+IMPACT Magazine Issue 25

INSIGHT
The Green Star New Build V2
tool per category, continued:
INSIGHT
RESPONSIBLE CATEGORY
Credits with Minimum Requirements: A-1 Industry Development; A-2 Responsible Construction;
A-3A Verification and Handover; A-3B Metering and Monitoring; A-4 Responsible Waste Management
Other Credits: A-3C Post-Occupancy Tuning; A-6 Responsible Product Framework
Featured Credits: A-2 Responsible Construction; A-3A Verification and Handover; A-3B Metering
and Monitoring; A-3C Occupancy Tuning and Evaluation
The RESPONSIBLE category, according to category director
and founder of Ecolution Consulting André Harms, answers
questions on how buildings are handed over, and how they
can remain environmentally responsible, well-functioning
and efficient. “It’s a little more nuanced than some of the
poster children of a few of the difficulties we face in South
Africa, such as water constraints and the very acute energy
crisis,” he says. “However, the indoor environments that we
find ourselves in for so many hours a day shape our physical
and mental health. They influence our productivity, and
many other aspects of human development and human life.”
To prove high levels of compliance, a skilled commissioning
agent is pivotal.
VERIFICATION AND HANDOVER is process-driven,
and aims at saving resources like energy and water, and
creating an environment for happier, healthier and more
productive staff. There are three aspects.
3A: VERIFICATION AND HANDOVER requires teams to
design, build and test systems within a building to meet the
owners’ requirements and to ensure that it is functional in all its
operating conditions. “It’s based on international best practice
guidelines, deriving from the American Society of Heating,
Ventilation, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
and from the UK equivalent, the Chartered Institution of
Building Services Engineers (CIBSE),” says Harms. Instead
of just “flipping a switch at the end”, the goal is to show
the advancement of principles such as functionality, quality
efficiency, maintainability, accessibility and commissionability
throughout the project development cycle.
Yogesh Gooljar, sustainability consultant, partner and
director at PJC + Partners, and task-team member, says:
“It’s about making sure the process is robust through its
documentation so that information is not lost across the
various stakeholders in a building’s cradle-to-grave life;
someone responsible to ensure that the process is being
PROUDLY TAKING
FORWARD
DEEP DIVE:
Responsible & Healthy
With the launch of the New Build V2 tool
launch fast approaching, we examine the
next two categories on the list.
WORDS Marlinée Fouché
Centring mostly around the well-being of
building occupants and system processes,
the Responsible and Healthy categories will
not only transform the market and increase
workforce productivity, but will also result in saving on
resources like water and energy.
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POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 25
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