Green building practices are nothing new; the world is starting to buy into the concept as society’s awareness for sustainable living slowly becomes a reality

More and more frequently, I am reminded of how the speed of technological developments in all spheres of life today – combined with the need to live, work and play greener and smarter – is fast creating a version of that world I once saw in the movie, Back To The Future.

Growing up, my imagination was fuelled by films like this one: What gadgets and transportation systems would we be using in our future? Would we be travelling on hover boards, or travelling in vehicles that hovered, rather than drove?

Would we be eating food that went into the microwave in the form of a tablet, and that came out as a hot, three-course gourmet meal?

Would we be in one place, and in another in a second – through some “Beam me up, Scotty” network?

I imagined our cities, commercial buildings and homes to be futuristic in design: unusually shaped yet aerodynamically designed, sleek, incredibly tall, made more from glass and other durable materials rather than concrete, marble or stone – literally out of this world.

However, what seemed out of the world then, is very much becoming a part of our world today.

The impact we have on the environment – how we use materials and natural resources that affect our carbon footprint – is part of our environmental consciousness, and a major part of how our world will be constructed in the future.

For the purpose of this article, we look at construction – green building practices, to be more specific – in other countries to see where we as South Africans are able to follow suit and where there is investment potential.

A definition of “green building” will set the foundation going forward. Green building, or sustainable construction, is defined as such according to Wikipedia: “Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to a structure; and using a process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and demolition. This practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability and comfort.”

Today, technologies are created at a rapid pace, ensuring processes are continually developed to keep practices current in creating greener buildings.

Essentially, “The common objective is that green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by:

• efficiently using energy, water and other resources;

• protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity; and

• reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation.” (Wikipedia)

In the United States, green or sustainable buildings and homes are becoming a key selling point for real estate agencies and property developers. People are starting to understand the link between cosmopolitan and sustainable living more so than they did before, which probably has more to do with how the economic situation affected people – driving the industry to look at cheaper and more sustainable means of building.

Bob Lindal, the president of one of the largest providers of custom cedar homes in the US, said about the economic recovery that it is the catalyst for the green building sector, and that “this emerging recovery is into a fundamentally changed world with new long-term priorities in housing.”

According to him, future homes will become more energy-efficient, alleviating the high costs of energy usage.

People will put more value on smartly designed, naturally lit and well-ventilated commercial buildings and homes than those that do not embrace these elements.

Furthermore, people are drawn to simpler and more effective designs than of old, and the materials used will be sustainable and used more efficiently
than before.

Green buildings are cheaper. By making smart decisions in the design phase, one can drastically reduce energy consumption. By strategically placing windows where there is natural light, the need for artificial light is drastically reduced. Architects are designing spaces that provide optimal heating or cooling through proper ventilation for the commercial space or home.

An added bonus is that living and working in sustainable and green spaces is a healthier option; and working in green buildings has proven to provide far more productive results.

Green building in South Africa

In previous editions of Opportunity, materials used for green building have been explored. One such natural resource is the controversial plant, hemp, which has some extraordinary properties and bears mentioning once again.

It can be used in the manufacture of fuel, clothing, paper, biodegradeable plastics and textiles, but also for building. In fact, the first hemp house has recently been built in Noordhoek, a seaside town in Cape Town.

The reason behind building the house was to convince the South African government that there really is a difference between hemp and marijuana.

The materials used for the furniture, according to TakePart.com, are 85% hemp.

Unfortunately, because the hemp materials had to be imported, the carbon footprint was not as low as it could have been, and it really is because the government has not taken into consideration the enormous benefits of using this material for housing the poor – housing that would be far cheaper, more durable and sustainable for those in rural areas.

Other positives to the hemp house on the hills of Noordhoek are that heating and cooling is passive through the large windows around the house, and all the water – be it black or grey – is recycled for other usage.

Vodacom, one of South Africa’s cellphone service provider giants, is also going green. Parent company, Vodafone, a global cellphone network firm, has major plans to create one of Africa’s greenest buildings as Vodafone plans an alternative energy innovation centre that will help to reduce carbon emissions across the globe.

Once the building is complete, it will house technicians and experts whose sole aim is to find alternative and efficient energy technology, from which the Vodafone Group would benefit, as would the rest of the world. The point of this exercise is to reduce the carbon footprint of its operations.

In South Africa, green buildings are rated according to a rating system called the Green Star, which makes use of a rating tool that sets a standard against which all buildings are assessed to ascertain how “green” they are. A points system is based on how many of the measures have been met in making the building green.

“The innovation centre will be one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the entire Vodafone Group, powered with renewable energy using cooling and heating technologies,” says Vodacom’s chief executive officer, Pieter Uys. “We are working with the Green Building Council of South Africa to ensure the building is accredited according to the Green Star rating system.”

The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) became the 13th member council of the World Green Building Council – the global co-ordinating body for national green building councils, which governs green building practices across the world.

The GBCSA’s sole purpose is to transform the property market by informing developers, architects and builders of latest developments for building greener commercial buildings and homes.

It aims to: “Promote, encourage and facilitate green building in the South African property and construction industry through market-based solutions, by:

• promoting the practice of green building in the commercial property industry;

• facilitating the implementation of green building practice by acting as a resource centre,

• enabling the objective measurement of green building practices by developing and operating a green building rating system; and

• improving the knowledge and skills base of green building in the industry by enabling and offering training and education.”

The GBCSA has a green building rating tool. According to its website, this “sets standards and benchmarks for green building, and enables an objective assessment to be made as to how ‘green’ a building is.

“The rating system sets out a ‘menu’ of all the green measures that can be incorporated into a building to make it green. Points are awarded to a building according to which measures have been incorporated and, after appropriate weighting, a total score is arrived at, which determines the rating.”

To achieve certification, building owners submit documentation to the GBCSA, which employs independent assessors to assess the submission and score the building. “Certification is awarded for 4-Star, 5-Star or 6-Star Green Star SA ratings,” states the GBCSA website.

The Council will be holding its annual Green Building Conference from 26 to 28 October 2011, where industry decision-makers and interested parties will have the opportunity to gain knowledge and share in experiences about green building practices from authoritative voices, captains of industry and the like.

This may be the biggest authoritative body leading the green era in South Africa; however, if one assesses how big “going green in the construction industry” has become abroad, South Africa lags far behind.

A few major players that contribute significantly to the economy have chosen to go green, but it would do some good for the rest to work quicker to become sustainable and to help South Africa become as green as the rest of the world.

For more information, visit: www.gbcsa.org.za.

Tracee Harvard