• Climate
    • Climate Change
    • Extreme Weather
    • Mitigation
    • Natural Phenomena
  • Green Living
    • Buildings
    • Farming
    • Food and Drink
    • Holidays
    • Home & Garden
    • Natural Health
    • Personal Journey
    • Shopping
  • Resources
    • Finance
    • Water
      • Fresh Water
      • Oceans
    • Energy
    • Trees
    • Waste
      • Composting
      • Pollution
      • Recycling
      • Reduction
      • Repurpose
      • Reuse
  • Biodiversity
    • Air
    • Water
    • Land
  • Innovation
    • Creativity
    • Design
      • Green Building
    • Science
  • Community
    • Civil Society Work
    • Climate Express
    • Eco Communities
    • Faith communities
    • Gatherings
      • Awards
      • Conferences
      • Expo
    • Green Jobs
    • Vulnerable People
  • Responsibility
    • Calls to Action
    • Business
      • Corporate
      • SME’s
    • Governance
      • Cities & Towns
      • Governments
      • Policy Development
    • Individual
  • Training
    • Books
    • Courses
    • DVD’s & Films
    • Youth
      • Bursaries
      • Challenges
      • Competitions
      • Internships
      • Mentorships
      • Schools

The Green Times

Climate change is the most widespread & complex problem humanity has ever faced! There is no time to waste and we need to turn green talk into profound green action. This is the intention of the GREEN TIMES.

Rise the new world in green buildings

June 26, 2013 Leave a Comment

rise-the-new-world-in-green-buildingGreen building is leading the pack of green innovation in our country with systems and verifications in place to educate, inspire and assist all those who are serious about a more sustainable future.

Green Times attended Accelerate Cape Town’s sustainability forum which offers a think tank for people with innovative green ideas, and shares success stories and learning curves, to implement a long-term vision for sustainability and economic growth in the city of Cape Town.

This months’ Green building meeting was an eye opener into the rapid growth and interest in green buildings in South Africa. Sarah Rushmere of the Green Building Council of South Africa gave some positive feedback about the emerging trend. “Apart from all the environmental benefits like water and energy efficiency, green building has now become a thing of quality.”

People are becoming involved and discussing the latest 5 and 6 Star buildings and even the government is not staying behind either. This month the Department of Environment in Tshwane has launched their new 6 Star accredited green building. In the corporate world it becomes a seal of environmental commitment and corporate responsibility.

Green construction not so pricey after all

Unlike populare opinion, she said the cost of constructing a green building is not substantially higher than to build a standard one. The premium is only 1.5% to 4% higher which, in the long term, is not a high cost differential. It is all about managing supplies, generating a clever design and good teamwork. There are now 1000 South African companies who are members of the Green Building Council, 35 certified green buildings in SA, 80 pending for certification and 600 Green Star Accredited Professionals country wide. No wonder the numbers of green certifications are taking off!

There are also social and economic dimensions being ascribed to the term green, and green building incorporates people and economic growth. The new Allan Gray building on the V&A Waterfront site and the Cape Verde Hotel are examples of green projects that not only focused on environmental sustainability, but also undertake to lift the economy and the local community.

allan gray building

Mark Noble, V&A Waterfront Project Manager, and Michael Smith, Allan Gray’s Development Manager, shared their insights and challenges with designing and building the new Allan Gray offices at the Waterfront (artist impressions above come from this info booklet). Here is a unique partnership between the property owner and the tenant collaborating for a greener future and the start of green leasing.

“We agreed to construct a building that was slightly more energy efficient, in order to leave the planet in a slightly better place than if they didn’t do it,” said Mark. They concluded that “sustainability here is not sustainability there,” therefore sustainability is context related to each country, province or city. What works for one site may not work for another.

They travelled overseas and learnt from existing buildings, particularly taking note of what didn’t work. They also stuck to the basics and used tried and tested methods that were more reliable and actually worked.

“Allan Gray understands the term green to mean environmentally and socially responsible, as well as financially viable. It is about our reputation,” said Mark.

Hotel-Verde-Cape-Town-green-airport

Impressive tech of Africa’s greenest hotel

Andre Harms, consultant with EcoSolution Consulting, shared their journey of building Africa’s Greenest Hotel, the Cape Verde (artist impression above), situated near the airport. The project was approached via their three pillars of sustainability: construction, technology and operation. They went the extra mile to grab the title of the “greenest and most sustainable hotel in Africa,” and ventured into unchartered territories to produce energy even from the gravitational pull of the elevators to making boreholes and ground source heat pumps.

