Green Economy Journal Issue 41

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SPECIAL REPORT Rudolf Pienaar Chief Development and Investment Officer, Growthpoint www.growthpoint.co.za ADAPTING TO CHANGE IN COMMERCIAL PROPERTY The socio-economic impacts of Covid-19 have given rise to the opportunity, and the necessity, to take stock and adjust the course towards a better future. For a commercial property development to be sustainable, it must be relevant post-Covid-19 and for a long time into the future. Developers need to be able to adapt to constant change. The role that workspaces play in protecting people’s health and safety has rapidly become a critical factor for the commercial property industry. Fortunately, many considerations for the health and wellness of building occupants are aligned closely with the considerations already in place for green building and the WELL certification. ‘Building it back better’ allows us to imagine what we would like the future to be, and to play an active part in creating the quality and sustainable spaces that will be the building blocks of this better future. For Growthpoint, our drive continues to provide quality, green, healthy spaces that work best for our clients, our communities, and our world. The recent move towards densifying office space is likely to be reversed for apparent reasons. Also, the lockdown has highlighted our deep human need for collaboration and connection, with so many people saying they miss tapping into the energy that they feel in their workspaces. While this trend was already observable before Covid-19 arrived, the workplaces of the future will be designed and developed with more collaborative spaces to embrace interaction and facilitate formal and informal meeting. This is as true for office space as it is for retail space, where people also seek to meet their social needs. With many workers and employers having experienced some of the benefits of working from home and invested significantly in making this possible, working is likely to become a more agile activity in future. Workspaces will become more flexible platforms that include everything from remote working solutions to spaces that accommodate more traditional home activities, such as interactions with family and pets. Relevant, sustainable buildings will need flexibility built in. To some extent, the office is now competing with the home. We expect that this will also be incorporated in workspace design. Being able to live, work, shop, exercise and more in our communities became a necessity during various Covid-19 lockdown levels. Those residing in mixed-use environments were able to appreciate the benefit of their environment to the fullest and were better able to comply with the regulations. To this point, when commercial, retail, and residential activity co-exists, it offers enormous health, wellness and lifestyle benefits, not to mention lower transport costs and carbon emissions. Mixed-use environments can embrace different economic groupings in thoughtful and inclusive ways. Access to open space has been highlighted, and ‘green lungs’ and other public areas are a sacrosanct component of mixed-use development. ‘Building it back better’ allows us to imagine what we would like the future to be, and to play an active part in creating the quality and sustainable spaces that will be the building blocks of this better future. Photo by Ihsaan Haffejee 8 greeneconomy.media
SPECIAL REPORT Yovka Raytcheva-Schaap Associate, ESD Consulting and Project Management, Aurecon www.aurecongroup.com SHIFTING TRENDS IN DESIGN Working in the South African built environment, I have observed important shifts driven by Covid-19 in designing spaces within the buildings; provision of fresh air, increased monitoring of internal conditions, maintenance and cleaning activities, and different procedures for entering the buildings and using facilities. All measures are taken to ensure the health and wellbeing of occupants and visitors of buildings and communities at large. South African’s geographic location is such that a much higher proportion of the national energy mix could be attributed to renewable sources, however, the legal and the regulatory framework as well as the government procurement policies need to change to enable this shift. In terms of infrastructure, many leading global cities are changing the way public transport works by making a concerted effort to increase alternative mobility, i.e. non-motorised transport, including cycling lanes and bicycles, e-scooters, and pedestrianising the inner cities. In returning to a ‘normal’ post-Covid19 world, our efforts towards a more sustainable future must be renewed and intensified – as we are rebuilding parts of the economy that have been negatively affected or introducing new industries. It is our responsibility to shape a more sustainable future. It is the government’s responsibility to lead the shift towards a decarbonised economy and inclusive communities, and as such, the first step would be to remove the impediments to produce energy from sources other than fossil fuel. South African’s geographic location is such that a much higher proportion of the national energy mix could be attributed to renewable sources, however, the legal and the regulatory framework as well as the government procurement policies need to change to enable this shift. The government should incentivise local capacity in the sustainable environment to create a leading industry that facilitates the decarbonising of the economy while creating jobs and uplifting the communities. Dhesigen Naidoo CEO, Water Research Commission www.wrc.org.za A TURNING POINT FOR THE WATER SECTOR According to psychologist Rucksana Christian, the first responses to this pandemic have been very classical flight, fight or freeze responses. And this has been illustrated in the reactions to the pandemic – first the global and local lockdowns, which were reasonably successful in the initial phase of viral containment, have already exacted severe economic and social costs. An economic stagnation followed that has pushed the water sector toward a financial crisis with the conventional wisdom predicting a 4.5% decrease in African GDP. This has put an unwieldy strain on resources for aspirations such as universal access to clean water and safe sanitation as envisaged by SDG 6. But there is always opportunity in crisis. The global ‘Great Pause’ caused by Covid-19, has shown many benefits, perhaps in ways that we did not expect. The halting of industrial processes, smaller numbers of vehicles on the road and a diminishing of human activity have given the earth a chance to breathe. We have been given a brief glimpse of a lower carbon world. Secondly, in our quest to keep the wheels of the world’s socio-economy functional, Covid-19 has been the big disruptor and the real catalyst for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We have had a taste of the virtual way-of-work and made the gig economy a reality. As we begin to return to ‘normal’ post-Covid-19, we would be wise to engage these recent learnings and express some ambition. This could This could be the turning point the African water sector has been hoping for; an opportunity to redirect and prioritise funding to water and sanitation projects as a major safeguard against the spread of infection and wellbeing. greeneconomy.media 9
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