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SA’s green building industry marks Green Star milestone

25th April 2014

By: Anine Kilian

Contributing Editor Online

  

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As South Africa’s green building movement celebrates its fiftieth Green Star SA certification in only six years, and with a further 150 projects in the Green Star SA registration pipeline, the impact will increase significantly.

“In South Africa, certified new green buildings now cover nearly one-million square metres and [the resulting] savings in electricity, water consumption and waste disposal are having a significant impact, helping [combat the] global battle [against] climate change and conserve precious natural resources,” said Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) founding chairperson Bruce Kerswill at an event in Johannesburg to celebrate the industry’s milestone.

Developers of the 50 certified projects expect their buildings to result in the combined yearly savings of 76-million killowatt hours – enough electricity to power 5 300 households for a year –115-million kilogram in carbon emissions every year – which is the equivalent to taking 28 000 cars off the road – and 124-million litres of water a year, sufficient water supply for 34 000 households a year.

“Reaching 50 certifications illustrates the commitment the South African commercial property sector has shown towards resource efficiency and climate change abatement, while creating healthier and more productive environments for us to work and live in,” GBCSA CEO Brian Wilkinson said at the event.

He noted that the GBCSA could not have achieved the success it had to date without the support of big players in the sector, adding that they had pioneered the way to a better future for people and the planet.

Globally, the built environment is responsible for one-third of all carbon emissions and, with global warming – a “very real concern” that affects everyone on the planet – a shift in focus to green building is something that should be foremost in everyone’s minds – from government to developers and the average man on the street.

The McGraw and Hills’ World Green Building Trend survey (2013) pointed out that 51% of South African firms expected to be building green by 2015 – most notably in the commercial markets. This suggested that outside investors, developers and owners would have an ongoing, important role to play in the green building groundswell.

Kerswill noted that going green was not just about the environment, the bottom-line benefits of building and operating green buildings were particularly important considering South Africa’s rising energy costs and water scarcity – coupled with lower risks, improvements to employee productivity and, ultimately, better investment returns and higher property valuations.

“We are absolutely thrilled by the uptake in green building in South Africa. In the last few months, the number of buildings that have been certified, or which have applied for certification, has increased exponentially – with 20 buildings being certified in 2013 alone,” Wilkinson stated.

He said the GBCSA was confident that this upward spike would continue as an ongoing trend as increased market demand and clear financial rewards, coupled with mounting government regulations and shareholder pressures, provided multiple incentives to own and occupy high- performance green buildings.

Kerswill pointed out that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report reinforced the negative impact that climate change would have and was already having on civilisation.

“There is a need to urgently reduce carbon emissions. As we celebrate our significant achievements, we recognise that we still have a long way to go,” he said.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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