One United Properties joins UN Global Compact, the largest global corporate sustainability initiative

One United Properties, one of the leading green developers of residential, mixed-use and office real estate in Romania, joins United Nations Global Compact, the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world. The decision to join UN Global Compact is part of a larger sustainability strategy that One United Properties will roll out in the coming months.

“Due to the large scale and number of developments, at One United Properties, we carry responsibility not only towards our customers but also to the local communities. As one of the leading developers in Romania, we have a significant impact on forming cities in which millions live. Sustainability doesn’t happen overnight; it has always been at the core of One United Properties. Over the years, we have excelled in developing leading green buildings in Romania. With our adherence to UN Global Compact, we are ready to make an even firmer commitment to promoting Environmental, Social, and Governance standards in every aspect of our business. We see a growing interest of the global institutional investors in how public companies approach the sustainability and ESG aspects, and we want to be at the forefront of this movement in Romania. As a public company, we see this commitment as a firm promise to all our stakeholders that we are dedicated to meeting their present needs and expectations without compromising our future,” said Victor Capitanu, co-CEO at One United Properties.

By joining the UN Global Compact, One United Properties pledged to support the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption, as well as committed to regular reporting on progress, including descriptions of practical actions undertaken to implement the UN Global Compact principles and the measurement of the outcomes.

In the first step of commitment to sustainability, One United Properties will issue before the yearend its first sustainability report for the year 2020 to provide all the stakeholders with an insight and a reference point on the dedication to the Environmental, Social and Governance aspects in the year proceeding the IPO on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Starting with 2022, the company will issue sustainability reports on an annual basis, outlining its impact on the environment and local communities. In parallel, One United Properties will develop at the level of its Board of Directors a medium-term action plan that will tackle the ESG concerns as well as will seek out a third-party ESG rating to receive an independent assessment of its actions.

One United Properties has been committed to sustainability for several years already. Since 2015, the company is a member of the Romanian Green Building Council (RoGBC), an organization promoting environmental responsibility and energy efficiency. All residential developments of One United Properties are “Green Homes” certified by the RoGBC, which require, amongst others: sorting for recycling in site, reducing the heat effect through light-colored roofing and terraced spaces, perennial plants for each balcony in part, the optimization of water consumption through efficient irrigation, connected to smart BMS systems, efficient low-flow sanitary units, the elimination of light pollution by the installation of LED lamps, the use of sustainable building materials such as bricks, as well as education for sustainable operating scales of the building including energy efficiency, waste sorting and composting. On top of this, One Peninsula and One Lake District, both currently under development, are the only residential developments in Bucharest with a geothermal heat pump system. 

All office developments are WELL Health and Safety certified, the most rigorous certification focused on employee well-being, as well as have LEED certifications. One Tower received LEED Platinum v4 certification, while One Cotroceni Park received LEED Platinum v4 pre-certification. In addition, One Floreasca City, a mixed-use development that includes an office building, One Tower, and residential development One Mircea Eliade, was internationally awarded at the International Property Awards 2019-2020 for the Best Sustainable Residential Development in the world.