The world's most environmentally friendly furniture factory
In 2022, Vestre AS' furniture factory, The Plus, was ready at Magnor. The building is now recognized with the very highest environmental classification in BREEAM.
Vestre has built the world's most environmentally friendly furniture factory. A BREEAM Outstanding building is defined as an international innovator. In theory, less than one percent of all non-residential buildings should achieve this extremely high classification. In practice, however, even fewer manage to do so.
The Plus now receives, as the first project of this type, the highest environmental classification – BREEAM Outstanding.
When The Plus was launched in 2020, there were no industrial projects in the Nordic countries that came close to meeting the requirements for Outstanding. Vestre's CEO Bjørn Fjellstad, hopes the award will inspire others.
"Through this project, we in Vestre have shown that industrial projects can also be global environmental role models, and that industry is part of the solution. We hope that we can help inspire others, so that more people follow suit", says Fjellstad.
Vestre is world class
General manager of Green Building Alliance, Katharina Bramslev, believes the award makes Vestre a beacon in sustainability.
"Achieving BREEAM Outstanding is absolutely fantastic. I hope this inspires others to think about how they build and use their buildings, and what a big impact they have on the climate and nature", says Bramslev.
The value of green buildings, jobs and new solutions
The Plus is the first, and probably the only, factory building in the world that meets the BREEAM certificate's demanding environmental requirements, and standards for safe, health-promoting and good physical working environments.
Worldwide, the building and construction sector is responsible for approximately 37 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
In Norway, building and construction activities account for around 15 per cent of Norwegian greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, greenhouse gas emissions that occur in Norway as a result of exported products are taken into account.
"There is great potential for the decarburisation of this entire sector. It is therefore crucial that everyone, who orders goods and services sets requirements for their suppliers. That way we can together take responsibility for reducing emissions", says Fjellstad.
All over the world, construction companies, architects and property developers are now facing pressure from investors, banks, regulatory authorities, clients and consumers to reduce climate risks and find new solutions to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.
"Then it is exciting that you can now look to Norway to learn and be inspired", says Fjellstad.
This is BREEAM
- BREEAM is an international tool for environmental certification of buildings.
- BREEAM is used in more than 70 countries, and several in Europe have gone a step further to develop country-specific BREEAM schemes, among them Norway.
- BREEAM-NOR is today Norway's most used environmental certification for new buildings and major renovations. When it is built according to BREEAM-NOR, it shows that the project has qualities beyond the minimum requirements of the building regulations, and that sustainability values have been taken into account.
A building can be certified at five levels; Pass, Good, Very good, Excellent and Outstanding.