WDP certified its portfolio of 48 warehouses with EDGE in November 2020. The warehouse developer is commited to sustainability and bringing value to its tenants.
| Project Name | WDP Romania Portfolio |
| Location | 16 locations across Romania |
| Building Type | Warehouse |
| Buildings Certified | 48 buildings |
| Total Floor Area Certified | 1,080,151m² |
| Certification Date | November 2020 |
| Duration of Certification | 6 months from registration to completion |
Project Overview
As a leading logistics property partner, WDP has a strong sense of corporate social responsibility. The company places strong emphasis on the environment and intends to reduce the footprint of its logistics properties now and in the future.
In Romania, WDP has adopted EDGE certification to quantify the performance of its portfolio in terms of energy, water and materials, and establish a plan for reducing the carbon footprint of the whole portfolio of new and existing developments. EDGE has been applied to 48 logistics buildings across the country, with warehouses ranging in size from 2,500m2 to more than 60,000m2.
The adoption of EDGE was linked to a green financing package from IFC, part of the World Bank, and financial agreement between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and WDP. This green loan, in tandem with other financial support, was designed to enhance Romania’s infrastructure and create jobs in a modern, healthy and sustainable working environment.
The industrial and logistics sector in Romania has continued to grow throughout 2020 and 2021. New developments remain largely situated not only around Bucharest, but also around regional cities such as Oradea, Timisoara, Cluj, Deva and Sibiu. Despite the impact of the global pandemic, the demand for logistic real estate remains strong, partly boosted by growth in e-commerce in the region.
Why EDGE?
EDGE fits ideally with WDP’s desire to quantify and evaluate the sustainability performance of new and existing assets, and provides a level of detail on energy, water and material performance to continuously improve the performance of its assets. For example, around one-third of WDP sites in Romania are equipped with solar panels. EDGE helps quantify the value of solar and other technologies within the WDP Romania portfolio and provide comparative performance data which feeds into the creation of future strategy.
By taking an analytical approach to managing and improving the sustainability performance of its portfolio, WDP can continuously improve its performance and use EDGE to develop a pathway towards a net zero ambition.
Tenant engagement is also an important factor. WDP has a large and diverse range of tenants in Romania, ranging from brewing companies, food and sports retailers to a wind turbine manufacturer. The use of EDGE is a key part of working with tenants to facilitate and promote corporate social responsibility practices. WDP take a proactive approach to working with tenants in this way – whether they be advanced in their thinking or just at the starting point. Tenants also benefit from reduced utility costs in EDGE certified buildings, creating a win-win for all parties.
“Sustainability is important to us, and we want to bring the value of resource-efficient warehouses to our tenants. EDGE has helped bring international best practice to our developments across Romania and allows us to show our commitment to sustainability through an internationally recognised green building certification scheme.”
Norbert Padt, Group Marketing Manager, WDP
What’s Next?
With the use of the EDGE App and the support of EDGE Experts, WDP found EDGE easy to understand and a highly efficient way of dealing with sustainability issues across a large portfolio of buildings. Some developments, such as the logistics park at Oarja, scored very highly in terms of energy and carbon savings compared to a local baseline, thanks to use of large scale renewable energy and other measures. This has helped WDP evaluate the value of energy saving technologies and communicate this to tenants and other stakeholders.
EDGE certificates are displayed at WDP sites in Romania, and the company will be using EDGE standards to design and build new sites across the country.
“The EDGE application is well suited to help companies apply green building certification across a portfolio of buildings. The EDGE App helped us determine the most cost-effective options for designing green, and we were able to find an efficient process to evaluate and certify all 48 buildings in less than six months.”
Mihai Budurca, Project Manager, WDP Romania
