Did we deliver on our BIG intentions in 2023?
Early this year in Circubuild, we launched the slogan: BB has BIG intentions!
Where do we stand in the meantime? What have we realised?
Our sustainability consultants dream of building greener and more efficient buildings. To give shape to those dreams, they are at the forefront of developing tools that measure and optimise the sustainability of buildings.
GRO
The sustainability meter GRO is one such tool, developed by the Facility Management Department, with the ambition of achieving future-oriented buildings through an integrated design process. It tries to make qualitative aspects around sustainable building measurable anyway and can be used for all types of buildings.
We have always been a great advocate of the tool and have specialised in it from the very beginning. Since 2022, we have been supporting the three regions: our sustainability advisers Jona Van Steenkiste and Katrien Van Lierop manage the helpdesk and give the Dutch-language training courses. They do this in cooperation with ICEDD, which takes care of the French-language part.
Moreover, Jona is also working on the switch to the inter-regional version that will be launched soon. He does this by providing feedback on the current version, thoroughly screening and updating the various criteria, providing input on new criteria, and then finally trying out and evaluating the test version.
Jona and Katrien flank Almut Fuhr of the Facilities Department
Figures
Specifically, in 2023, Katrien and Jona gave two online introduction sessions and three extended training sessions in Ghent, Leuven and Brussels, for a total of 436 participants. The feedback they receive from first-time users on the operation of GRO they implement directly in the new interregional GRO.
In addition, we at Bureau Bouwtechniek have been applying the tool in our projects since GRO came into being. Katrien and Jonah notice an increasing interest in the tool. This summer, they reached a record of start-up GRO projects in BB's history! In some of these projects, GRO was imposed by the client. But we also pushed GRO forward on our own initiative to encourage and monitor sustainability.
GRO is mainly used as an inspiration and communication tool. It makes talking and making choices about sustainable building simpler and clearer for every party at the table. Jona and Katrien believe they can take sustainability to the next level and make a difference.
Lessons learned
Sustainability has become more negotiable. You have a steppingstone to fall back on that makes talking about it concrete. It applies not only to large new-build projects with generous budgets, but also to small renovation projects. Residential, office, commercial, cultural,... GRO is also cross-functional.
Curious about some of these sustainable projects?
Curious about what GRO will bring us in 2024? We are!