NREP is set to build what it claims is the world’s first net zero logistics facility to reach net zero across operational and embodied carbon without external off-setting in Bålsta, 50km outside Stockholm, Sweden.
The 20,000 sq m (circa 215,000 sq ft) building will use low-carbon materials, which NREP says will lead to a potential carbon reduction of 60% compared with traditional logistics facilities.
Traditional steel walls and roofs will be replaced by a cross-laminated timber structure and facade, and ‘green’ cement will be used in the building’s foundations, which will enable a circa 30% CO2 reduction compared with the foundation of a typical warehouse foundation. The facility will also use 100% renewable electricity.
Claus Mathisen, CEO of NREP, said: “We have collaborated with the industry’s leading innovators to push new boundaries and deliver the world’s greenest logistics development. Drawing from the most advanced products available, this project will be a test bed for emerging solutions, creating a whole new, commercially viable paradigm in carbon neutral real estate.
“This project is a great example of how to convert insights into real actions, now. And it demonstrates that doing the right thing is also good business. A property like this one will attract better financing and more customers.
“As a business, we believe decarbonising is a superior business approach. This prototype shows what is already possible today, and we hope that others will soon follow, enabling the scale-up of green solutions and bringing down costs.”
Victoria Burrows, director of advancing net zero at the World Green Building Council, added: “The goal of decarbonising the entire built environment is monumental and something that cannot be achieved alone. We need strong leadership from companies like NREP who are taking urgent and innovative action to explore what solutions are possible today, to get us closer to a carbon neutral future. It’s time to accelerate climate action and NREP’s breakthrough net zero project, which accounts for every kilo of carbon in the build, provides a clear template for others in the industry to work towards.”
The Bålsta project is the first of three ‘earthshot’ projects to be delivered by NREP – the company is also working on a residential development and an office retrofit – that will act as learning labs as NREP tries to hit its target of becoming 100% carbon neutral by 2028, without external offsets.
