RoGBC Awards Romania’s Most Sustainable Initiatives of 2026: From Buildings to Green Loans
The Romania Green Building Council (RoGBC) recognized the most sustainable initiatives of the year during the 10th edition of the Green Building & Finance Awards – Romania’s leading gala celebrating responsible construction. For a decade, the event has set the industry benchmark for recognizing the projects, products, and financial instruments that are transforming the way Romania builds responsibly. The anniversary edition also celebrated 18 years since RoGBC’s founding in 2008, bringing together developers, contractors, financial institutions, building material producers, and experts in construction and sustainable finance.
An independent jury of green building specialists, engineers, architects, and public policy experts evaluated entries across three categories: sustainable buildings, circular economy (buildings and products), and market transformation through green finance.
Sustainable Residential Buildings
Four winners spanned the entire residential spectrum, from premium housing to affordable units, certified to Green Homes and nZEB standards.
Quartier du Nord covers 60% of its annual consumption through heat pumps and solar panels. Quartier Azuga adds urban gardens and community centers, while Vienna Parkside Residence pursues a 100% electric design with photovoltaic modules and heat recovery for each apartment. ONE High District, with more than 700 apartments, uses vertical geothermal heat pump systems integrated through the building’s foundations.
Special prizes went to Amber Forest, Europe’s largest Green Homes and nZEB-certified villa community; EAS Residence Oradea, for retrofitting and integrating an existing facade into a Green Homes residential building; and Gulia EcoVillage Dâmbovița, for integrating circular economy principles into rural residential planning. The finalists included AFI Home North, AFI’s first build-to-rent project in Romania and HILS Sunrise, a complex of more than 700 apartments and the first pre-certified Green Homes project in eastern Bucharest.
Circular Economy: Buildings and Products
In the buildings subcategory, the standout winner was ANA Hotels Europa – Saint-Gobain Recycled Facade in Eforie Nord: the facade glass of the 1970s hotel was carefully dismantled and recycled at Saint-Gobain’s Călărași plant, Romania’s first closed loop from construction site to factory for facade glass — recovering 72 tonnes of glass and avoiding 17.2 tonnes of CO₂. Two Class B historical monuments, restored under BREEAM and Green Homes certification, were also recognized: Casa Cesianu, restored by Studio 10M within the Dacia One complex, and ONE Athénée, featuring decentralized VRF units, both recycling over 70% of their construction waste.
Special Awards recognized projects certified by Zero Waste Romania: CUIB Iași (Romania’s first Zero Waste restaurant, with a 94.9% waste diversion rate), the Ivan Patzaichin Museum (built from wood, reed, clay, and hemp), and Raven’s Nest (a HORECA initiative in a restored rural settlement using original materials).
In the products subcategory, awards went to ISOFULG – ISOGREEN™, a thermal insulation made from 100% recycled basalt wool flakes with an A1 fire reaction class and a buy-back program, and Multipor ExSal Therm – Xella, an anti-mold interior mineral insulation system that reduces the thermal transfer of masonry from 2.33 to 0.54 W/m²K. Airlite Premium Exterior, a photocatalytic mineral paint with a verified EPD (a carbon footprint of just 0.11 kg CO₂/m²) and Cradle to Cradle Gold certification, was among the finalists.
Market Transformation Through Green Finance
In the retail segment, personal loans for home purchases, distinctions went to products that link the interest rate to green certification, offering better terms for certified homes: BCR – Casa Mea Natura (77% of new mortgages granted in 2025 went to sustainable housing), ProCredit Bank – Pro Green, and Libra Internet Bank – Verde Credit.
In the corporate residential segment, awards recognized preferential financing for developers of certified residential projects: Garanti BBVA and Banca Transilvania. Special prizes honored nZEBshop, an educational platform dedicated to nZEB buildings (whose CASAnZEB YouTube channel has reached 6.2 million views), and Kristal Real Estate, for its commitment to Green Homes certification across its entire portfolio, more than 2,000 affordable apartments built on “15-minute city” principles.
About RoGBC
The Romania Green Building Council (RoGBC) is the leading professional, non-partisan organization active since 2008, promoting environmental responsibility and energy efficiency throughout a building’s entire lifecycle, from design and construction through operation and deconstruction. It brings together developers, financial institutions, producers, and specialists, developing standards, certifications, and financing tools for sustainable construction in Romania.
About Green Homes
The Green Homes certification is the most robust international system applied to residential units and complexes, fully compliant with the EU Taxonomy. Certification covers the project’s entire lifecycle, from design through final construction verification, ensuring that the promised performance actually reaches residents. The criteria address circular economy, climate resilience, energy performance, water and material conservation, and indoor environmental quality, aligned with the EU Taxonomy’s “do no significant harm” requirements. For developers, certification provides a clear foundation for green financing and sustainability reporting; for buyers, it offers independent oversight and verified guarantees of compliance.
