oriented commercial banks. ProCredit Bank began operating in Ukraine in 2001 specialising in providing financing to micro, small and medium-sized Ukrainian enterprises. In 2004 ProCredit Bank opted to broaden its range of services for both entrepreneurs and private households. The Head Office in Ukraine, constructed in the 1980s, compromises of over 2,500 square meters and is based in the country’s capital in Kyiv.
The journey to retrofit:
Around 80% of today’s existing buildings will still be in operation by 2050. With buildings and the construction sector contributing to almost 40% of global carbon emissions, existing buildings must play a huge role in reaching net zero by 2050. ProCredit Ukraine’s journey to achieving EDGE certification is a prime example of how with a strong commitment to sustainability, decarbonisation of our existing buildings is possible.
The Head Office in Ukraine was designed in the late 80s, according to the Soviet standards of the time. Soviet architecture prioritised form over function, with designs typically rigid, with few ornaments, and based on symmetry. Energy efficiency was not a focus during the building’s design stages and the original building was old and highly inefficient. In 2016 ProCredit Ukraine decided to undertake a major refurbishment of the building, as part of ProCredit’s environmental management strategy. The team was faced with transforming an old, inefficient building to a modern, energy efficient workspace. This meant a deep retrofit of all areas of the building, including replacing the air conditioning system and installing an efficient ventilation system with air humidification to ensure comfortable indoor climate. They also modernized the thermal efficiency of the heating system and installed onsite solar PV. The Building Management System (BMS) ensures the proper and energy efficient operating of all engineering systems and analyses consumption of electricity, heat and water through the numerous smart meters. To improve the water efficiency ProCredit installed a range of measures such as: water efficient facets, water closets and water efficient landscaping. After the refurbishment had taken place, ProCredit then sought to validate their achievements using a third-party certification.
The certification process:
ProCredit worked with Sintali-SGS for the audit and certification process. Local support and language requirements were serviced by SGS who can undertake work in any country and in any language. Although, there was no SGS auditor on the ground in Ukraine, SGS’s development of remote site audit technology enabled the team to conduct the site audit necessary to achieve EDGE certification in collaboration with ground staff.
During the certification programme the main challenge for the ProCredit team was data collection. There was little documentation from the original design from the 1980s, with some documentation only in handwritten form. Some documents from the 2017 refurbishment were also not readily available. The ProCredit team worked closely with the Sintali and SGS team to find alternative routes to compliance. This collaborative effort was critical in the project’s success.
The building went on to achieve EDGE Advanced certification, achieving 52% Energy savings; 45% Water Savings and 86% Less embodied energy in materials. This equates to an impressive 84 tons of CO2 saved per year.
Navigating the certification during conflict:
In February 2022, Russia invaded and occupied parts of Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which had begun in 2014. ProCredit Ukraine continued to do business and work with its clients despite the conflict in a bid to do what they could to help the Ukrainian economy, recognising that stagnation only creates fewer opportunities.
ProCredit pursued EDGE certification, despite the conflict, in a decision to continue moving forward with its commitment to creating a positive impact. It certainly brought additional challenges to the certification process. Regular power cuts and missile attacks leading to a lack of regular internet connectivity following the conflict added complexity to the process, and delayed elements of the certification. However, the dedication and hard-work from the ProCredit team, despite the logistical challenges and emotional exhaustion, enabled them to succeed.
Why EDGE?
All of the banks belonging to the ProCredit group set high standards regarding the impact of their operations on the environment. As early as 2011, the ProCredit group established a comprehensive three-pillar Environmental Management System (EMS). Pillar 1 concerns minimizing their ecological footprint by addressing their internal environmental impact; Pillar 2 pertains to addressing their external impact by evaluating the environmental and social risk of all business activities that they finance; and Pillar 3 involves promoting and incentivizing sustainable investments and deposits by their clients.
The group is also member of the net zero banking alliance with a target to become carbon neutral within the group’s own CO2 emissions by 2023. As part of this initiative, ProCredit Group has already achieved EDGE certification for its Head Offices in Kosovo, North Macedonia, Georgia, and Bulgaria, with its office in Bulgaria becoming the first building in Europe to achieve EDGE Zero Carbon. ProCredit Ukraine certified their Head Office to align with these commitments and contribute to the group’s goals.
For ProCredit Ukraine, EDGE’s focus on data and quantification of impact was useful for sustainability reporting. EDGE certification aligns with Pillar 1 of ProCredit’s EMS and the data from the App can help them analyze their internal carbon footprint.
As EDGE certification is new in the Ukrainian market, ProCredit Ukraine also wanted to pioneer the standard and act as an inspiration to potential clients in the real estate sector to use green finance and improve the efficiency of their buildings using third party certification.
What’s Next?
ProCredit Group continue to push towards their end goal. The group’s green loan portfolio has already surpassed EUR 1.2 billion, representing 20.2% of its total loan portfolio as of the end of December 2022 and ProCredit recognises its role within a system approach to decarbonisation and is committed to continuing to support the green finance movement.
ProCredit Ukraine will continue promoting green building and help spread awareness across the region as the country makes some efforts to rebuild following the conflict. It is not possible to project the end of the war or the impact it will bring, but ProCredit Ukraine will continue to offer and promote sustainable finance packages where applicable and continue working towards its own sustainability goals.
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