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Green Building News

Durban COP17 meeting should focus on ‘fair’ climate regime – Molewa

By: Brindaveni Naidoo 29th July 2011 Economic, political and social challenges across the globe have exacerbated concerns about reaching a conclusive agreement at the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties, or COP 17, in Durban, later this year. Water and Environmental Affairs Minister... →

New premises incorporates green design and construction

29th July 2011 Engineering, management and specialist technical services group Aurecon has completed the construction of the new 20 000 m2 Lynnwood Bridge Office Park building, in Tshwane, of which it is also a co-owner. →

Alternative technology offers housing solution

By: Idéle Esterhuizen 29th July 2011 A housing solution for South Africans who fall in the affordable housing bracket has come in the form of innovative and affordable fly ash technology. →

New energy efficient data centre could save Vodacom R1m a year

By: Creamer Media Reporter 26th July 2011 Telecoms provider Vodacom on Tuesday opened a new seven-storey energy efficient data centre in Cape Town, to meet the needs of business customers, and prepare for the expansion of cloud computing. Power consumption of a data centre is one of the most significant operating costs for such a... →

MTN ‘greening’ initiatives cut head office power usage by 37%

By: Christy van der Merwe 25th July 2011 Mobile telecoms operator MTN said that it has reduced its electricity consumption at its head office in Fairlands by 37% in the last six months, following efforts to ‘green’ the office on 14th Avenue. MTN said that an investment in generating its own electricity from its methane powered... →

New Aurecon office achieves SA’s first 5-star green building rating

By: Christy van der Merwe 22nd July 2011 Engineering consultancy Aurecon’s R130-million office building in Century City, Cape Town, would be the first building in South Africa to achieve a five-star Green Star South Africa (SA) rating from the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA). The rating was for the design of the... →

Resistant presealer used in KZN’s first Green Star building

22nd July 2011 Cast stone products manufacturer Revelstone used admixtures and additives producer Chryso SA’s Pareflo 20 silicone water repellent for the paving at the Nedbank Ridgeside development, in Umhlanga Ridge, KwaZulu-Natal. →

Waste offenders face stiff penalties, but enforcement capacity questioned

By: Eleanor Seggie 22nd July 2011 While the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, No 59 of 2008 brings with it abundant opportunities and regulatory tools, it also introduces severe criminal liability for directors and companies. →

Public Works reviewing draft green building framework

By: Christy van der Merwe 13th July 2011 The draft Green Building framework has been submitted to the Department of Public Works (DPW) for final review, Water and Environmental Affairs Deputy Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi said on Wednesday. The Green Building framework has been developed in partnership with the Council for Scientific... →

Local guide being developed for ‘green leasing’

By: Christy van der Merwe 1st July 2011 Research by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) and the South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa) has shown that South African tenants and landlords are starting to request “green leases”. To this end, a working group of members from the GBCSA and Sapoa has been... →

New standard to save energy, costs – Energy Cybernetics MD

By: Eleanor Seggie 1st July 2011 The launch of ISO 50001, which specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving energy management systems, is likely to add further impetus to the energy management momentum building in South Africa, reports local energy optimisation company Energy Cybernetics. →

New publication outlines ‘sustainable concrete’ protocols

24th June 2011 The Cement & Concrete Institute (C&CI) has produced the first in a series of new, free publications on the sustainability of concrete. →

Vodacom aims for top green building rating with R24m green innovation centre

By: Christy van der Merwe 23rd June 2011 Construction has started on the R24-million green innovation centre at Vodacom’s head office in Midrand, which would be the first building in South Africa to aim for a six-star Green Star South Africa certification. UK-based parent company Vodafone chose to locate the green innovation centre in... →

Tender moratorium may cause double-dip in building sector – economist

By: Irma Venter 17th June 2011 The announcement by the Department of Public Works of a six-month tender moratorium “hit home hard” in the local building industry, says First National Bank chief economist Cees Bruggemans. Minister of Public Works Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde last week announced that her department has instituted a... →

Master Builders SA 'dismayed' at six-month tender moratorium

By: Irma Venter 14th June 2011 Master Builders South Africa (MBSA) on Tuesday expressed “deep dismay” at the decision by the Department of Public Works to place a six-month moratorium on all new tenders, describing it as “another major blow to the beleaguered building sector”. Minister of Public Works Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde... →

Company focus extends to green building automation solutions

By: Tracy Hancock 10th June 2011 With the provision of green building automation solutions now included in its focus, industrial automation supplier and service provider Shorrock Automation is concentrating on supplying products to either retrofit older buildings to improve their energy efficiency or provide solutions to new... →

Energy efficiency in SA to come under spotlight in November

27th May 2011 The Southern African Association for Energy Efficiency Convention 2011 (SAEEC2011) and exhibition will be held on November 16 and 17, at Emperors Palace, Gauteng. →

Competition seeks ‘concrete’ sustainable designs

20th May 2011 The Future African City is the theme of the fifth yearly Cement & Concrete Institute (C&CI) architectural sustainable design competition. →

