Reference: Green Buildings

I. CUSTOMER ENVIRONMENT / PROJECT CONTEXT

Customer profile:

TNT Express is a global transportation company operating in 200 countries and employing over 80,000 people. With 50 aircraft and over 30,000 vehicles, the company provides businesses and consumers with a range of express delivery services around the world. TNT Centre, located in Hoofddorp, The Netherlands, is a five story, 17,000 m² building with a car park.

Customer objective and constraints:

As a transport company, TNT Express is keenly aware of its environmental impact. They acknowledge that their business—transporting goods by trucks and airplane—makes them a key contributor to harmful CO₂ emissions. But being a good corporate citizen, TNT wants to do more than just reduce its environmental impact —it wants to become the world's first zero-emission transport company.

To achieve this lofty goal, it will need to operate zero-emission buildings and depots, manage a fleet of zero-emission vehicles, improve its City Logistics operations, and lease only zero-emission company cars.

So, it is only fitting that TNT's corporate headquarters would be designed with the goal of attaining carbon neutral status. According to Flip Verwaaijen, managing director of TNT Real Estate, this goal was clearly tied to TNT's mission, vision and strategy. "We abide by three rules: pride in our people, optimum shareholder value and a commitment to the world we live in. These three rules guide us in anything we do. And the beauty is, as sustainability forms part of our mission, vision and strategy, it is embedded within TNT!"

But sustainability was not the only goal. The customer was convinced that it must be possible to build sustainably at a commercially competitive price. Their focus was on Total Cost of Ownership, which in the end was reduced by 10% compared to similar projects developed using traditional methods. This objective led to a unique partnership among several players, including Triodos-OVG, the property developer, Kropman, the systems integrator, and Schneider Electric.

 

II. SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION

Implementation methodology (main phases):

Triodos-OVG proposed a Design, Build, Finance, Maintain and Operate (DBFMO) contract, which includes energy and ongoing operations and maintenance. This type of contract incentivises the developer to produce high performance buildings that sustain energy efficiency throughout the property's life cycle.

TNT wanted to earn LEED Platinum Certification and a GreenCalc+ score of 1000. The project achieved both goals. Mr. Verwaaijen explained, "We want to challenge others to set the bar higher. We want to inspire the property market and show it can be done. If it is possible to construct a building in Europe that scores even higher in relation to sustainability than our building, then we have achieved our goal: contribute to a more sustainable world."

An interesting construction process closed the gap between ambitious plans and achieved results. All parties were united in achieving the same goal, which, traditionally is not always the case. "That is why at times we squabble over techniques," says Verwaaijen with a smile. "We fall back into our previous roles as buyer vs. provider. But that doesn't impact the super relationship we have with all parties concerned, including Schneider Electric. We continuously challenge each other and scrutinise chosen solutions. Can we do it differently? Can we be more sustainable? In this way we discovered that a computer floor would cost us 200 GreenCalc+ points. So we decided to go for a conduit system in the concrete floor; we still had flexibility. The result? It was 50 percent cheaper."

Cradle-to-cradle—that is the philosophy behind TNT's new headquarters. And that specifically means thinking about the future impact of choices made today. "On behalf of the consortium I monitor the perspective of the investors," says Constantijn Berning, developing manager with Triodos. "On the one hand, the construction is tuned to TNT's demands. On the other hand, it is still a multi-tenant building that can be leased to multiple tenants in 10 years' time. From an investor's point of view that is an important aspect." So Berning is specifically looking to the future.

Robert van Alphen, developing manager with OVG does the same, but not in the same way. "I focus on design and development. Because parties like Schneider Electric and Kropman are also involved in the long term maintenance of the building, they will opt for optimum installation. Due to the long-term perspective, we can all go the extra mile."

Solution overview (services, products, systems, architectures...):

Schneider Electric and Kropman both submitted a joint bid for the prestigious project in Hoofddorp. By uniting as partners they were able to offer an end-to-end solution. Kropman installs Schneider Electric's solutions, including energy distribution, energy metering, building automation, canalisation and assembly. Other components from Schneider Electric include frequency controls, an intercom system and casings.

"We haven't used shockingly new innovations," says Kropman's Wim van de Water, "although the installation of an eco-friendly combined heat and power system is quite innovative. The success of this project is due to integration of techniques and disciplines. By using an integrated approach, and looking outside your own expertise, you can find the ultimate solution. The secret is to relate decisions in the design phase to the operations phase. By constantly doing that, it becomes possible to construct a building with such remarkable performance."

However, integration of design and operations is easier said than done. Van de Water explains that everybody involved, at every level in the organisation, has to think outside the box. "Parties in this project work together to achieve maximum performance through integrated thinking. That is quite special. Schneider Electric is thinking of the total concept too, and not of the stand-alone aspects."

Van de Water is enthusiastic about cooperation with Schneider Electric—especially project manager Erik Zwaan, who plays an important role on this project. "One element of our successful cooperation has been the transparency towards each other. The key is mutual trust," said van de Water.

III. RESULTS / ACHIEVEMENT

Customer benefits:

• CO2 neutral building demonstrates TNT's commitment to corporate social responsibility goals
• 60% more energy efficient than required by current building codes
• Among top 5% of sustainable buildings in the Netherlands
  
• 10% reduction in Total Cost of Ownership
  
• 1.5% improved workforce productivity due to healthy indoor climate
  

Customer testimonies (Verbatim):

As a supplier of installation and control techniques, "In our opinion Schneider Electric is the world's number one in innovations. They really observe the market. That is obvious.... in their tender they even looked ten years ahead; that is what their quality was based on. They were the only company to do so."
Coen van Oostrom, CEO & Founder, OVG

Schneider Electric differentiating values VS competitors:

Schneider Electric was able to partner directly with the property developer from the very beginning of the project. We were full participants in the integrative design/build process, which allowed us to contribute our systems design, specification and technology expertise throughout the entire process. Our energy management expertise—and our ability to understand and plan for life cycle energy consumption to help the customer achieve sustained building performance overtime—was something that no other vendor could provide.