+IMPACT Magazine Issue 25

EDITOR’S NOTE
COLUMN
While writing this, I’ve had to scuttle outdoors every now and then
to thaw out in the sun – poking its pale head out between bouts
of the ubiquitous Cape rain. I think I may speak for most South
Africans in saying I look forward to spring after a rather chilly and
prolonged winter!
While spring brings with it renewal, growth and expansion, for the global building
and construction sector, these very things go hand in hand with a key responsibility:
helping drive the transition towards a decarbonised, energy-efficient and sustainable
future for all.
Annually, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) brings us World Green
Building Week – falling on 11–15 September 2023 this year. Led by a network
of over 75 national Green Building Councils and their 46 000 members, the weeklong
campaign will show how, through systems-change thinking and leveraging
local solutions, we can transition to sustainable built environments. For the events
line-up, and to find out how you can take part in World Green Building week, visit
https://worldgbc.org/wgbw23/.
Our spring issue is testament to our local successes in this journey, showcasing
a broad variety of projects that go way beyond bricks to address sustainability.
Law firm ENS’s office in Cape Town’s striking 35 Lower Long Street building is
a case in point (page 18), having secured a 5-Star Green Star Interiors v1 certification.
A sublime departure from the traditional office concept, the space’s innovative
design is truly a union of functionality, design and sustainability, at the same time
catering to the health and wellness of its staff.
Apropos the well-being of building occupants, part four of our Transforming
Tomorrow series on page 26 unpacks the Healthy and Responsible categories of the
Green Star New Build V2 tool. These categories centre mostly around the comfort
of buildings’ users and the efficient functioning of system processes, aiming to
transform the market and increase work productivity, while saving on resources
like water and energy.
What better way to embrace greenness and growth than through considered
landscaping? Dsm-firmenich South Africa set a benchmark for sustainable
landscaping within the green building industry by becoming the first GBCSAcertified,
Net Positive Ecology level 2 – Operational Ecology (Measured) project in
the country. On page 34, +Impact looks at how the site’s original vegetation type
was used as a way to regenerate and increase its diversity.
From regeneration to preservation: the City of Cape Town’s Bracken Nature
Reserve has recently been awarded a 5-Star Green Star certification for its upgraded
building complex design (page 42). While water and energy efficiencies were the
main targets on this project, indoor comfort was also an important focus, and when
completed, it will offer the public an escape into nature, along with experiential
education around sustainability and the environment.
The role of business in supporting sustainable development objectives is key,
according to CEO of the National Business Initiative (NBI), Shameela Soobramoney.
Read more about how Shameela intends to focus on sustainability in her new role
at the NBI on page 48.
To round off this issue’s diverse offering, we highlight Illovo Country Estate in
KwaZulu-Natal on page 52, which recently achieved EDGE® certification with the
GBCSA – a first in South Africa in the affordable housing sector.
As, increasingly, new and retrofitted projects employ mindful design and
construction practices to reduce environmental impact, decrease costs and provide
better places in which to work, it’s an honour and a pleasure to present them to you,
our readers. We hope you enjoy this spring-time edition.
Mariola Fouché
Editor
It is an honour and privilege to take up the reins as chair of such a prestigious
organisation, one tasked with making a real and measurable impact on our
environment. At the same time, I’m also humbled, given the legacy set by
past chairs. I want to thank Brian Unsted for his tireless work and handing
over the organisation to me in its commendable state.
Although I am acutely aware of the board’s duties and the responsibilities it must
discharge in the interests of good governance, I’m also reminded of the influence
a board has on an organisation’s culture. In his book Flying Blind, Peter Robison
charts the decline of Boeing after its merger with McDonnell Douglas, manifested
by the crashes of the 737 MAX that ultimately led to Airbus displacing Boeing as
the market leader in commercial aircraft. As chair, this account holds lessons for
me and makes me mindful of the impact that we as board can have on the GBCSA.
Furthermore, it strikes me how, in aviation, decisions about new aircraft designs
are made every 10 years, but then the industry must “live with the consequences for
50 years”. The parallels to the built environment are uncanny – build an inefficient
and resource-consuming building, and the consequences on the environment
remain long after the developers have moved on.
The GBCSA has weathered multiple headwinds and we have come out stronger,
agile, and more resilient than ever before. I plan to build on that culture and on
strategies that drive further positive performance, creating value for our members
and the environment. I am excited about the finalisation and imminent pilot
phase of the Green Star New Buildings Rating Tool (New Build V2). As green
building has matured in South Africa, so too has the need to improve and update
our rating tools to move the built environment forward, and this will continue
to form part of my agenda.
Having said this, I also believe that there’s plenty of scope for more utilisation
of the Existing Building Performance Rating Tool in its current form, and the
IFC’s EDGE® Rating Tool, in the residential sector. I was privileged to attend
IFSEC in London in May this year. IFSEC International is an annual trade fair and
conference for the global security industry, held alongside the FIREX International
Show, the Safety & Health Expo and the Facilities Show.
One of the addresses was by the UK Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green
Finance, Lord Martin Callanan, on how the UK government is planning to achieve
net zero carbon. The UK has recognised that one of their biggest challenges is
how much of their built environment is pre-WW II. While they have new standards
for new builds, the amount of retrofitting required to meet current resource
efficiencies requires the funding of incentives – what he referred to as improved
cladding or insulation “taking precedence over shiny new kitchens”. I came away
from that talk convinced that the GBCSA’s driving use of the Existing Building
Performance Rating Tool will contribute immensely to the South African built
environment, given just how much of our building stock pre-dates green building.
In his book, Robison also details how the Boeing 737, while developed much
earlier and on a limited budget, became Boeing’s bestseller decades later – the
“stepchild” ultimately outperforming more modern aircraft such as the 747, 777
and 787, in terms of revenue earned. For me, this presents another parallel for
our Existing Building Performance Rating Tool: while not necessarily addressing
new and “shiny” buildings, the tool will look to existing building stock and
ultimately contribute to better resource usage and retrofitting, thus increasing
capital allocation and the associated job creation.
Brian Unsted’s last note reflected on the areas he wanted to give attention
to, and I want to close by reassuring you that in addition to my agenda, I will
continue to build on those areas as well. I am buoyed by the support, dedication,
professionalism and passion of Lisa Reynolds and her able team at the GBCSA.
Chair’s
Corner
André Theys
GBCSA Chairman
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