Lidl becomes the retailer with the most sustainable buildings in Romania

This year, Lidl Romania received the BREEAM certification for two other buildings in its portfolio, after in 2019 the store in the Aviației neighborhood of Bucharest was awarded the highest rating - Outstanding. Thus, the Lidl headquarters in Bucharest, received the BREEAM Outstanding certification, with a score of 95.8%, and the logistics center in Lugoj received the BREEAM Excellent certification, with a score of 78.5%. All 3 certified buildings in the Lidl portfolio are the most sustainable in Romania, in the categories they belong to, according to BREEAM International New Construction standards.
Lidl Romania headquarters, inaugurated in January 2018, is built in partnership with Skanska and, since the design phase, it has been built to meet the requirements of the British BREEAM evaluation system, the highest standard of sustainability and efficiency in the industry. This year, with a score of 95.8%, the project obtained the highest level of certification, namely, BREEAM Outstanding, which ranks 1st in Romania in the Office category, but also in 3rd place worldwide in all the categories of buildings in the top of the constructions certified according to the BREEAM International New Construction scheme.

Following the analysis performed by the independent evaluators BREEAM, the headquarters of Lidl Romania obtained a maximum score of 100 points on three of the evaluated criteria: site and construction management, supervised and executed by Skanska Construction Romania, as well as responsible water management and to the responsible consumption of used materials. In fact, in the construction of the headquarters, numerous certified, recycled and recyclable construction materials were used and state-of-the-art construction technologies were used, including amenities and facilities aimed at optimizing resource consumption.

The building obtained a very good score in terms of energy efficiency, possible due to features such as the intelligent facade of the building that allows light to adjust according to the intensity of sunlight, or the LED lighting system with presence sensors. Moreover, the headquarters has a system of 78 geothermal probes connected to a heat pump, which contributes to the heating and cooling of the space.

The project is also differentiated by the facilities offered to the employees, where in terms of comfort and working environment, Lidl obtained a score of 93 points. The space is designed with numerous large areas, intended for office activity and a series of modern facilities, created for the comfort of employees, such as fitness room, canteen, open-space offices and seating areas.

The Lidl logistics center in Lugoj, inaugurated in 2016, was built in partnership with the Romanian company Bog’Art and, like the Lidl headquarters, since the design phase, it was designed to meet the requirements of the BREEAM system. Following the evaluation, this year, the logistics center in Lugoj obtained the score of 78.5%, thus receiving the BREEAM Excellent certification. Currently, this is the only warehouse of a food retailer in Romania certified according to the British evaluation system. Moreover, the Lidl warehouse in Lugoj obtained the highest score in our country in the category of logistics buildings and halls.

The building is differentiated by the use in its construction of many certified, recycled and recyclable materials, but also by the inclusion of endowments and facilities that aim to optimize the consumption of resources. In fact, the building obtained over 90 points on two of the evaluated criteria: the degree of energy efficiency and the degree of pollution reduction. For example, the building's heating system has been designed to reduce consumption by 50% by reusing the heat recovered from the refrigeration system. The landfill also achieved performance in responsible water management and responsible waste management in the construction and subsequent operation of the landfill. In addition to the materials used during the construction of the landfill, environmental protection procedures were implemented in the construction process that reduced the amount of waste generated on site by 75%.

The headquarters in Bucharest and the Lidl warehouse in Lugoj thus join the first BREEAM certified building in the company's portfolio - the store in the Aviației district of Bucharest.

With a score of 99.1%, the Lidl store in Bucharest, on Căpitan Aviator Alexandru Șerbănescu Street, obtained BREEAM Outstanding certification last year. The building ranks first in the world, being, at the same time, the store with the highest score obtained worldwide and the first in Romania to obtain this level of certification. Earlier this year, the store was awarded in the BREEAM Awards competition both for the most sustainable building in Central and Eastern Europe, and for the most environmentally friendly commercial space.

 "We are proud that in the course of a year we already have three buildings that have obtained this distinction and, moreover, that all three are the most sustainable in Romania in their categories. The certifications attest to our continuous efforts to carry out constructions that have a low impact on the environment, but which also offer modern facilities to the employees. For us, BREEAM is a benchmark in the field of sustainability, which encourages us to continue investing in sustainable buildings, in line with the highest standards in the field of construction ", said Frank Wagner, CEO of Lidl Romania. (source: Lidl)