*The Current State of the Buildings*

The researched area is located in the urban space of the municipality of Bucharest. The dimensions of the researched buildings within the Bucharest University of Economic Studies are the following: Building A: 5612 square meters and Building C: 715 square meters (1500 square meters with yard).

Both buildings have nine levels, seven on aboveground and two underground, each level summing up to 623.56 square meters. The structure system is a mixed one (concrete, steel, wood, etc.). Moreover, in the surrounding area there are fruit trees (seven apple trees, seven cherry plum trees, two plum trees, two cherry trees, one mulberry tree and shrubs).

No additional access routes are proposed, as the location benefits from several entrances and exits, being situated in the immediate vicinity of an important intersection.

In case of an earthquake, structural degradation may occur, but it would not risk destabilizing the construction. Currently, the buildings are connected to all the utilities systems that use conventional energy, all being functional. The climatic factors in the area where the buildings are located do not represent an investment risk.

With the help of Romania Green Building Council and Build Carbon Neutral, the footprints of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies Buildings A and C were estimated, using the software made available online (Figures 1 and 2 [44]).

This software estimates the carbon that is embodied in the construction, and it is used as a tool in the management of the carbon footprint reduction. It takes into consideration the site, the landscape and the eco installation disturbance, and it requires basic information regarding the technical aspects of the building irrespective of whether it is a public one or a household. The results it provides refer to the carbon footprint of a building as a whole and they are ±25% accurate. In our specific situation, it is important to mention that the carbon footprint of the underground levels is embodied in the stories above the ground. One argument in favor of using such software is that, for example, 13% of the global carbon footprint is generated by transportation, while the carbon footprint of buildings accounts for 19% [17]. In this way, a holistic approach can be obtained when assessing the pollution generated by any type of building, be it public or private (household).

**Figure 1.** Calculation of the carbon footprint of Building A, the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. Source: www.buildcarbonneutral.com [44].


**Figure 2.** Calculation of the carbon footprint of Building C, the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. Source: www.buildcarbonneutral.com [44].

The value calculated by the software is a rough one, vitiated by the limitations of the research, but it provides the essentials regarding the worryingly high values of the carbon pollution, which slowly affects the community of 23,000 people and more.

Even if at first sight the value for Building C seems optimistic, one should take into account both the proportionality with the built surface and the fact that this construction benefits from a large garden of 1500 square meters.

From a comparative perspective, the optimal annual value of the carbon footprint is 2 tons per year per person. The average footprint of a European person is 10 tons per year.

In an optimistic scenario, the national governments and European officials rely on reducing the use of conventional energy and increasing the use of clean, green energy by 2050.

However, it should be mentioned that although efforts are being made to implement measures that will lead to a rise in the use of green energy, producing and/or using it is still creating pollution (Figure 3 [45]).

**Figure 3.** CO2 reduction measures—the outlook for 2050. Source: CEMBUREAU [45].

In order to mitigate the consequences produced by the high values of the indicator analyzed in this paper, the construction of a vertical garden of 100 m<sup>2</sup> was considered, followed by the setting up of an urban garden on the sixth floor of Building A, supported by volunteering and public or private funding. Additionally, its maintenance costs could also be covered by attracting public or private funds.
