Editor’s Note

With every remarkable achievement by one of our South African green champions – whether building researchers, people in business, women in the built environment, or people in advocacy – the heart of Africa beats a little greener.

Stellenbosch’s Newinbosch Neighbourhood Estate on page 22 poses just such an example of green excellence. Recently awarded a 6-Star Green Star Sustainable Precinct rating, this African first ticks all the sustainability boxes. On top of its additional EDGE certification, the neighbourhood now also boasts its own microgrid to supply residents with renewable energy.

Also on our list of noteworthy projects in this issue is Peak Studios student accommodation in Observatory, Cape Town (page 12). Seamlessly combining its art deco heritage with a new build, this space comes together in an EDGE-certified space that exemplifies sustainable living.

Bolstering Pretoria’s green credentials is the vibrant and sought-after Menlyn Maine Residences development – rated 4-Star Green Star Multi Unit Residential V1 design – which proves there’s a definite market for multi-unit residential apartments in South Africa given the right location, pricing and proximity to amenities – see page 52 for more.

From buildings to their surrounds: sustainable landscaping encompasses important aspects such as the enhancement of natural biodiversity, habitat restoration and the management of outdoor spaces, ensuring minimal harm to the environment. On page 36, we delve into the topic of sustainable landscape design, how it contributes to decarbonisation, and why it’s important to bring in landscape architects early on in a project programme.

“The empowerment of women and girls goes hand in hand with saving the planet,” says World Green Building Council CEO, Cristina Gamboa. In recognition of Women’s Month in August, IFC EDGE’s Green Building Lead for Africa, Lenore Cairncross, highlights the rising need to include women in key sectors with decarbonisation potential – especially in the green building sphere (page 50).

South African real estate has consistently been showing positive returns compared to global markets. Pretoria University’s Dr Danie Hoffmann shows us why in his comprehensive article on the costs and business case of green building in South Africa (page 46) – the result of a joint study between the GBCSA, the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors and the University of Pretoria on our Green Building Cost Premium. These findings are corroborated by the MSCI South Africa Green Annual Property Index 2023 report on page 30.

Adding to the subject of affordability in green building is Sneha Sinha’s thought leadership piece on page 60. Circular Supply Chain Network presents the case for circular construction, based on a seven-phase Circular Economy model that builds on the principles of lean manufacturing and construction, and the feasibility of reusing material while minimising waste.

As a teaser for the 17th annual GBCSA Green Building Convention on 5 – 7 November – themed Zero+ – Net Zero Today, Climate Positive Tomorrow – we spotlight a few of the plenary speakers (page 8) who’ll be sharing their insights and expertise with us to help shape the future of sustainable cities across Africa.
And finally, a reminder that World Green Building Week falls on 9-13 September. This year’s theme is once again #BuildingTheTransition. Visit www.worldgbc.org/wgbw24/ and www.gbcsa.org.za/gbcsa-planet-shapers-events to stay up to date with ways you can get involved in the campaign.

Happy reading!

Mariola Fouché
Editor

Chair’s Corner

As I write, we are still awaiting President Ramaphosa’s cabinet announcement. Having just emerged from national and provincial elections in May, although we anticipated a drop in support for the ruling party, no-one could have predicted the impact that the brand-new KwaZulu-Natal-based party could have had on the outcome of the elections. The shakeup that ensued has resulted in the ruling party forming a Government of National Unity comprising no less than 10 political parties, accounting for almost 70% of the national vote. While it is not exactly clear what this means for South Africa in the long term, the markets certainly approve, and I am hopeful that this translates into policy certainty. Policy certainty that kicks off a positive business cycle inspires confidence in our country – and with that, much needed investment in the future.

One of the spin-offs of the election, albeit a positive one, was a respite in load shedding that the country experienced in the run-up to the elections. Many commentators attributed this to electioneering and that the rolling power cuts would return after the event. Touch wood, it’s been almost a month since voting and we remain free of interrupted power supply – long may it last! Spare a thought for those who have just recently finally installed inverters, batteries and solar panels to cope with what has been our reality for many years.

President Ramaphosa himself denied that it was a “political ploy ahead of the elections” and attributed the improvement to Eskom’s progress in terms of planned maintenance, “unlocking private investment in energy generation, accelerating the procurement of new capacity and supporting rooftop solar”. He dismissed speculation that the improvement was due to Eskom burning diesel in their open-cycle gas turbines without concern for soaring costs.

I am of the opinion that this was not an electioneering ploy but that the energy availability factor improvement is indeed real. We may be seeing the fruits of the maintenance plans, fewer breakdowns from increased and, might I add, appreciated original equipment manufacturers’ (OEM) involvement at Eskom’s plants, combined with the return of some units from both Kusile and Medupi power stations. I have it from a well-placed source in a petroleum company and supplier of diesel to Eskom that our national power utility has been ordering much less diesel than had been the norm. Indeed, Eskom has ordered so little diesel recently that the petroleum company’s revenue budgets due to diesel inventory are coming under pressure.

I think there is also truth in that many in the private sector, long embattled by load shedding, have invested in private power generation, and many independent power producers (IPPs) are starting to come onstream, translating into lower demand for Eskom electricity. Spokesperson at the Office of the President Vincent Magwenya recently announced that “through powerful tax incentives and financing mechanisms, the amount of rooftop solar systems installed by businesses and households has more than doubled to around 5 000MW, helping to reduce demand on the grid”. He added that in December 2023, three further bid windows were released for 7 615MW of new capacity from solar, wind, gas and battery storage, and that seven preferred bidders for the risk mitigation programme have been received: “These projects had begun to connect to the grid, and are alleviating the energy supply shortfall.”

Just recently, my employer signed a power purchase agreement with an energy trading company that will wheel energy from a pool of solar and wind IPPs for some 70% of energy needs. This arrangement was on the back of our shareholders signing a similar agreement, which included a component of energy sourced from a hydroelectric power plant.

It has been a long time since I have been so optimistic, but I think we have begun to turn a corner. To those who’ve only recently invested in inverters, batteries and solar panels, and might not have seen the benefit as there is currently no load shedding, I say thank you – your contribution is reducing the demand on Eskom.