The Accountant-May-June 2017

ENVIRONMENT
KENYA’S GREEN BUILDINGS
GAINING MOMENTUM
Indifference among property developers
in the country has been a set back
By anthony@gsurveyors.com
Knowing how much you are
charged for your energy and
how the charges come about,
might well make you re-think
your energy usage.
Many people are yet to catch up with
the habit of switching off and this is
costing them and their employers a lot of
money. It is however encouraging to note
that this has been recognized and green
buildings are rapidly gaining momentum
in Kenya.
Architectural Association of Kenya
(AAK) has signed a contract with UN-
Habitat to help encourage and provide
guidelines and technological measures
that architects around the country will use
to produce buildings that promote greater
environmental responsibility.
In order to push the agenda there is also
a push from the Kenya Green Building
Society (KGBS). They recommend
that county governments should form
partnerships with the society so that it can
give them guidance during the formulation
of their by-laws to ensure that all building
regulations adhere to the sustainable
building agenda. Despite repeated appeals
to developers encouraging them to put up
green buildings, not much progress has
been achieved – according to Dr Vincent
Kitio the Chief of UN Habitat’s Urban
Energy Unit. This has been somewhat
discouraging but all efforts are being made
to ensure that Kenya is not left behind in
this very significant matter.
Building green actually works in
Western countries because governments
there understand the value that they
deliver to the economy and hence offer
incentives for their contractors to go
green. However, in Kenya, green building
is yet to be profitable because the costs of
putting up an energy-efficient structure
are exorbitant. This was explained by Mr
Samuel Onyango, a contractor at an event
that was organised by the Kenya Green
Building Society.
Architects have in the past complained
of the lack of awareness of uniform green
building standards that should be applied
by builders in the country. It is important
to note that standards cannot just be
borrowed from green building standards in
Europe and be applied in Kenya. One must
be cognisant of the climatic differences
between sub-Saharan Africa and Europe.
What is needed are green building
standards laid out and approved for
application in Kenya by the government.
This was the sentiment of the Agricultural
society of Kenya in their annual gathering
last year.
The other set back is due to the
indifference among property developers in
the country. This has been a talking point
at the United Nations habitat forums for
some time now. Consequently the United
Nations Environmental Programme
(UNEP), in collaboration with the United
Nations Human Settlements Programme
(UN-Habitat) has launched a programme
known as Promoting Energy Efficiency in
building in East Africa. This is now being
promoted across the 47 counties in Kenya
and it is hoped that positive changes will
be seen as a result of this initiative.
Since two years ago the UN – Habitat
Energy Unit has been carrying out
training of architects, engineers and other
professionals on the aspects of green
buildings such as the ability of a building
to use natural light, harvest rain water and
tap solar energy.
In fact the Architectural Association
of Kenya (AAK) has signed a contract
with UN-Habitat on this matter. This
is a pact between the association and
UN-Habitat. It provides guidelines and
technological measures that architects
around the country will adopt to promote
greater environmental responsibility going
forward.
Apart from these professionals, UN-
Habitat is also looking to raise awareness
among ordinary citizens about simple
building practices that will enable them
to go green. Currently new shopping
complexes have embraced green energy
technology quite comfortably. A good
example is the Two Rivers Mall and
Garden City. The Kenya Green building
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