The new Green One UN House, nearing completion on Hanoi’s busy Kim Ma Street, has become the first building project in Viet Nam to achieve a provisional gold Lotus rating from Viet Nam’s Green Building Council.

All aspects of the innovative six story building have been designed and constructed to help limit impact on the environment. By fully insulating the building, maximizing the efficiency of heating and cooling systems, making the most of natural daylight and using energy efficient lighting energy consumption is expected to be reduced by at least 25 percent compared to a baseline model. Using water more effectively is also expected to reduce consumption by 36 percent.

Photovoltaic panels on the roof will harness solar energy and are expected to generate 10 percent of the building’s annual electricity requirements. In a groundbreaking innovation for Viet Nam, the UN is working to reach agreement with the national electricity company EVN to feed excess power into the national grid to replace power that would have to be generated by other less green means.

“We are delighted that the Green One UN House is on course to become the first gold LOTUS rated building in Viet Nam” said the UN Resident Coordinator, Dr Pratibha Mehta. “One of the priorities for the UN in Vietnam is to support environmentally sustainable development. In building the Green One UN House we are not just talking the talk but walking the walk. By greening our operations we will significantly reduce our carbon foot print and our energy and water consumption.”

The gold rating was announced at the Viet Nam Green Building Council’s annual green building conference and workshop in Ho Chi Minh City. The event attracted more than 150 participants from all over the country – from governmental offices policy makers, real estate developers to urban planners, architects, engineers, contractors and other industry professionals.

“We congratulate the United Nations on this very significant achievement. We believe that the Green One UN House is helping to set new environmental standards for the building industry here in Viet Nam that we hope that others will now follow”, said Mr Tran Van Thanh, Executive Director of the Viet Nam Green Building Council.

Construction, which began early in 2013, is on track to be completed at the end of October, with commissioning to follow. The move is eagerly awaited by UN staff currently housed in multiple locations across Ha Noi. Bringing twelve UN Agencies together into the Green One UN House is an important step in the ongoing ‘Delivering as One’ UN Reform Initiative. The Green One UN House will help improve the quality teamwork within the UN in Viet Nam, help enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of development results, at the same time as reducing operating costs.

The Green One UN House project is a joint endeavor between the Government of Viet Nam, donors and the UN Country Team. The Government has contributed a high value site on Kim Ma Street in Ha Noi, and supported through other material sources. Alongside participating UN agency contributions, donors – including Australia, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland and the UK – have also supported the Green One UN House project.

PV