Green Building Council South Africa celebrates its 15th anniversary. Its pioneering transformation of the South African property sector has yielded significant results that have driven measurable impact not only in terms of certifications but also in training, accreditation, job creation and climate change mitigation. +Impact Magazine extends a heartfelt Happy Birthday to GBCSA. We wish you many, many more successes such as the ones accomplished in your first 15 years.

There is a growing consensus in the built environment that there is a “regeneration gap” in building and that we urgently need to expand our thinking on sustainability to thinking regeneratively when we look to the future of green building. The regeneration movement is about building a re-generation of people that moves beyond sustainability towards transforming the built environment for people and planet to thrive. +Impact speaks to the plenary speakers of the 2022 GBCSA Convention.

In this issue of +Impact, we look at The Precinct Unity building, which is the first development in Mauritius to achieve a 5-Star Green Star office design rating from GBCSA. It’s also the highest-rated green office development in the Indian Ocean Islands region (page 40). And we showcase the Waterfall Corporate Campus.

We also look at a South African first for the continent and unpack the innovative ecodistricts concept that is developing collective, sustainable planning on a neighbourhood scale.

The goal of net-zero waste in building operations is to eliminate operational waste and to ensure that all waste is repurposed or recycled. It embodies the concept of circular economies that forms part of our definition of what it is to be sustainable. The question is, what solutions are available to building management that ultimately divert 100% of solid waste away from landfill?

Industrious and thriving local economic activities are bound together by the network of buildings near and far. GBCSA’s Existing Building Performance rating tool has been customised for industrial buildings, potentially decreasing the cost of doing business and increasing the economic benefits.

Enjoy this issue +Impact Magazine!

Alexis Knipe
Editor