Ikea Changsha Centre, China17th March 2020

About the Building

The proposed Changsha IKEA Store will be located at Yue Lu District, Changsha, China.  The area of the building  is approximately 21,855 m2 and the total building height is approximately  10.8m (external terrace to main roof parapet). Ikea group is the project owner.

Why did the building undergo BREEAM assessment?

At IKEA, sustainability is an integral part of everything we do and we want it to be a natural part of the daily work of all employees. We have an ambitious sustainability strategy, People & Planet Positive, that tells us that we want a positive impact on the environment and people.

In accordance with the IKEA Group sustainability strategy (People & Planet Positive), we want each of ours stores and units to be designed, built and operated sustainably, making the most efficient use of energy and resources. We decided to use the BREEAM sustainable building certification to help push and measure the improvements we make in our endeavor to build more sustainably all the time.

Green Strategy

BREEAM offers a method to guide the design and implementation of green solutions within the building, for the IKEA Changsha project:

Adapted to the local climate condition, the need for heating is minimized with a performant building fabric and insulation system, analysed by energy modelling tool, which lower the energy consumption and therefore reduce the CO2 emissions of the buildings operations. The cooling needs of the building are fulfilled using an efficient screw chiller (efficiency of 5.95) which is 10% more efficient than a classical screw chiller.

Solar thermal panels on the roof generate hot water from the sun. Energy-efficient LEDs provide all in-store lighting with an adapted control.

As well as secure access on-site and a safe connection with the surrounding environment, an inclusive accessible design has been implemented for all users with a particular consideration for disabled users, the elderly and families with young children.

With regards to the materials used, materials from a responsible source (FSC-timber) or products with lower environmental impact are encouraged and implemented and robust materials are chosen for their durability.

The benefits of assessing to BREEAM

The BREEAM standard has been on the market for a long time and is therefore one of the most tested and experienced certification systems. In addition, it is internationally well-known and flexible enough to be used in many different countries, yet still offering comparability. The certification system offers credibility to our work thanks to an independent third-party evaluation.

Thanks to a life cycle approach, we feel that we are getting a higher quality and low operating costs on our properties due to BREEAM, that maximises the long-term benefits of the project.

The key benefits are;

• Reducing operational costs
• Demonstrating IKEA’s sustainable values
• Balancing costs and life cycle value
• Improving occupant health and well-being
• Lowering greenhouse gas emissions