ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT
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Building for the future
Jotun’s new headquarters in Sandefjord , Norway embodies the Group’s vision for sustainable development.
Bold, ambitious, innovative and built according to high environmental standards, the 34 200 m2 Gimle
facility provides the perfect platform for future growth.
Jotun seized the opportunity of building its new headquarters
and state-of-the-art Research and Development (R&D) centre
to physically demonstrate its commitment to the environment,
employees and all business stakeholders.
The facility, which will house around 650 staff, has been designed
and built in accordance with the demands of BREEAM-NOR, a
stringent assessment system that aims to mitigate the impact of
buildings on the environment, promote best practice, and provide
a ‘green quality stamp’ for sustainable building projects.
By incorporating the system from the outset, Jotun has been
able to create a highly functional, comfortable, energy efficient
and inspiring facility, delivering the optimal solution for both
workers, and the local community and environment.
Setting the standard
BREEAM-NOR is the Norwegian adaptation of the globally
recognised BREEAM (Building Research Establishment’s
Environmental Assessment Method) initiative. It utilises ten
sustainability categories, awarding ‘credits’ for each, to create
a comprehensive system that sets the standard for green
design and best practice. Buildings are classified on a scale of
‘Pass’ to ‘Outstanding’.
Jotun’s NOK 1.4 billion Gimle project has been tailored to reach
the ambitious yet feasible (in terms of both cost and practicality)
standard of BREEAM-NOR ‘Very Good’.
Challenge and opportunity
Designing and building to meet the criteria outlined in different
categories – energy and water use, health and wellbeing,
pollution, transport, materials, waste, land use, ecology, and
management processes – is demanding, creating a requirement
for investment, forward-thinking and a solutions-orientated
approach. It creates short-term challenges, but these deliver
long-term stakeholder benefits over the building lifetime, a key
project driver for Jotun.
Energy efficiency is a central pillar of sustainable buildings
and this was front-of-mind from the outset in the Gimle
development. Alongside a range of energy effective solutions
incorporated within the main buildings – spanning from
efficient lighting, ventilation and cooling systems, through to
low energy elevators and laboratories – the building heating
system uses seawater from the adjacent fjord to run an
integrated power plant, delivering clean renewable energy.
The entire office complex has been designed to satisfy Energy
Class B.
Proud development
When Gimle is completed and open for business in the first
half of 2020 it will be a facility that the Group, its employees,
shareholders, and the people of Sandefjord can be rightly
proud of.
The BREEAM-NOR system has been instrumental in influencing
and enabling the project, while Jotun’s dedication to
sustainable, high quality standards laid the best foundations for
its successful development.
BREEAM NOR