Face-to-face: green buildings

Erik Freudenthal, GlashusEtt manager
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To what extent does the green performance of a building influence the buyer’s decision to purchase?

Erik Freudenthal, GlashusEtt manager, answers if you look at the records that we keep, you will see that buyers select a property for its location. But, when they have been living there for a while and they start to realise the extent of the environmental programme, they have start to change their behaviour. So location comes first, but the green performance of the property definitely counts for more later on.

Gunnar Svensson, Swegon general manager, answers the launch of Sheikh Mohammed’s green building initiative at the end of 2007 was the first step towards changing the criteria so that people paid more attention to energy efficient solutions and green building solutions. Such solutions are on their way to the forefront of people’s minds. There is a slow move away from build fast, build cheap and sell.

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How should we encourage the developer to take an interest in the life span of a building?

Erik Freudenthal, GlashusEtt manager, answers you have to have a foundation from the municipality saying that certain environmental standards should be met by the developer. If he makes it more environmentally friendly but people don’t notice it then that is just fine. Regulations, commitment, policies or procedures in one form or another would help.

Gunnar Svensson, Swegon general manager, answers there must be some kind of education. There are two types of investors – owners and speculators. Owners are going to pay the bills for energy, water, and so on. The problem is with speculative buyers. When somebody else is paying the bill it is not so easy. We must remember that if you have a Leed certified building you can get more money out of it, which remains an advantage, even for speculative investors.

How have you encouraged clients to put forward the premium required to build to green standards?

Erik Freudenthal, GlashusEtt manager, answers one of the houses within our project, which is being built by one of our developers, is green as per the developers own actions. He is reducing the energy requirement of the house because of the environmental programme. He doesn’t have to, but he is doing it on his own terms and that is one of the beauties of this.

Gunnar Svensson, Swegon general manager, answers we are showing our customers that you have to look at the long-term costs. You have the investment cost, the running cost and the maintenance cost. The running and maintenance costs stay with the building its entire lifespan. What we are trying to indicate is that you have to look at the pointers – not only at investment but the life-cycle cost.

Has the construction industry lost the will to go green in the face of the economic climate?

Erik Freudenthal, GlashusEtt manager, answers you have flats that you rent and flats that you buy. Taking flats for rent, the builder has to build sustainably because of the cost. In Sweden, heating is the biggest cost towards running a house, so we use district heating. Plus, if the build quality is high from the beginning then that saves the cost of maintenance. The developer knows that he is going to gain money in the long run by building sustainably.

Gunnar Svensson, Swegon general manager, answers the recession could help in some ways. People will be more discerning. Before, everybody could build and sell. But now the market should be more stable, as opposed to people simply looking to build fast and sell. That’s why Sheikh Mohammed’s green resolution was a big step. Someone has to take the lead, or practical steps will never be taken.