Getting the EDGE on green building

I was delighted to attend EDGE’s10-year celebration recently and reflect on how far we have come since our first EDGE-certified project in 2015, a culmination of GBCSA’s partnership with IFC in launching Excellent Design for Greater Efficiencies to the South African market. GBCSA is a proud partner in EDGE’s explicitly global southern story. In South Africa, it has provided a strong solution for the certification of housing, especially high-density residential development. It also secures an immediate path to getting good green design into the lives of the group who, arguably, need it most: those who live in affordable and subsidised housing.

To date, we have certified over 21 000 constructed green homes through the EDGE programme in South Africa, and Africa. We have approximately another 65 000 units in the pipeline of being verified to meet the EDGE standard. These multi-unit residential developments are designed to meet specific energy- and water-efficiency requirements, which in turn saves an owner or tenant on monthly utility bills.

In fact, a recent UCT study found that an average home loan term could be reduced by as much as five years with the anticipated utility savings from EDGE-certified housing! (See Dr Saul Nurick’s article on this topic in +Impact issue 28.)

Kikuyu Waterfall City in Midrand recently received EDGE certification – a first for Balwin Properties.

EDGE-certified Illovo Country Estate on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast offers housing in lush surrounds at affordable rentals.

A MUTUALLY INCLUSIVE WIN

I am inspired by the work done in greening the South African residential sector because it demonstrates that affordable and sustainable housing is possible. South Africa now has multiple EDGE-certified residential projects to prove that these two vital outcomes do not need to be positioned against each other. For a country that needs over 2 million homes still to be delivered, the compounded importance of this mutual inclusivity cannot be overstated.

Through IFC financing, major banks have provided incentives for certified green buildings.

Partnership has played a large role on this journey. The GBCSA in-house EDGE Team – Technical Manager Dash Coville and EDGE Technical Specialist Ann-Mari Nel – and I have worked extensively with the IFC team. Together we support projects and on-board newcomers to the sustainability journey.

Green building consultants have also been part of this extended team as they expand their skill sets by becoming EDGE Auditors. Lastly, through IFC financing, major banks have provided incentives for certified green buildings, supporting the creation of a more favourable investment environment for green.

Dare I say that the last 10 years has seen us kept on the edge of our seats? I can’t wait for the next decade of EDGE driving resource savings with the IFC, as well as the green community, championing change on projects.