15 years of Green Building

Celebrating 15 years of the GBCSA, a group consisting of built environment professionals, developers and other members, plus key role players in the founding and management of the GBCSA in the earlier years.

15 years of

Green Building

The Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. It is one of about 70 members of the World Green Building Council (WGBC) and part of a vibrant network.

The 15th birthday was celebrated in October with appropriate fanfare in Gauteng and Cape Town. TO BUILD’s editor had the privilege of being invited to participate in the Cape Town event, consisting of tours within the metropole of recently rated and exceptional Green Star-rated properties, beginning and ending at the V&A Waterfront, where we were hosted.

The CEO of GBCSA, Lisa Reynolds, explained that over the 15 years the organisation had achieved 905 certifications in Africa, across the Green Star, Net Zero, EWP and EDGE certifications.

"In the last year alone 165 buildings were certified which reflects the exponential growth in the adoption of more sustainable building practices.

"The impact of our 905 certifications can be illustrated through the energy and water savings and carbon reductions achieved as a result of the measures required to achieve the certification. Ninety-one thousand five hundred households worth of annual energy (1 320 million kWh/annum), and 1 220 million litres of potable drinking water will be saved annually, which equates to 1 672 800 people’s daily drinking water needs every year. The 1 590 million kgCO2/annum that will be saved equates to 395 400 cars off the roads every year in terms of kgCO2 equivalent,” she said.

Shortly following the 15-year celebrations came the annual Green Building Convention, held in Century City.

“Our theme for the 15th Green Building Convention – The REGeneration – is aimed at ‘shifting years’ and focused on the regeneration we need in the built environment in this decade of accelerated climate action,” said Reynolds to delegates. “It is about building a re-generation of people that move beyond sustainability to building regeneratively towards transforming the built environment for people and the planet to thrive. In this time … the adoption of environmentally responsible practice in the property sector has become mainstream, and the vision of being a driving force in the mitigation of climate change has become a reality. To date, we’ve accredited 2 265 professionals via our training and accreditation programmes with 325 students going through the candidate programme,” she added.

TO BUILD will cover some of the content of that Convention in our March 2023 edition.

Lisa Reynolds