Sustainability certificate for Geelen Counterflow

The office was measured and evaluated during the first year after its completion and achieved a record score of 99.94%, which makes it the highest scoring building out of over 500,000 certified buildings worldwide. Sander Geelen was handed the certificate during the IMPACT seminar in Utrecht by Annemarie van Doorn, director of the Dutch Green Building Council and Gavin Dunn, director of BREEAM.

The building for 50 office employees generates 50% more solar energy than it needs for heating, air conditioning, lighting and computers. The extra energy is used in the factory for laser cutting of stainless steel and recharging of electric forklift trucks. Where possible, the building materials are “Cradle to Cradle” certified, which means that they do no harm to the environment and that they can be re-used at the end of their lifetime. The building is constructed out of wood which has the lowest CO2 footprint of any construction material. The design is optimised for employee health and productivity through control of daylight infiltration, air quality and indoor lighting, and by using healthy materials. Around the office a natural garden has been created using a variety of native plants and flowers. The landscaping also includes nesting sites for birds, bugs, bats and amphibians.

BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for buildings and projects. Globally there are more than 540,700 BREEAM certified developments. In the Netherlands, the system is managed by the Dutch Green Building Council.

Geelen Counterflow develops and manufactures counterflow dryers and coolers for the food and feed industry. With 100 associates the company delivers equipment used to manufacture food (like coffee, cornflakes and croutons), animal feed, aquafeed and petfood. It has sales and service offices in the Netherlands, USA, Argentina and China.