By: Guy Eames, Green Building Council Russia (RuGBC) on February 03, 2011
As I look back on 2010 and look ahead to 2011, I’m betting that this will be the year when the Russian environment will start to matter significantly. While the word “ecology” translates into Russian, the word “environment” does not. The relationship between energy, resources, social utility and the environment – in other words “sustainable development” – has arguably become the dominant philosophy of the developed world in the 21st Century, and Russia has just started to get a taste of this “green rush.” However, with the right incentives and strategies, I predict that this is a movement that will hit its stride in Russia in 2011.
2010 was the year of “Energy Efficiency” around the world. It was also the year that Russia, one of the world’s energy superpowers, realized that by inefficiently using fossil fuels at home, it was wasting both a very valuable resource and a great opportunity. The country’s leaders and businesses began to see that producing wasted energy was almost equal in cost to fixing the problem, and the government responded to this realization by modernizing the economy. Hence, we have seen a “green rush” go hand-in-hand with Russia’s efforts to modernize, with players both domestically and abroad hurrying to offer energy efficient solutions. These trends in the Russian environment are bound to continue gaining momentum in 2011.
This activity towards energy efficiency and sustainability is quite a departure from the past. Russia was untouched by the 1970’s oil crisis and until recently, such “conservation” was a foreign concept. In 2010, change began to brew in Russia, with conferences on energy efficiency and the famous Federal Law on Energy Efficiency (Federal law 261, Dec 2009) setting the pace.
A parallel trend throughout the year was the growth of public interest in the environment or “ecology,” as it is roughly known in Russia. But there is a difference between these two terms. Ecology and matters ecological are, strictly speaking, related to living organisms and their biological cycles. The environment, on the other hand, encompasses a broader interpretation of everything surrounding us; hence “environmental” represents any factor or influence that assists in restoring nature’s balance. Unfortunately, this word is often lost in translation in Russia.
The public interest in the Russian environment appears to be growing partly due to the influence of environmental organizations in Russia like Greenpeace and WWF, and partly due to the natural disasters that have assaulted Russia recently – record cold winters and scorching summer droughts with horrendous forest fires. But it can also be argued that part of the interest comes from the population becoming better informed and more affluent. Indeed, a new generation of plugged-in and progressive Russians are joining the millions of consumers and voters worldwide whose decisions and attitudes are influenced by environmental factors.
Green building is really feeling the influence of this zeitgeist. In 2010, we saw Russia’s first two internationally certified green buildings receive their certification—Hines’ Ducat Place III office building in Moscow (BREEAM Europe Commercial “very good”) and SKF’s bearing factory in Tver Region (LEED New Construction “Gold”). This was also the first year that the Russia Green Building Council produced a 12-page wall calendar with Russian projects. Although the first two buildings were foreign-owned, it hasn’t taken Russians long to realize the value of going green; many of the 30 or so green building projects we are tracking have Russian investors. Are these investors trying to keep up with the “green rush” or are they forward-thinking enough to realize the added value of treating the planet with respect?
In either case, the benefits – both to the environment and the bottom line – are sure to be seen in 2011.