Israel backs clean-energy goals with policy, laws and R&D

By: Eleanor Seggie 13th May 2011 Israel aims to reduce coal-generated power to about 40%, increase the use of natural gas to 40%, and have 20% of power generated by renewable sources by 2020, says Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor Director General Sharon Kedmi. →

Global alliance seeks to promote renewable solutions for rural electrification

By: Eleanor Seggie 13th May 2011 Africa, whose electricity consumers already pay more for power than is the case in other regions, should turn its attention to renewable sources to deal with current shortfalls and high prices, particularly in rural areas, Belgium-based Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) secretary general... →

New push to make engineering attractive to youth, women and to meet 2014 graduate target

By: Eleanor Seggie 13th May 2011 Since the announcement was made that government plans to spend R215-billion on education and skills development and that priority would be given to ensuring that 30 000 more engineers were intergrated into the South African economy by 2014, there has been a surge in initiatives to draw school... →

Holistic approach to infrastructure design vital in tackling risks posed by climate change, urban growth

By: Dennis Ndaba 6th May 2011 The need to address risks posed by climate change, urban growth and other factors need to be addressed holistically, through a multidisciplinary and integrated approach to design, if solutions are to be found, cautions WSP Green by Design director Eric Noir. →

City of Joburg poured R31bn into capital projects in last five years – outgoing mayor

By: Eleanor Seggie 22nd April 2011 The City of Johannesburg executive mayor councillor Amos Masondo has released his End of Term Report (2006 – 2011), entitled ‘Sharing the Legacy’ revealing the progress of the municipality during this period. →

Council developing new rating tool

By: Dimakatso Motau 1st April 2011 The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) is developing an energy and water benchmarking rating tool for existing buildings. →

Business leaders call for more green buildings in Cape Town

By: Dimakatso Motau 1st April 2011 Business-led initiative Accelerate Cape Town says the call to move towards the construction of green buildings in the city, forms part of the increasing awareness of the need to protect the environment and mitigate climate change. →

Manufacturer focuses on sustainability of buildings

1st April 2011 Well-planned heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), plumbing and other mechanical engineering systems are essential to making a building sustainable throughout its life cycle. →

Consultancy to complete R500m contract by midyear

By: Dimakatso Motau 1st April 2011 The new Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) headquarters, which are pursuing a rating from the UK’s Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), in Ebene, outside the capital Port Louis, is nearing completion, reports engineering and management consultancy firm Arup. →

R1,4bn project nearing completion

By: Dimakatso Motau 1st April 2011 The R1,4-billion Absa Towers West green building project, in Marshalltown, Johannesburg, is expected to be complete and fitted out in April. The environmental and sustainability consultancy WSP Green by Design reports that some 2 000 Absa employees have already moved into offices in the building. →

R52,5m injection for Western Cape abalone farm

1st April 2011 Local private equity firm Inspired Evolution’s environmental and new energy technology fund has invested R52,5-million in Western Cape-based abalone farm Abagold. →

New galvanising facility incorporates environmental enhancements

By: Eleanor Seggie 1st April 2011 Galvaglow, a newly launched hot dip galvanising facility, claims to embrace energy and environmental efficiency enhancements. The Krugersdorp plant includes a full wet scrubber system, which extracts harmful gasses, neutralising them rather than releasing them directly into the atmosphere, says... →

Consultancy puts success of Nedbank’s green KZN building down to collaboration between professionals

By: Christy van der Merwe 25th March 2011 Engineering consultancy and silver founding member of the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA), Aurecon, says that collaboration between project professionals was a key success factor in the development of the Nedbank Ridgeside office building in KwaZulu-Natal. →

Brick manufacturer installing energy efficient kiln at E Cape facility

By: Mary-Anne O’Donnell 11th March 2011 South Africa’s first vertical shaft brick kiln (VSBK), reaching highest energy efficiency levels, is being constructed at clay brick manufacturer Langkloof Bricks, in the Eastern Cape. →

Property sector may be hard-hit by carbon tax

By: Eleanor Seggie 11th March 2011 The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) identifies the South African property development and leasing sector as being slow in its reaction to dealing with climate change and sustainability. →

New mobile-network solution could reduce antenna clutter

4th March 2011 Leading network technology group Alcatel-Lucent has joined forces with industry partners to develop lightRadio, a new system that promises to remove the bottlenecks constraining mobile networks and help deliver universal broadband coverage. →

Eastern Cape university installs renewable-energy harvesting system

4th March 2011 The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) School of Engineering has installed a renewable energy harvesting system on the roof of its North Campus building. →

Green building council to develop rating tool for public buildings

By: Christy van der Merwe 16th February 2011 Continuing the expansion of the Green Star South Africa rating tool, the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) would begin work on a rating tool for public buildings. The GBCSA issued a call for qualified volunteers who would be interested in joining the technical working group (TWG)... →

IDC allocates R25bn for green economy investments

By: Petronel Smit 16th February 2011 State-owned development finance institution the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) would allocate R25-billion to investments in the ‘green’ economy over the next five years, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Tuesday. Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is expected to announce... →

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