CEDER 2024 in review: Sustainability
One of the hot topics of CEDER 2024 was sustainability, a subject also discussed by the Residential panel.
Panelist Alex Skouras, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Alesonor, shared his view that it is essential to listen to the market and ask about the end users’ needs: “We have talked to more than 10,000 families, for instance, with our last project, Amber Forest. On the question why you bought or [why you are] thinking about buying a house in Amber Forest, number one was complete community. Number two was sustainability. So, if we focus on these two elements, I believe we are addressing the needs of the current market.”
When asked about their sustainability agenda, Cosmin Savu-Cristescu, Managing Director of REDPORT, declared: “We started one of our buildings before NZEB was mandatory. And we studied that building with the NZEB consultant that we're using for the next phases. That project and our building was already compliant, although we didn't have the solar panels. So, this speaks about the manner in which we approach our projects and how we think to present ourselves to the market.”
Dan Fleșariu, CEO of WIREN, expressed his belief that the market was evolving in terms of green energy: “We are moving to a more sustainable trend in the sense that right now, I think it's the good time for everybody to think about integrating this kind of energy efficient solution in their projects from the very beginning. Us, as suppliers and implementers of such systems, we found ways to integrate these systems in the overall architectural personality of the project.” He made it clear that there are new, better solutions available on the market and that there is an increasing pressure to take sustainability into account in the current environment, due to, on the one hand, the fact that “the general trend in the customer mentality is to look for sustainability” and, on the other, “we have also the regulations that are now enforced and that oblige developers to comply with the NZEB concept.”
