21/9/2015

Last week the Norwegian Green Building Council (NGBC) celebrated its 5 year anniversary, and the growth of BREEAM NOR, the Norway specific version of the international BREEAM sustainability assessment tool.

Speaking at the celebration party in Oslo, Kjersti Folvik, CEO of NGBC, said: “Since the formation of NGBC and BREEAM NOR, the Norwegian building and real estate industry has made enormous progress within energy and sustainability. Five years ago, it was a considered bold and innovative to build passive houses. Now it is run-of the-mill. Five years ago, caring for the environment was only for the enthusiasts and idealists. However, these days we see that the interest both in our organisation as well as BREEAM is growing among those wearing suits and carrying brief cases.”

She continued: “This is not because they have become environmental activists, but because building sustainably makes sense from a business perspective. Building sustainably has become a conscious strategy among many NGBC-members. It’s no longer only about social responsibility, but about green value creation.”

(Above: Guests at the anniversary party in Oslo)

“After five years, NGBC and BREEAM NOR have come to stay. We are convinced that the success of BREEAM NOR is due to its wide foundation in all parts of the Norwegian building and real estate industry. BREEAM NOR was launched on the basis of volunteer contributions from more than 120 people. Once again we experience the same enthusiasm working on the next version of the BREEAM NOR manual. With all the development that has taken place over the last five years, we are excited to see what the market has in store for the next five.”

More information on BREEAM NOR is on the Norwegian GBC website

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