+IMPACT MAGAZINE ISSUE 22

PROJECT
LIBERTY TWO DEGREES SAYS EMBEDDING
GREEN BUILDINGS IN ITS OPERATIONS IS
A STRATEGIC IMPERATIVE
A variety of spaces, including a colourful
canteen, provide options for the occupants.
The aim for the new office was
to create a plug-and-play setting
that is mostly wireless.
The spaces were designed to be fluid and versatile, and
include ergonomic and comfortable work and collaboration
spaces, as well as spaces for relaxation and meditation,
further emphasising a focus on wellbeing and mental
health. The spaces are flexible enough to be adapted or
expanded as the business needs change over time.
VISION REALISED
Meyer Erlank of Trend Group who completed the fit-out
for the project commends L2D for staying true to its
green strategy, particularly in using existing furniture
and fitting assets in its new office design. “We are proud
to be part of such a prestigious project. The development
is an example to the REIT community that it is possible
to re-purpose to the highest environmental standards in
a cost-effective way,” he adds.
The development includes the creation of a detailed
user guide, spelling out how the spaces should be used
to continue achieving the high standards envisaged.
Soft elements have been thought about, right down
to the purchasing of good quality, fair trade coffee for
office consumption.
Kahn says they were pleased to see its staff immediately
embracing the new, agile working environment and
using it in the ways it was intended to be used. Future
Vision continues to encourage boundaries to be pushed.
The benchmark targets for improving the building’s
performance include a Net Zero Waste Certification
in 2023, a net-zero water target for 2025 and a net-zero
carbon target by 2030.
Biophilic design is used for the project to reduce
stress, enhance mood and improve the creativity
and productivity of the office occupants.
Liberty Two Degrees (L2D) says incorporating sustainability into its
commercial real estate way of doing business is an integral strategic
imperative for the listed company, presenting an ideal opportunity to
make a lasting impact on the economy, environment and society.
Asset Management Executive and Head of Good Spaces, Brian
Unsted says sustainability which was previously a “nice to have”
credential is now unavoidable because investors, clients and even
society are aligning themselves with companies that embrace
sustainability. Many companies, whether listed or unlisted, have or
are incorporating ESG into their business, and it has become the
foundation on which they implement their strategic business goals.
Unsted says sustainability is now extending to tenancy of buildings
and offices that are “green” certified, which is creating a new
business opportunity for commercial property investors who are
increasingly seeing the benefits of green construction. While L2D is
currently not actively involved in significant new green construction
project developments, its existing property portfolio has achieved
Green Star ratings according to the Green Star Existing Building
Performance (EBP) rating tool.
“
”
ensuring that buildings’ ongoing
operations and management are resourceefficient
and environmentally responsible
The focus here is on ensuring that buildings’ ongoing operations and
management are resource-efficient and environmentally responsible,
with long-term sustainability goals embedded in day-to-day
operational policies and plans.
He says L2D has taken the lead among commercial property owners
in South Africa to embrace sustainability, guided by the principle
that its investors and stakeholders expect and trust the company to
operate and grow its business in a responsible, sustainable manner.
Sustainability for the company has therefore been embedded into its
business strategy for the following compelling reasons:
Firstly, because being a responsible business is at the heart of the
company’s purpose, L2D has to ensure that it champions sustainable
environments that benefit current and generations to come. This
is guiding the implementation of its commitment to achieve a Net
Zero target by 2030 which will be achieved through Good Spaces;
secondly, given the rapidly escalating energy costs which will in the
future be followed by rising water and waste costs will follow suite,
it only makes a compelling financial investment in sustainability
initiatives; and lastly, the company needs to ensure reliability of
energy and water supplies given concerns about reliability of supplies
going into the future.
“Globally and in South Africa, sustainability is becoming increasingly
important for investors when making capital allocation decisions.
In this regard, the principles guiding capital allocation are
experiencing a dramatic shift, and investors are now balancing
between financial returns and good governance, social
responsiveness and sustainability,” says Unsted.
“
ensuring that we implement green
building practices has several
benefits for investors
”
“With this in mind, ensuring that we implement green building
practices has several benefits for investors including attracting and
retaining tenants, thus assuring investors of predictable returns,
a reduction of costs, improved efficiencies and sustainability of
operations which reduce investment risk thus making L2D a more
attractive and sustainable investment,” he says.
Unsted says because many companies are making it a non-negotiable
requirement only to lease or occupy green certified buildings, L2D’s
approach to achieve green-building ratings gives us a competitive
advantage when it comes to tenant retention. Already, there is
pressure mounting on organisations to embrace sustainability, as
evidenced by the increased focus on ESG reporting particularly
during the past three years. The “E” component means that
organisations have pressure to report on what they are doing, where
they are investing, and what targets and commitments they are
making.
“It is for this reason that many companies now want to occupy
“green” certified buildings, which means they have a focus on
sustainability, simply because for a start, it is a non-negotiable
imperative for many and usually a board directive; and the other
being that it can assist in reducing operating costs of that business
due to better efficiencies of the building. We expect that this growing
trend of only occupying “green” certified buildings will improve
occupancy rates and potentially achieve higher rental rates in “green”
buildings. Ultimately, this will enable landlords with green certified
buildings to both attract and retain tenants better than non-certified
buildings,” says Unsted.
Going forward, Unsted says L2D sees green buildings as an
opportunity to use its resources more efficiently and address climate
change while creating healthier and more productive environments
for tenants, shoppers and communities. “Through our strategic
building block Good Spaces, which aims to minimise the impact of
our assets on the environment, we have various initiatives in place
to reduce our impact, contributing to our green building strategy,”
he concludes.
18 POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 22
www.liberty2degrees.co.za
+27 11 358 9145