A new mixed-use development in Pretoria, , Menlyn Maine, was on Tuesday announced as one of 16 founding projects of the Climate Positive Development Programme, which supported the concept of real estate developments that strive to reduce the amount of on-site carbon dioxide emissions to below zero.

The programme was initiated by the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) and was launched by former US President Bill Clinton at the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in Seoul, South Korea.

The founding projects were expected to demonstrate climate positive strategies and set an environmental and economic example for cities to follow.

Participating property developers and local governments would agree to work in partnership on specific areas of activity to reduce the net greenhouse gas emissions from these projects.

This included implementing economically viable innovations in buildings, the generation of clean energy, waste management, water management, and transportation and outdoor lighting systems.

The CCI explained that cities occupied only about 2% of the world’s landmass, but were responsible for more than two-thirds of global energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

How cities change and grow would be a critical component to tackling the climate crisis going forward, given that about 70% of the global population was expected to live in cities by 2050.

The programme would support the planning and implementation process for each of the 16 real estate developments and establish the standards and metrics by which the sites could measure climate positive outcomes by combining the CCI’s business and financial expertise with the technical knowledge of the US Green Building Council.

Nearly one-million people would live and work in climate positive communities throughout the world, once the initial 16 projects were completed.

The developers of Menlyn Maine, meanwhile, noted that the architecture of the development was based on the creation of quality of space and environmentally responsive buildings.

“Our model shows that by combining players (customers, employees, suppliers and business partners), in Menlyn Maine’s great location and integrating them fully, provides a perfect growth-orientated, world-class and productive business ecosystem,” Menlyn Maine MD Anton van Wyk commented.

The other projects would be situated in: Johannesburg, South Africa; Melbourne, Australia; Palhoca, Brazil; Toronto, Canada; Victoria, Canada; Ahmedabad, India; Jaipur, India; outside Panama City, Panama; Seoul, South Korea; Stockholm, Sweden; London, UK; San Francisco, in the US and Destiny, in Florida, in the US.