{"id":801,"date":"2020-09-18T19:03:20","date_gmt":"2020-09-18T16:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/balticengineers.com\/?p=801"},"modified":"2023-03-21T14:26:50","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T12:26:50","slug":"continental-lithuania-plant-in-kaunas-awarded-prestigious-leed-green-building-certification-in-level-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/be-live.lt\/en\/continental-lithuania-plant-in-kaunas-awarded-prestigious-leed-green-building-certification-in-level-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"Continental Lithuania Plant in Kaunas Awarded Prestigious LEED Green Building Certification in Level Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We are proud to announce that Baltic Engineers project – Continental plant, has been awarded LEED Gold. This is the highest rated LEED Gold manufacturing building in Lithuania so far and the first Continental plant in the world to be LEED Gold certified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design),\ndeveloped by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is one of the most widely used green\nbuilding rating system in the world and an international symbol of excellence.\nThrough design, construction and operations practices that improve environmental\nand human health, LEED-certified buildings are helping to make the world more\nsustainable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continental\nAutomotive Lithuania achieved LEED certification for implementing practical and\nmeasurable strategies and solutions in areas including sustainable site\ndevelopment, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor\nenvironmental quality. Green buildings allow companies to operate more\nsustainably and give the people inside them a healthier, more comfortable space\nto work. \u201cI am very happy that\nContinental trusted us and gave an opportunity to implement a project of such\nhigh standards for innovation and sustainability. By combining elaboration of\ndetailed BIM (Building Information Modeling) model creation, together we managed\nto create the top rated green and sustainable manufacturing building ever built\nin Lithuania. With a result of 70 points, it became country\u2019s first building to\nhave such a high score in LEED v4 version.\u201d – said Darius Kvedaras, Managing\nDirector of Baltic Engineers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAchieving LEED certification is\nmore than just implementing sustainable practices. It represents a commitment\nto making the world a better place and influencing others to do better,\u201d said\nMahesh Ramanujam, President and CEO, USGBC. “Given the extraordinary\nimportance of climate protection and the central role buildings play in that\neffort, Continental Automotive Lithuania is creating a path forward through\ntheir LEED certification.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innovative\nSolutions for Sustainability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To receive a LEED certificate, Continental had to firstly present the\nplant project plan to be reviewed and certified. Later the finalized building\nis audited again to ensure the compliance to the project presented and to the\nLEED requirements are fulfilled. LEED v4 is grading a project in 8 major\nCategories such as Integrative Process, Location and Transportation,\nSustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and\nResources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation. Multiple new and\ninnovative solutions were used for the purpose of the compliance to the LEED\ncertification requirements in Kaunas plant project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Company had to ensure the involvement of the multiple specialists during\nregular Design Charette meetings to receive maximum points in Integrative\nProcess category. In Location and Transportation category project received the\npoints for selecting the investment site in the area of low environmental\nimpact. As well points were added for limiting parking places, creating special\nzones for carpooling users and low-emitting vehicles, and installing numerous\ncharging stations for electric vehicles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaunas plant scored maximum points in Water Efficiency category. Ultra-low-flush\nand low-flow fixtures were used to reduce indoor water consumption, achieving\nover 55 percent reduction from the baseline. Outdoor water usage was also\ngreatly reduced by setting out of native and adaptive plant species for project\nlandscaping with no permanent irrigation system required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within Energy and Atmosphere category 27 out of 33 points were awarded.\nContinental building achieved an impressive result of over 51% energy cost\nsavings compared to baseline building in the same climate zone and maximum\npoints were awarded for energy optimization. To\nensure that the energy in the building can be utilized as efficiently as\npossible, an energy simulation was performed as early as the conceptual phase,\nwhich was then used as a basis for specifically selecting energy-efficient\nsolutions and materials. <\/a>The plant is a so-called smart building that\nhas fully integrated building management and energy management\nsystems, which automatically controls building parameters based on\nreal-time demand. Plant has its own cogeneration plant, high-performance\nenvelope, high-efficiency HVAC systems partnered with smart controls and\nadvanced metering to further reduce a building\u2019s energy use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore,\nthe selection of construction materials has focused not only on technical\nsuitability, but also on good performance in a detailed life cycle analysis\nconducted by the Baltic Engineers. The whole-building\ncradle-to-grave life-cycle assessment (LCA) conducted for the project’s\nstructure and enclosure demonstrated between 12% and 30% reduction within six\nimpact categories, compared with a baseline building of the same size,\nfunction, orientation, service life, and high operating energy performance. For\nexample, the project achieved over 12% impact reduction for Global Warming\nPotential (GHG) and over 30% reduction for Stratospheric Ozone Depletion. In\norder to lower construction impact, over 98% of the construction waste has been\ndiverted from landfill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project achieved Exemplary Performance for\nimplementing additional enhanced indoor air quality strategies and maximum\ninterior lighting points for providing advanced lighting control and\nhigh-quality LED lighting sources. Interior surfaces have a high reflectance\nmaking the spaces brighter and the contrast between work surfaces and wall\nsurfaces has been minimized to create a more comfortable and productive\nenvironment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiple studies showed that employees are more productive and express higher job satisfaction in LEED Certified buildings in comparison to the conventional buildings. Certification is proof that buildings are going above and beyond to ensure the space is constructed and operated to the highest level of sustainability. More than 203 000 commercial and institutional projects are currently participating in LEED, in more than 180 countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Continental is Baltic engineers\u2019 client that develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent, and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation. In 2019, Continental generated sales of \u20ac44,5 billion and currently employs more than 230 000 people in 59 countries and markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hashtags<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

# Continental Plant\nin Kaunas awarded LEED Gold<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

# Top rated green and\nsustainable manufacturing building in Lithuania<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

# Highest LEED v4\nversion score for a manufacturing building in the country<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

# First Continental plant in the world to be LEED Gold certified <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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