Eight Antilooppi properties awarded a BREEAM In-Use certification

Antilooppi aims to obtain certification for its entire real estate portfolio by 2023, and the certificates now awarded raise the certification rate of the company’s real estate portfolio to more than 50 per cent. Four properties of the eight were awarded an Excellent -level and four properties a Very Good -level certification.

The achievement supports Antilooppi’s goal of providing work environments that promote the wellbeing of both people and the environment. The company’s strategic focus is to develop the existing real estate portfolio with a long-term, sustainable approach. The certifications demonstrate that the long-term sustainability efforts are bearing fruit.

For Antilooppi, sustainability means first and foremost concrete action, and in recent years, the company has invested heavily in, for example, making its properties and their immediate surroundings pleasant, ensuring the energy efficiency of properties, carbon neutrality, indoor climate conditions, material efficiency and recycling.

“This is an important achievement and a key intermediate step for us. Environmental certificates are respected, concrete and transparent proof of our properties’ high level of sustainability. The new certificates prove that we have made progress in line with our goals in the sustainability of our properties,” says Hannamari Koivula, Head of Sustainability at Antilooppi.

A comprehensive badge of assurance in sustainability benefits customers, as well

The BREEAM certificate (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is Europe’s leading system of environmental classification for the built environment. Depending on the characteristics of properties, Antilooppi uses LEED environmental certification in addition to BREEAM.

These international, third-party certified badges of assurance provide a key tool for assessing and steering environmental responsibility. They assist in not only verifying, but also in monitoring and developing the sustainability of properties. The benefits extend to the users of the premises and other stakeholders.

“The importance of certification is a rising trend among our customers, too. Our customer companies have their own sustainability goals and criteria for their premises, for which the certifications are highly suitable,” Koivula says.

One step ahead at all times

BREEAM In-Use assesses the environmental efficiency of properties already in use, measuring the sustainability of buildings in detail, based on various categories that include health and wellbeing, traffic, energy, water, sustainable selection of materials and resources, risk management and resilience, land use and ecology, and management of emissions.

Of the eight Antilooppi properties certified in October, Elimäenkatu 17–19, Porkkalankatu 20, Paasivuorenkatu 3 and Siltasaarenkatu 18–20, which is the well-known Ympyrätalo in Helsinki, reached classification of ‘Excellent’. This is an outstanding achievement, because the coveted ‘Excellent’ level serves as proof of the property’s first-class, exceptionally high-quality level of sustainability. Properties classified at the level ‘Very Good’ include Elimäenkatu 28, Elimäenkatu 30, Sörnäistenkatu 1 and HTC Pinta, located at Tammasaarenkatu 3 in Ruoholahti. Breeam In-Use certifies buildings in five categories, based on the criteria met: Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent and Outstanding.

“These certificates are excellent indicators of sustainability and reveal also targets for development. They provide a good certain level of sustainability on which we can build on the main themes of our sustainability strategy, that is, our carbon-neutral property portfolio and people’s wellbeing. In the case of sustainability, we always want to be one step ahead,” says Koivula.

In the BREEAM system, a local assessor verifies the fulfilment of requirements. Construction and real estate sector expert group Granlund Oy has been Antilooppi’s advisor and BREEAM assessor. BREEAM In-Use certification is valid for three years at a time. The audit performed at regular intervals helps ensure that the environmental efficiency of the properties remains at a sufficient level in the future as well.