+IMPACT MAGAZINE ISSUE 21
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COLUMN<br />
South Africa’s leader in Entrance & Security Solutions<br />
ALWAYS OPEN<br />
A LWAYS C LOSE D<br />
Welcome to 2023! As I write this piece, I am nearing the end of my<br />
working year with my mind wandering regularly towards the beautiful<br />
beaches of the Eastern Cape that await me in just over a week. Last<br />
year was a substantially better year than 2020 and 20<strong>21</strong> for most<br />
people and businesses, especially as a result of the impact of Covid-19 subsiding.<br />
We are excited about the improving economy and the increased importance of<br />
the sustainability agenda in the corporate world.<br />
As I noted in my chairman’s address at the GBCSA Convention held in Cape Town<br />
at the Century City Convention Centre in November 2022, we have the opportunity<br />
to embrace a virtuous circle of improved economic activity coming off the hard-hit<br />
2020 year, along with the heightened awareness and sensitivity of what we are doing<br />
to our planet and people by continuing to conduct business activity in the way that<br />
it has been conducted in the past.<br />
The throw-away society mentality, fast-fashion and low-quality production, the<br />
massive and unnecessary generation of plastics, use of water as an infinite resource,<br />
and slow pace of change away from non-renewable energy are all being challenged.<br />
There is also a groundswell from consumers that are not prepared to tolerate this<br />
manufacturing mentality any longer.<br />
We encourage the challenging ways of the past that can enhance our natural<br />
world. Construction materials and processes are also being challenged to improve<br />
our built environment’s impact on the world, an industry that is traditionally a massive<br />
contributor to carbon emissions at a global scale.<br />
A highlight of this edition is the thought-leadership piece written by Shameela<br />
Soobramoney who is chief sustainability officer at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange<br />
(JSE) and a fellow GBCSA board member. There are so many standards in the<br />
sustainability landscape, and the JSE has tried to digest all the pertinent standards<br />
and create a set of sustainability and climate change disclosure guidelines, entitled<br />
Sustainability and Climate Disclosure Guidance, relevant in the South African business<br />
context. The disclosure guidelines aim to be more focused on impact than on an ESG<br />
tick-box approach. The work done has been well received by industry and has received<br />
a lot of positive feedback. Well done to everyone involved in this complex arena.<br />
In this issue of +Impact, there is also recognition of performers that are certifying<br />
projects, a key component of the work that the GBCSA does.<br />
The GBCSA is on track to perform its 1 000th certification in 2023 which will be<br />
an incredible milestone. It took six years to achieve the first 100 certifications, and<br />
another 10 years to do the next 900. What an incredible indicator of the success of<br />
sustainability in South Africa’s built environment.<br />
Enjoy this edition of +Impact magazine.<br />
Brian Unsted<br />
GBCSA Chairman<br />
Chair’s<br />
Corner<br />
Frost Automatic Sliding Door Operators | Boon Edam Revolving Doors & Security Solutions<br />
Ifuba Hufcor Operable Walls | Turnstiles & Speedlanes | High Performance Doors | Total Door Maintenance<br />
A proud distributor of<br />
Brian Unsted.<br />
MEET THE GBCSA CHAIRMAN<br />
Brian Unsted is an asset management executive and drives “Good Spaces”<br />
at Liberty Two Degrees. Unsted has over 25 years of experience in the South<br />
African property industry with a particular focus on extracting value from South<br />
Africa’s most iconic mixed-use properties. Unsted’s role includes ensuring the<br />
implementation of sustainability interventions to propel towards the set net-zero<br />
strategies in the waste, water and carbon space.<br />
In 2014, he co-authored a book called Sandton Places – a guide to the hidden<br />
gems, corners and destinations of northern Johannesburg, while providing both<br />
the history and future insights of Sandton.<br />
POSITIVE IMPACT <strong>ISSUE</strong> <strong>21</strong><br />
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