Sustainable Norblin Factory

Owned by the Capital Park Group, the Warsaw mixed use complex Norblin Factory has received the final BREEAM certificates for both its office and retail sections. A photovoltaic system has been installed in the complex, and the managers are continuing their efforts to steadily reduce the property’s carbon footprint, for example by introducing closed-loop recycling of plastic.

Already at the stage of design, both the office and the retail section of the Norblin Factory received BREEAM pre-certification as Very Good. The retail section of the Capital Park Group’s flagship investment has now received the final rating as Very Good, a great success considering the challenge of implementing green solutions in old post-factory buildings. The office section of the complex has received the final certificate as Excellent, moving up a notch.

The new solutions implemented recently have certainly contributed to the final assessment. They include the installation of 88 photovoltaic panels on the Galwan office building, which will reduce electricity consumption. The photovoltaic installation has a capacity of 44.44 kWp and will generate 45.9 MWh of energy annually. Solare Energy is the solution vendor.

Another innovation is the introduction of closed-loop recycling of plastic at the Norblin Factory. The reduction in waste is based on replacing disposable packaging of cleaning products with reusable ones. In the case of the complex on Żelazna Street, the new system will save around 680 kg of single-use plastic per year, thus reducing the carbon footprint by 2,670 kilograms. The High Tech company is responsible for this implementation at the Norblin Factory.    

“We at Capital Park actively promote sustainability and are committed to making our investments environmentally friendly. ESG remains at the top of our agenda. We set up a sustainability team in the company in 2022 and review the initiatives undertaken in all three areas: environmental, social, and governance, in detail and on an ongoing basis, as well as performing an assessment against the ESG standards adopted by our investors. The recent changes at the Norblin Factory show that we are regularly introducing further solutions to take care of nature and our surroundings,” says Kinga Nowakowska, Management Board Member and Chief Operating Officer of Capital Park Group.

The mixed use complex in Warsaw’s Wola district promotes sustainable transport too. Last year, Poland’s first automated underground bicycle parking facility was launched at the Norblin Factory, which accommodates 96 bikes. A separate parking facility with 200 spaces is available for tenants. The underground car park has four charging stations for electric and hybrid cars. They are served by two fast chargers, and there are plans to install another one. Although the Norblin Factory spans almost 2 hectares of post-factory grounds, there is no shortage of greenery here. Over 100 trees have been planted throughout the area, including magnificent plane trees and tall hornbeams. Green roofs have been placed on the office buildings, featuring extensive vegetation resistant to drying, airing out, and sun exposure. There are also two apiaries in the complex.

The Norblin Factory is a mixed use complex in the heart of Warsaw’s Wola district, which has reopened to the city after a long revitalisation of the former Norblin, Buch Brothers and T. Werner factories carried out by the Capital Park Group. The total area of the complex is over 65,000 sq.m, including 41,000 sq.m office space. Culture, entertainment and food concepts are available to visitors of the Norblin Factory, including the original boutique cinema KinoGram, the organic market BioBazar, the largest food zone in the capital featuring the Food Town, the Piano Bar with live music, the MOXO restaurant and club, the Norblin Factory Museum, the Art Box Experience gallery, the Apple Museum Poland, the Smart Kids Planet entertainment centre, as well as shops, service outlets, and a health and beauty zone.