The technology is astounding! Incorporated into the guests’ stay are incentives to reuse and live green, and sustainability awareness is promoted in all aspects. Cape Verde is now pursuing ambitious credentials such as LEED’s Building Design and Construction certification and the Heritage Environmental Management certification.

Sarah Ward, City of Cape Town’s Head of Energy and Climate Change spoke about future green buildings as well as retrofitting existing buildings. Sally-Anne Kesner from Jaffres & Green introduced Eco-Standard, the South African tool to assess the green claims of building product. Eco-Standard perform onsite verification audits to investigate materials from origin to end of life, then mark them with a “seal of quality” valid for one year, before the process of assessment is repeated.

Aurecon engineer, Ryan Alexander, explained that management post construction of a green building is as important as the green design, and the administrators must understand the system. Each green building also works within its own context. The unique environment of a specific structure must be considered before commencing design and construction.

The steady increase of interest in Green Building promises a greener future for South Africa and provides hope for all of us who are concerned about escalating climate change. Buildings account for over 30% of energy related carbon emissions worldwide; hence it is encouraging to see a constructive shift towards responsible building in our country.

By Soninke Combrinck

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • More
  • Email
  • Print
  • Pinterest

Related stories

tgt_bottom_banner_border_two_frames

Leave a Reply or Follow Cancel reply

Welcome to SA\s green news portal

Events

  1. W12 Congress

    January 27, 2020 @ 8:00 am - January 31, 2020 @ 5:00 pm
  2. African Marine Waste Network Conference

    April 20, 2020 @ 8:00 am - April 24, 2020 @ 5:00 pm

View All Events

Facebook feed

9 hours ago
Make no mistake: Agriculture alone has the potential to reboot the economy

In the given economic scenario, my understanding is that only agriculture can reboot the economy, sustain millions of livelihoods, and at the same time substantially reduce global warming.

Agriculture, food and trade policy expert Devinder Sharma writes: “My understanding is that only agriculture can reboot the economy, sustain millions of livelihoods, and reduce global warming.”

View on facebook
11 hours ago
Global Impotent-Old-Man-Rage Levels Rise By 3 Metres After Thunberg Named Person Of The Year

Like a tsunami of fetid masculinity washing over the beachhead of bare minimum progress, old man rage levels crested at record highs today, following the news that Greta Thunberg has been named Time magazine’s Person (Who Owned All Of The Blatantly Backwards Asses) Of The Year. ... See more

Like a tsunami of fetid masculinity washing over the beachhead of bare minimum progress, old man rage levels crested at record highs today, following the news that Greta Thunberg had been named Tim…

View on facebook
16 hours ago
Eco-Logic Awards 2020 calling on all eco champions

Hosted by the Enviropaedia, the 9th annual Eco-Logic Awards ceremony will be held in 2020. The awards recognise South African communities or government institutions; business projects, services or …

View on facebook
20 hours ago
Help Elma get more signatures

Now is our time! Please share far and wide...

Europe’s about to propose a Green Deal that could become THE game changer we need to tackle the climate crisis. But fossil fuel lobbyists are out to derail it -- let’s show it has massive global support! ... ... See more

View on facebook
« ‹ 1 of 3 › »
  •      ECO DIRECTORY
    • Accommodation
    • Animals
    • Building
    • Cleaning
    • Clothing
    • Cosmetics
    • Electronics
    • Energy
      • Saving
      • Solar
    • Financial Services
    • Food/Farming
    • Gardening
    • Government
    • Health
    • Office
    • Publications
    • Restaurants
    • Supermarkets
    • Training
    • Transport
    • Trees
    • Waste
      • Composting
      • Recycling
    • Water
    • Web Services
fair game
PETCO
Foster And Welsh
Plastics SA
Cape Pulpit Radio
2012-giving-thanks-for-environmental-wins
CONTRIBUTE HERE
Do you like what we do? Would you like to help keep this work afloat with a small monthly contribution? Join as a member and let's do it together.
nedbank-plays-pivotal-role-in-sas-first-green-bond
BECOME A SPONSOR
Doing good is good for business. We rely on corporate CSI and philanthropic support to drive sustainability mainstream, where it belongs.
  • ABOUT GREEN TIMES
    • Our Ethos
    • Our Intention
  • Support
    • Editorial
    • Sales
    • Contributions
  • Journalist Training
  • Feedback from Our Clients
  • Newsfeed Archive
JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORKS
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
JOIN OUR MONTHLY NEWSFEED
Like our work? Please help Subscribe-now

      · Copyright © 2011–2019 All rights reserved · GREEN TIMES +2721 855 0518 · Design & Admin - THE GREEN TIMES ·

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.