In 2013, for the second year in a row, Green Office® Meudon produced more energy than it consumed.
In 2011, Bouygues Immobilier handed over Green Office® Meudon, the first large-scale positive-energy office building in France and home to the headquarters of Steria France, an ambitious client fully committed to this revolution in the commercial property sector. Two years on, this pioneering project has fulfilled its promise. It has become a long-term model which Bouygues Immobilier is developing and constantly adapting to new environments.
A long-term model for energy efficiency
Green Office® Meudon has met and exceeded its energy performance objective. Two years after it was handed over, the building produces more energy than it uses. Following the success of Green Office® Meudon, Bouygues Immobilier has won a reputation for designing and developing highly energy-efficient projects and has launched a number of new positive-energy developments. Through Aveltys®, a company set up with Schneider Electric, Bouygues Immobilier offers its clients a range of solutions and services to guarantee their level of building charges, including energy costs, for the entire lease period.
A win-win-win situation
Positive energy benefits everyone. City authorities and urban planners stand to gain because sustainable buildings enhance the urban environment in the longer term, attract and retain leading corporations, transform neighbourhoods and provide local residents with new services. Companies are better off because they reduce their costs, while increasing the comfort and productivity of their employees. And property investors boost the tangible and intangible value of their property and encourage loyalty among their tenants.
An adaptable concept – from building to neighbourhood
“The Green Office® concept is constantly evolving,” says Sophie Rosso, Green Office® Director. “Our capacity for innovation enables us to build on it. We can adapt the concept to different environments and new usages.” After completing Green Office® Meudon, Bouygues Immobilier went on to develop other positive-energy buildings in France. The model is adapted to match the buildings’ location, surroundings, size and use. While Green Office® buildings are commercial property projects, they can be part of larger projects on a neighbourhood scale. Mixed-use neighbourhoods promote the sharing of resources (energy, transport and services). Bouygues Immobilier has developed a package dubbed UrbanEra® to support local authorities in sustainable urban planning. Two positive-energy city-block projects are under way: Hikari in Lyon and the new Châtenay neighbourhood south-west of Paris. The IssyGrid® project, France’s showcase district smart grid, is pioneering tomorrow’s positive-energy neighbourhoods.
Positive energy and much more…
Bouygues Immobilier is now developing the Live Office concept in its positive-energy Green Office® buildings. This involves optimising workspace to harness innovation for the benefit of employees.
"Green Office® enables office users to cut their overall building charges by optimising energy costs without sacrificing comfort. Live Office works in much the same way. It’s about organising workspace to boost efficiency in the office by setting up a more pleasant working environment. A company’s offices convey its corporate culture to both current and future employees. And costs are kept down because workspace is better organised."
Cédric de Lestrange, Executive Vice-President in charge of Users at Bouygues Immobilier
“Working alongside Bouygues Immobilier, we focus on everything which has an intangible value in Green Office®. These are the items which aren’t recorded in the building’s energy results. The building’s technical features and functional design can result in cost overruns or productivity gains. We know, for example, that 15% of time off work due to illness in the services sector is due to respiratory ailments linked to poor air quality. Conversely, it is a fact that employees work faster and better when they can regulate their own comfort – lighting, temperature and humidity.”
“Locating our headquarters at Green Office® Rueil-Malmaison is a major step forward in achieving our ‘Unilever Sustainable Living Plan’. We intend to act on the office layout plans put forward by our working groups and make this building one of the ‘Best Places to Work’ for the future generations who will help Unilever France to grow and prosper.”