Greening of SA commercial property sector gains momentum

The Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) announced that 140 buildings were certified over the past year – a record number. The announcement was made during the GBCSA’s flagship Green Building Convention that was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre last week.

“Certified green buildings held their own as far as vacancy and return rates go over the past year. Property owners, tenants and investors are now insisting on better, certified green buildings, as the environmental and financial benefits of these become indisputable. To date, the GBCSA has certified 740 buildings since 2009,” said GBCSA CEO, Lisa Reynolds.

Reynolds said that the 140 certifications during a challenging Covid year was significant and spoke to a growing green building movement. She also commended the built environment community for driving the movement, saying “we do the certifications, but you make the commitment”.

It was also announced that Giles Pendleton, who is the Chief Development Officer at Attacq Limited, will remain as the Chairperson of GBCSA for another year.

The Green Building Convention hosted several keynote international and local speakers, including Nigerian architect, Kunlé Adeyemi, whose ‘African Water Cities’ have garnered him worldwide acclaim; Dutch bio-designer, Teresa van Dongen who shared the ground-breaking work she is doing in combining nature and science into her design; and Mashudu Ramano, entrepreneur in transition to a regenerative and sustainable future, bringing home our undeniable connection to and reliance on the environment.

“Our programme was curated around this year’s theme – One – One Planet. One Chance. It comprehensively looked at the critical role of the green building community and the need for us to come together as one powerful movement to effect positive change that counts.

“The theme spoke to the need for decisive and immediate action to mitigate the effects of climate change and to save our one planet for future generations. This is not something we can do alone – we need everyone to commit to a future where people and the planet thrive,” Reynolds added.

GBCSA also thanked its sponsors for making this year’s Convention possible.

“To our lead sponsors – Nedbank, Rand Water and Vodacom Business and all our other sponsors and supporters, thank you for partnering with us and investing in the green building movement. Partnerships are key to achieving the SDGs and we are in great company as we drive sustainable changes in the built environment,” said Reynolds.

GBCSA also announced the winners of its annual Leadership Awards at the closing plenary of the Convention. The awards are based on submission data gathered during the Green Star certification process, and individuals are nominated by the industry.

“Congratulations to all the projects and individuals who received awards this year. It is an honour to recognise the movers and shakers in our industry,” said Reynolds.

HIGHEST RATED BUILDING

Winner

The Ridge (Cape Town)

6-Star Green Star Office Design v1.1

AP: Mike Munnik, Agama Energy | Property Owner: V&A Waterfront

Runner-up

Balwin Head Office (Johannesburg)

6-Star Green Star Office Design v1.1

AP: Zendré Compion, Solid Green | Property Owner: Balwin Properties

BEST QUALITY SUBMISSION

Winner

Gleneagles (Johannesburg)

5-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance v1

AP: Sally Misplon, Misplon Green Building Consulting | Property Owner: Redefine Properties

Runner-up

Wickham House (Johannesburg)

5-Star Green Star Existing Building Performance v1

AP: Sally Misplon, Misplon Green Building Consulting | Property Owner: Redefine Properties

EDGE LEADER

Yvonne Pelser, InsideOUT Consulting

ESTABLISHED GREEN STAR

Winner

Mike Munnik, Agama Energy

Runner-up

Dash Coville, Solid Green

RISING GREEN STAR

Winner

Hlologelo Manthose, WSP Group Africa

Runner-up

Alex Varughese, Solid Green

YIPA SUSTAINABLE YOUNG CHANGEMAKER

GBCSA also partnered with the Youth in Property Association (YIPA) to introduce the inaugural YIPA Sustainable Young Changemaker Award, which recognises the exceptional contribution of young people to sustainability in the built environment sector.

Thamsanqa Hoza, is the first recipient of the award. Hoza is a young leader who is passionate about the intersection of infrastructure development, technology, and people, and particularly using this to improve the livelihoods of Africans. He is the founder of Hot Nozzle, a company that manufactures novel water heating technologies. He is an Allan Gray fellow, AIF top ten young innovators, received qualifications from UCT and Cambridge University, and has also received an award from the Queen of England.

For more information about the Green Building Convention, visit www.gbcsaconvention.org.