Opportunity
Prologis’ enduring commitment to sustainability encompasses environmental stewardship, social responsibility, ethics and governance. We endeavor to act sustainably across the full lifecycle of our buildings—from the extraction of raw materials through construction and dismantling. When one of the leading manufacturers of elastic floor coverings in Europe objectflor, for whom sustainability and energy efficiency are of central importance, was looking for a new distribution center, we took the opportunity to develop a facility with industry-leading sustainability features.
The alignment of values and complementary capabilities between Prologis and objectflor created the ideal opportunity for the joint development of a sustainable facility at an infill location.
Challenge
Objectflor defined high standards for building quality and sustainability. In addition, the manufacturer tasked Prologis with securing a suitable development site in a central location.
Solution
Prologis identified an infill location in Prologis Park Cologne-Eifeltor that met objectflor’s economic and ecologic requirements. Immediately thereafter, low-pollution construction of an 18,600 square meter logistics center commenced.
The property was constructed using low-pollutant and FSC-certified wood-based materials from sustainable forestry practices. Reuse of existing paving reduced the quantity of sealants required on exterior surfaces.
The new facility was equipped with increased thermal insulation, including a high-efficiency heating system with gas tube heaters. As a result, the building runs on only 65 percent of the permissible primary energy as defined by Germany’s 2009 Energy Saving Ordinance.
The property has high safety standards, and bicycle parking areas support environmentally friendly transport.
Employees of objectflor have access to an electric vehicle and electric charging station. The car, with a range of around 100 kilometers and a recharge time of 3.5 hours, will help objectflor save up to 825.5 kilograms of CO2 emissions annually as compared to a similar vehicle that runs on conventional fuel.
Prologis received “gold” certification from the German Sustainable Building Association (DGNB) for this property.
Lesson
Working with objectflor was an inspiring and successful process because of the customer’s high sustainability standards. Eco-friendly, non-polluting technology plays an increasingly important role in new development. Prologis gained experience from this project that will be applicable to future developments.