Green Offices Blossom In Russia

By Lena Smirnova

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: July 11, 2012 (Issue # 1717)

MOSCOW — When international construction-consulting firm Turner & Townsend first approached Russian companies with offers to make their offices more sustainable, the response consisted of a lot of unenthusiastic looks.

Now, seven years later, “green offices” have become trendy, with more and more companies vying to get international certification for their sustainability achievements.

“Sustainability was definitely not an issue in Russia. Why save energy and water in a country that is richly equipped with these resources?” said the company’s senior sustainability consultant, Andreas Roessler. “Today, sustainable development is part of Russian politics.”

The total number of green offices in Russia is difficult to estimate because there is no single certification standard in the country. Each company picks its own program to follow to obtain the coveted status.

About 80 institutions across Russia, including corporate and state clients, are working with Greenpeace to make their offices greener.

The organization doesn’t hand out its own certifications because it doesn’t have enough resources to monitor offices for compliance, said Yulia Pronina, director of the Green Office Project at the organization.

Cushman & Wakefield is one of the latest companies to attain green office status. The real estate agency announced last week that the developer Hines had certified its Moscow office as green.

To get this title, the office had to install recycling containers, outfit sinks with water-saving devices and buy energy-efficient computers and printers.

“The green office status helps the company’s image,” Pronina said. “It is important for the company to show that it is ecologically conscious. Even in Russia, this trend is developing.”

The green office status is not only good for the company image but also helps shrink its utility bills.

Turner & Townsend’s outfitting of Siemens’ Moscow office made it the first workplace in Russia to receive the LEED international standard for building sustainability. Siemens representatives estimate that the office now uses 36 percent less water and 46 percent less energy.

Although the savings in a sustainable office are impressive, the initial costs can stifle budding enthusiasm.

Remodeling light fixture systems in a big office of 45 employees will cost around 200,000 rubles ($6,100), according to Greenpeace estimates.