South African property investment company Redefine Properties has been awarded Green Star Existing Building Performance (EBP) certification. The certification is accredited by the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA).
This is a first for South Africa. Property developer Redefine Properties has achieved Green Star Existing Building Performance (EBP) certification from the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) for 40 of its buildings. The properties are located in the Western Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Limpopo and Gauteng. These assets comprise retail, office and industrial buildings across South Africa, as well as retail and logistics investments in Poland.
The EBP certification Redefine achieves for its buildings is designed to optimise the operations and environmental performance of the facilities. For the certification of Redefine’s buildings, GBCSA conducted indoor environmental quality testing to recognise the monitoring and control of indoor pollutants and to help maintain the comfort and well-being of its occupants. Most importantly, as part of this process, the energy and water consumption of each building is compared to other buildings of the same type to encourage the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the burden on water and wastewater systems associated with energy use in building operations.
Promoting green mobility
Among the criteria for EBP Green Star certification are the implementation of a green mobility plan to encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation to and from work, and the development and implementation of a green procurement plan to encourage and guide asset and facility management teams to select the most sustainable products available on the market.
Read also- BOTSWANA: Prime Plaza awarded “Green Star” label for its green construction
“EBP certifications go well beyond energy and water performance management to encompass a much broader and holistic approach to sustainability management at the operational level. As such, they represent an owner’s and property manager’s commitment to a wide range of sustainability issues,” explains Georgina Smit, GBCSA’s Technical Manager.
The GBCSA assessment is valid for a period of 3 years. Among the 40 buildings recently certified are 16 renewals of EBP certification for offices and 24 new EBP certifications. These certified properties have a value of 75.3 billion South African rand, over $5 billion. “This is the highest number of Green Star EBP certifications achieved by a single property owner to date,” says the GBCSA.
Jean Marie Takouleu
