On 29 October 2013, logistics service provider Kloosterboer received the 3 star BREEAM new construction certificate for the expansion of its existing cold stores at Maasvlakte. The 3 stars, which stand for “very good”, indicate that the building has been built very sustainably. BREEAM is the most important sustainability mark of approval for buildings worldwide. Kloosterboer is the first cold store company in The Netherlands to achieve the certificate.
The BREEAM-NL guidelines and conditions are increasingly targeted for new construction projects. However, in reality, only a limited number of cases are in fact actually built according to the BREEAM guidelines. Kloosterboer, having considered this, decided to build its construction at Maasvlakte to be fully compliant with BREEAM guidelines. Examples of these guidelines include: the use of inflatable dock seals, excellent and efficiently insulated dock doors, a grey water system to collect and reuse rain water, triple glazing to achieve outstanding insulation, an extensive lighting scheme including the use of LED lighting and a comprehensive energy monitoring system to make building users aware of water, gas and electricity consumption.
Improvement in Quality
The commissioning manager, the thermographic inspection and the air density tests were extremely important with regards to the expansion of Kloosterboer’s building at Maasvlakte”, comments BREEAM-NL assessor, Sannie Verweij. “Kloosterboer has achieved a demonstrable improvement in quality. In fact, the dock doors work so well, that as far as the airtightness is concerned, the score is better than had been predicted.”
Kloosterboer has additional new construction plans elsewhere in Europe. The company aims to achieve and conform to BREEAM certification and requirements for these projects.