"Environmentally conscious entrepreneurship has several advantages, investment pays for itself"
Ferry Breugem, senior sales manager
Sustainability
As sellers of green, garden centres are the ambassadors for nature and therefore sustainability. There are many reasons for building sustainably. Environmentally conscious entrepreneurship is good, not only for the environment, but also for your image and for your wallet. You can earn back most adjustments.
Reasons to build sustainably:
- Saving on operational costs, such as energy costs;
- Subsidy schemes, such as the ISDE (investment subsidy for business users), the MIA (environmental investment deduction), SDA + (subsidy for solar panels) and the Energy Investment Deduction for the installation of LED lighting;
- PR - good for the image of your brand / company.
The options for sustainable construction and renovation:
- Use insulated roof and wall cladding, such as:
- well-insulated roof and facade panels (transparent and non-transparent);
- green roofs such as sedum as insulation;
- well-insulated aluminium profiles with an extremely high U-value.
- Invest in special glass. The U-value of insulating glass is getting lower and therefore easier to keep the interior space at a constant temperature, such as:
- Well insulated safety glass,
- glass that can generate energy through a special coating;
- Heat resistant glass - a coating gives you the feeling that you are walking in the shade, but when you look up, it is completely transparent. This keeps heat out, which also gives you a more pleasant climate in summer.
- Water reuse systems using rainwater to water plants and / or to flush the toilets.
Sustainable investment in existing garden centre
There are also many options for making an existing garden centre more sustainable, such as:
- LED lighting - more economical in energy consumption;
- Climate screens control temperature, UV radiation, humidity to reduce energy costs;
- Solar panels - to generate energy.
Or more economical cooling and heating:
- HR boilers
- heat pumps
- heat and cold storage
For half a century your reliable partner for high-profile projects
Read our latest news here:
10-03-2025
Renovate or expand?
How to future-proof your garden centre without closing the doors
Expanding or renovating your garden centre can feel like a huge challenge. Will you have to close during construction? Is it worth the investment? Will customers experience inconvenience? The short answer: it's easier than you think. With smart planning, you can create more space, improve energy efficiency and enhance the shopping experience - all while staying open for business.
08-12-2024
Another garden centre for Hageland
For Hageland, a well-known Norwegian chain consisting of more than 100 garden centres, we will build 1,200 m2 of wide-span construction and renovate the main building of their garden centre. This time in Volda, a municipality in Norway.
25-11-2024
Renovation garden centre Ruxley Manor
In January 2025, we will replace the roof of a canopy at the well-known Ruxley Manor Garden Centre. The old roof will be dismantled and replaced with new material to ensure a future-proof structure. Read our interview with Andrew Evans, managing director.
21-11-2024
New colleague in our team
We are verry happy to welcome Paul van der Doef as the latest member of our team at Smiemans Projecten!
With his experience in glass construction, he strengthens our team and will make a significant contribution to our innovative glass constructions and international projects.
How can we help you in terms of sustainability?
As 'Knowledge Based Builder' we build:
- Biophilic constructions
- Multifunctional glasshouses
- Climate proof constructions
- Sustainable glasshouses