Alternative energy use and energy efficiency Archives

“We believe that humans are a part of nature and feel at home where they have a direct connection with it. The Park was conceived in this spirit, and to this day, we continue to develop it based on this idea. We are building modern offices, a diverse natural environment, and a cohesive community. We believe that sustainability goes beyond green technologies and is about creating a world where everyone can thrive, recognizing the dignity and value of every human being.”
János Kocsány, CEO

Company Name:

Graphisoft Park SE

Implementation Year:

1998-2023

Focus Areas:

Climate Protection, Climate Adaptation, Alternative Energy Use and Energy Efficiency, Biodiversity, Employee Well-being

Program Objective:

The development of Graphisoft Park is a brownfield investment that started in 1996 on the abandoned grounds of the Óbuda Gas Factory. Our goal was to create real green environments for the office buildings constructed after the revitalization of the area, and to reintegrate the area into the urban fabric. We began creating biodiversity as part of the very first developments, and the natural environment has continued to evolve alongside the buildings.

The built-up area is 25%, while the green area accounts for more than 60%, with approximately 2,500 m2 of green roofs. Graphisoft Park represents a unique quality as a green and biodiverse office park in Budapest.

Program Measures and Commitments:

We don’t just provide office space for rent, but also offer an attractive green environment and a high-quality mental setting. The new business model recognizes that the natural environment of the office park is just as important as modern offices. There are three schools operating on the Park Campus. Creativity requires employees and students to be able to go outside, walk, and have communal spaces for exchanging ideas. The founders of the park saw the return on investment in high-quality work rather than just in real estate development. The creators of the park paid special attention to creating green spaces. Spacious groves surround the buildings, and the trees are taller than the houses. Multi-level underground parking lots were also built so that the surface view is defined by greenery rather than a multitude of parked cars. A lake in the center of the park and, of course, the uniquely quiet Danube riverside promenade provide unparalleled tranquility to the place. The desired result was for tenants to find a long-term home due to the uniqueness of the natural features.

Detailed landscape plans were prepared during the preparation of the office development. As a result, 14 hectares of the Graphisoft Park area were built and 8,400 m2 of land was covered with green vegetation. We acknowledged that providing parking spaces for our tenants is also an important consideration when choosing an office. Therefore, since the 2006 expansion, we have built over two thousand parking spaces underground. This allows us to create a green area ratio of over 60% in the park.

The rate of construction is only 25%, which is quite extraordinary in Budapest and even in Europe.

During the investment, approximately 300 trees were planted. In the center of the park, we created an artificial lake where we introduced fish. We also managed to lure back birds that had moved away 70 years ago.

Sustainability goes beyond environmental protection; it’s also about the human factor. Human relationships, community life, and people paying attention to each other are just as important a part of sustainable development as resource preservation. We pay attention to the health and well-being of those working in our buildings, providing them with appropriate conditions and creating communal spaces for this purpose.

Program Impact and Results:

Developed area from 1998 to 2023: 14 hectares, 82,000 m2 of office, laboratory, educational institutions
Built-up area ratio: 25%
Percentage of green area: over 60%
Number of trees: approximately 300
Number of bird species: 22 (Hungarian Ornithological Institute survey, 2021)
Number of tenants from 1998 to 2023: 180
Cumulative loyalty index (average lease duration from the start of the current tenants’ lease): 15.1 years
Number of employees/students working/studying here: 5000/1000 people
Occupancy rate: 97% (reduced by 2% due to the pandemic and home office)

Keywords:

Biodiversity preservation, brownfield investment, real estate development, communal space, community building

„Our goal is not just to make the electrical energy green, but to ensure that the developed facility can be fully integrated into the local ecological cycle. That’s why we launched this initiative, which is groundbreaking in Hungary. Solar power plants have been considered environmental investments by developers before, but the aim of integrating power plant areas into nature and the comprehensive approach to this had not appeared systematically in the domestic market until now.”
Dr. Gábor Farkas, Managing Director

Company name:

SolServices

Implementation year:

2022

Focus Areas:

Climate Protection and Adaptation, Alternative Energy Use and Energy Efficiency, Biodiversity, Consumer Awareness

Program Objective:

Whatever we do, the preservation of biodiversity is our shared responsibility. Following this principle, we have developed a unique professional guide for the creation of environmentally-friendly solar parks in Europe, which we are implementing under the name ‘Lumen Park.’ Our goal is to combine the benefits of solar energy production with nature conservation and ecosystem preservation. In addition to the sustainability of social and environmental well-being, we aim to ensure the long-term sustainability and value retention of investments. With our partners, we want to set an example for players in any industry: the key is not to compromise nature for the sake of industrial production efficiency but to find solutions for the preservation of both.

Program Measures and Commitment:

Our goal was to create the country’s leading public solar parks in a way that:

simultaneously addresses the increased demand for clean energy,
meets the growing sustainability expectations of society,
maximizes biodiversity,
minimizes the implementation footprint as much as possible.

The Lumen Park professional guide was developed in collaboration with experts from seven organizations. We reached out to potential partners at the beginning of 2020, making a concerted effort to engage a broad spectrum of industry stakeholders. The following were invited:

Engineering design firms,
Contractors,
Operators,
Small and large companies,
Environmental service providers,
NGOs (non-governmental organizations),
National parks.

The English version of the professional guide was completed in 2022, and for this occasion, we invited internationally renowned ecological researcher Hannah Montag to a professional consultation. During a multi-day workshop, we shared our findings and insights. We are currently continuing our collaboration with our partners, primarily focused on promoting the publication.

The professional guide is fundamentally built upon international research findings. It serves educational purposes by presenting the expected positive environmental impacts of solar parks, thereby educating local stakeholders. However, there were no concrete recommendations or toolkits available to achieve or potentially amplify these positive results. Based on the evaluation of international research findings, the company’s experts concluded that a solar park should be viewed as a fallow agricultural field. By applying tools that have been successfully tested in ecological agriculture, such a professional guide can be created for industry use, enabling the establishment of high-value green energy investments. This approach ultimately proved to be unique on an international level, enriching the international professional community with new ideas.

Program Impact and Results:

A professional guide has been created (in English and Hungarian) that allows for the maximization of the positive ecological and environmental impacts of solar panels, thus enabling the production of truly sustainable and clean energy.

The professional guide is actively downloaded by energy and environmental experts, educators, and laypersons from Hungary and all over the world. Based on feedback, national parks are actively using the guide when granting permits for solar parks. After the completion of solar parks, ongoing monitoring continues, so within a few years, there will be precise domestic information about the impact of solar parks on biodiversity.

Keywords:

solar energy, solar park, guide

Natural Office Park

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Professional Guide for Next-Generation Solar Parks

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