The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) on Tuesday said it was looking for members to form a technical working group, which would work on the development of the Green Star South Africa retail rating tool.

This would follow the model of the already established rating tool for office buildings, which was launched in November 2008, after close consultation with the Australian Green Building Council.

Green Star South Africa (SA) tools evaluate buildings across several environmental categories, including energy, water and ecology. South Africa’s Green Star tools were customised for the South African context, taking into account existing codes and regulations as well as local climate and environmental issues.

The retail tool would certify the environmental attributes of base building retail developments in South Africa, and the rating tool would evaluate the performance potential of actual retail buildings as well as buildings still in the design phase.

Once the tool was complete, the GBCSA would offer buildings the opportunity to become Green Star SA – Retail certified, as an endorsement of the project’s environmental performance. 

The technical working group would be a body of South African experts that evaluate all credits and credit criteria for the rating tool.

The GBCSA was seeking a diverse group of 20 to 25 property industry experts to fill the technical working group.

Expertise in any of the following areas was valuable: green building design and consulting; energy consulting; architecture; engineering, especially mechanical and electrical; landscape design and civil engineering; environmental or ecological consulting; construction or contractors; quantity surveying; development and property ownership, especially in the retail sector; facilities management, especially in the retail sector; materials sourcing; interior design; and product manufacturing and supply.

The first technical group meeting was expected to be held on May 29.