PRESS RELEASES

Hines’ Ducat Place III is the first to earn a BREEAM certificate in Russia

December 9, 2010

At the press-conference held on 09 December, 2010, Hines announced that its landmark development Ducat Place III in Moscow, has become the first commercial real estate asset in Russia to receive the BREEAM certification and the first office building to be certified as a “Green Building” under international certification standards. The asset has received a Very Good BREEAM rating.

Developed and managed by Hines, the 14-storey 33,251-square-meter office building opened in January of 2007. Since then the Hines asset management team has been working diligently to implement sustainable operations in the building and reduce tenants’ utility and operating expenses.

Lee Timmins, senior vice president and managing director of Hines Russia, said, “We are proud to have received this certification, recognizing the sustainability efforts Hines is employing in its Russian developments. The goal of our BREEAM certification and sustainability efforts at Ducat Place III has been to seek means of improving the tenant environment, reducing tenants operating costs and to reduce the building’s impact on the environment. Hines strongly believes that these efforts are beneficial to strong tenant retention and the improved quality of the asset in a more competitive office marketplace. Increasingly investors and lenders are seeking assets that are sustainably developed and operated on the Russian market.”

The Hines Sustainability Initiatives above have achieved a reduction in base building BTU’s of approximately 35 percent in 2010 vs. 2008 saving tenants over $188,000 per year.

Established in the United Kingdom in 1990, BREEAM is the leading environmental assessment method for buildings, with over 200,000 buildings certified and over a million registered for certification. Martin Townsend, Director of BRE Global, said "This is a major landmark in the use of BREEAM on an international basis. Ducat Place III is a fascinating development that is aiming for high standards of sustainability and using BREEAM to help benchmark and improve its performance."

Ducat Place III is 100 percent leased to tenants such as Goldman Sachs, Cushman & Wakefield, Clifford Chance, Citibank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, many of which have their own global sustainability programs.

A recent Cushman & Wakefield survey of European Corporate Occupiers resulted in 70 percent of respondents saying Green Buildings were at least important to them, and 40 percent of respondents saying Green Buildings were very important or fundamental for their business.

Tim Millard, managing partner at Cushman & Wakefield Moscow: "Cushman & Wakefield’s global policy of corporate social responsibility implies concentrating on environmental issues to build a sustainable future. Being a tenant at Ducat Place III is part of Cushman & Wakefield’s Moscow commitment to this policy. By committing to green buildings, besides social and environmental incentives, firms can reduce their operating expenses, which make up approximately 10-20 percent of a firm’s expenses. However, the greater economic benefit to the firm comes from an increase in employee retention and productivity. The healthy environment of green buildings allows firms to save millions of dollars as a result of reduced employee absenteeism and increased productivity each year, which is the main economic driver for tenants transitioning to green buildings”.

Mott MacDonald has provided consulting services during the BREEAM certification process via the pro-active involvement of their international assessment teams, both in Moscow and the UK. Dr. Svetlana Panova, environmentalist and general director of Mott MacDonald, says: “Mott MacDonald is currently working in close cooperation with Hines on a number of major projects in Russia and around the world and we are extremely proud to have played a part in achieving the prestigious rating. We look forward to continuing working with Hines in achieving the highest standards of sustainable design and management.”

The use of green standards gives a number of advantages in relation to the environment and health: it helps to preserve natural resources, to considerably reduce emission of greenhouse gas, waste and contaminated water, to create a more comfortable environment in terms of indoor air quality, temperature and acoustic performance.

Hines has also had the building management and elevator operation systems in the Ducat Place III building re-programmed to increase their efficiency; water meters were installed to reduce water consumption; controllers were placed on ventilation and sanitary equipment; light and movement sensors were installed and energy-efficient lighting replaced less efficient bulbs. Hines is regularly working with contractors to identify and re-use sustainable consumable materials. The operating procedures for the building have been also revised to include collection and recycling of waste in order to minimize waste hauled to landfills. Hines has also developed tenant programmes to encourage energy management, and implemented green technologies in the operations of Hines’ office in Russia (HinesGO programme).

According to the Global Green Building Council’s report for September, buildings worldwide account for 40 percent of total primary energy use today, and 30 percent of all carbon emissions.

Green houses and offices are also cost-effective for tenants. For instance, energy consumption is reduced by 25 percent, water consumption by 30 percent, and building maintenance expenses are reduced by using high-quality state-of-the-art control equipment. Research by McGraw Hill has concluded that green buildings on average enjoy a 3.5 percent increase in occupancy rates, 3 percent increase in rental rates and a 7.5 percent increase in sale value.

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