Old Mutual’s Mutualpark offices, in Pinelands, Cape Town, have received a 5-star Green Star South Africa (SA) Existing Building Performance rating.
This rating by the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) makes it the largest existing building to achieve this level of environmental excellence in the southern hemisphere.
Old Mutual on Monday also unveiled its Mutualpark solar installation, which comprises 3 600 solar panels over about 14 500 m2. With output of just over 1 MW and covering 565 carports, the solar photovoltaic system will produce enough electricity to provide 8% of Mutualpark’s electricity consumption.
Old Mutual emerging markets CEO Rose Keanly said the certification and solar installation underscored the company’s commitment to making a positive impact on broader socioeconomic and environmental issues in the country.
“It proves that big corporates are able to make a meaningful difference by being resourceful and thinking creatively to find solutions for the challenges of our time.”
GBCSA CEO Brian Wilkinson said Mutualpark represented what a true green building should aspire to be – energy efficient, resource efficient and environmentally responsible.
“A 5-star Green Star SA performance certification in a complex of this size is truly remarkable. What is even more remarkable is that some of the buildings at Mutualpark date back to 1954, debunking the myth that green building performance is only possible in new buildings.
“This is, by far, the largest green building in South Africa and it is fitting that Old Mutual, who we all know as ‘the big green’, has demonstrated its leadership by achieving this certification,” he stated.
Keanly noted, meanwhile, that construction on Old Mutual’s new 12-storey 30 000 m² head office, in Sandton, was on track for completion by end 2017. The new building will also target a 5-star Green Star SA rating from the GBCSA for office design.