What is the Romania Green Building Council?

The Romania Green Building Council (RoGBC) is a non-profit association of businesses encouraging the market, educational, and legislative conditions necessary to promote high performance construction that is both environmentally responsible and profitable. The RoGBC is officially accredited as an "Established council" with the World Green Building Council (www.WorldGBC.org).

What is the Mission of the Romania Green Building Council?

The Romania Green Building Council will endeavour to deliver the market, educational, and legislative conditions necessary to promote high performance construction that is both sustainable and profitable. We will create an exemplary development model for the region by ensuring the built environment will not imperil future generations but rather be a source of safety, comfort, innovation, and opportunity.

Why have the founding members created the RoGBC?
The founding members recognized a need to demonstrate commitment and take serious actions to ensure the future construction growth in Romania complies with the principles of sustainable development. As industry leaders, the member companies also wanted to demonstrate their support for current and future Romanian and European legislation requiring better environmental performance from the construction industry.
While environmental responsibility is important, the founders also realize the strategic business advantage of building more energy efficiency buildings that use less resources in light of a future of higher energy prices, concerns about energy security, and the increasing cost of scarce resources for construction.

What are the trends that have made green building and the formation of the RoGBC more urgent?

Some of the trends making green building more urgent are:

• Technology and design improvements and new thinking in the financing of energy efficiency improvements;
• Projected local and global growth which drives resource constraints and increasing building and operating costs;
• Serious environmental concerns and the increasing societal, political and businesses desire to mitigate these concerns;
• The necessity to enhance the collaboration within and across industries, government and civil society to eliminate barriers and align the interests of stakeholders to ensure the rapid and comprehensive adoption of green building practices
• The important contribution that healthy, affordable and energy efficient homes have on the welfare and security of the nation for all income levels;
• The productivity gains, innovation and other financial benefits that derive from excellent, sustainable design in office buildings and industrial facilities;
• The attractiveness of environmentally responsible design in retail spaces increasingly desired by informed customers and its role in providing a high profile example for the public on sustainable business.

Is the RoGBC creating a voluntary green building certification similar to other countries such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standard, BRE BREEAM standard, and others?

The Council will first and foremost support the Romanian government in the continued implementation of already existing legislation such as the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) energy audits and green procurement.
The RoGBC currently is supporting projects implementing either the LEED or BREEAM standard and views the voluntary certification schemes as a useful tool for promoting the transformation of the construction industry.

You have proposed a “green mortgage” initiative...what is it specifically?

The basic concept is very simple... A bank agrees to offer financial incentives on their mortgages if the housing unit can demonstrate – via the mandatory energy certificate – that it has superior energy efficiency. The home buyer receives a monthly benefit as the mortgage payments are matched with considerably lower monthly energy bills. The bank has the greater security of a mortgage on a more
valuable house and greater payment reliability from a home buyer with less energy expenses. Quite simply, the green mortgage concept demonstrates new thinking on the valuation reducing potentially significant energy costs over the many years of home ownership.
The RoGBC is in conversations with different banks and real estate developers to introduce this as a pilot project then roll it out as a new concept in home mortgages.

Who is managing the RoGBC?

There is a board of directors providing advice and guidance to the Council, a core team (listed below) running the council and expert resources engaged on a project basis.  Our founding members contributed significant time and resources towards establishing the Council.  In addition, our members provide critical assistance in the accomplishment of the RoGBC's objectives by participating in general activities and  Task Groups (including Legislative Outreach, Training, and Certification).

The Board of Directors for 2011-2012

Steven Borncamp - SOPOLEC - President of the Board and CEO

Alina CRISTEA - Training Task Group Leader

Dragos RITI - Director, Products & Technology Task Group Leader

Bogdan DRAGANESCU - Vice President, Legislative Outreach Task Group Leader

The RoGBC Team

Steven Borncamp, CEO; Task Group Leader "Training"

Anca Bieru, Director of Policy and International Affairs

Cristina Siu, Director of Development & Marketing

Monica Zarnescu, Manager of Finance & Green Office

Arh. Luiza Hanc, Project Specialist

Arh. Timea Paal, Living Building Challenge Ambassador

Dunlop Mills, Accountant

The Founding Board of Directors consisted of:

Steven Borncamp, President

Tudor Trita, Vice President

Bogdan Draganescu Ph.D., Vice President

Please contact us with any questions!

What are some specific activities?

• Training for the construction industry for green building principles
• Awareness Building for the greater community of the benefits of green buildings (including supporting the WWF's "Climate Caravan" with information on how to green your home while saving money)
• Legislative Outreach to encourage to adoption and implementation of legislation promoting greater environmental responsibility and energy efficiency in Romanian buildings. (the RoGBC is supporting the implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and green procurement requirements.)
• Support and implement pilot projects to demonstrate the viability of the next generation of high performance green buildings, low-energy and zero energy buildings. (the RoGBC is currently supporting the development of pilot projects for low and zero energy buildings and will release information when authorized by the project partners)
• Promote networking among professionals within the green building industry
• Conduct and disseminate actionable research on green building principles
• Support government, civil society, and private businesses in joint efforts to promote the sustainable development of Romania (the RoGBC provided input for Romania's National Strategy for Sustainable Development).
• Support academic programs to increase the emphasis on green principles in architectural, engineering, urban planning, business, and other related disciplines. (the RoGBC offered a significant number of scholarships to students and professors interested in participating in our green building trainings).