INSIGHT A note from the editor, Mary Anne Constable

It’s now officially the middle of 2021, and the month of the winter solstice (always a milestone towards next summer in my mind). And while many things are opening up, many things are standing still, or going backwards. It seems that the only constant these days is change, and uncertainty. I cannot help but contemplate: What will the next half of 2021 bring? What milestones will we be looking forward to? And what achievements will we be looking back on?

In this wintery edition of +Impact Magazine, we present some green achievements of the commercial property sector. We explore ‘corporate decarbonisation’ in a special feature. Six of South Africa’s big companies reveal their progress on their net-zero carbon journey. It’s a compelling read, which looks not only at the financial side (Nedbank), but also at manufacturing on both a local and international scale (Belgotex and Saint-Gobain), and also dips into healthcare (Netcare).

I cannot help but contemplate: What will the next half of 2021 bring? What milestones will we be looking forward to? And what achievements will we be looking back on?

On to retail with the revitalisation of the Old Cape Quarter in Cape Town’s heritage precinct of De Waterkant. A goldmine for property investors, and now a destination for astute sustainability-minded tenants. The project was recently awarded a 4-Star Green Star Design rating under the Multi-Unit Residential tool, which is a different animal to the usual suite of Green Star tools.

From a new build perspective, the new Courtyard Hotel in the green precinct of Waterfall City, effortlessly blends sustainability with hospitality in a robust hotel offering. On the flip side, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) opted for a major refurbishment of their existing headquarters in Pretoria (instead of a new build), achieving a 4-Star Green Star Office As-built rating. It’s always encouraging to see government organisations embracing green building practices.

Speaking of government, a thought leadership piece from Dr Magash Naidoo of eThekwini Municipality discusses the complexities of developing new policies, in the wake of their recently adopted New Buildings: Green Policy which seeks to aid the municipality in achieving their net zero targets.

A bit of mixed bag of projects but ones that span across different facets of commercial property. And thus, hopefully something to every reader’s delight.

Mary Anne Constable

Editor

www.thepaperarchitect.com