Official publication of Green
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IMPACT 22
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POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 22
4
OUR EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
5
EDITOR’S NOTE
6
COLUMN
Note from GBCSA Chairman
8
MAKE AN IMPACT
Industry news and snippets
12
SUPERIOR INSIGHT IN INTERIOR DESIGN
The Liberty Two Degrees Innovation Hub is far from ordinary
20
TRANSFORMING TOMORROW
All you need to know about the revised Green Star New Buildings rating tool
28
THE WINNING EDGE
Rubicon’s new headquarters are state of the art
38
CHANGING THE FACE OF GREEN DESIGN IN ZAMBIA
First Capital Bank’s Green Star rated building is a trendsetter amongst its peers
44
A RENEWABLE FUTURE AHEAD FOR GOVERNMENT PROPERTIES
The Integrated Renewable Energy and Resource EfÏciency Programme
48
FIFTY YEARS FORWARD
A thought leadership article by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
54
LIVING LIFE ON THE EDGE
Aurum Zimbali Lakes, KwaZulu-Natal’s newest development, is future ready
to meet the demands of the next generation
59
GREEN BUILDING MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGIES
60
FIVE WAYS GREEN BUILDINGS SAVE WATER
64
GREEN GLOBE
Implications of innovation
performance and value from start to finish.
POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 22
Consulting Engineers South Africa
Professional Membership Partners
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any way or in any form without the prior written permission of the Publisher. The opinions expressed herein are not
necessarily those of the GBCSA or the Publisher. All editorial and advertising contributions are accepted on the understanding that the contributor either owns or has obtained all necessary copyrights and
permissions. GBCSA and the Publisher do not endorse any claims made in the publication by or on behalf of any organisations or products. Please address any concerns in this regard to the Publisher.
Chief Executive OfÏcer
Lisa Reynolds
Finance & Operations and
Executive Director
Levinia Palmer
Editor
Alexis Knipe
alexis@greeneconomy.media
Director
Danielle Solomons
dani@positive-impact.africa
Editorial Contributors
Marlinée Fouché
Melinda Hardisty
Nicole Cameron
Editorial Assistant
Melanie Taylor
GBCSA Editorial Advisory
Georgina Smit
Jenni Lombard
Jo Anderson
Dash Coville
Anja Thompson
Ann-Mari Malan
Design and Layout
Carla Lawrence, CDC Design
Media Sales
Tanya Duthie
Glenda Kulp
Vania Reyneke
Cover photograph
The Rubicon headquarters
The official publication of GBCSA
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CALLING ALL THOUGHT LEADERS
+Impact Magazine, the ofÏcial publication of the GBCSA, presents thought leadership from local and international green building commentators and
practitioners, and showcases the excellent work of GBCSA members. Are you a thought leader in your relevant field? GBCSA members are invited to
submit stories about projects, design concepts, materials, research and anything else that promotes a healthy sustainable built environment. Submit a
100-word description of your content idea to: editor@positive-impact.africa
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IMPACT
POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 22
JUTTA BERNS
Jutta Berns is an industry leader and one of South Africa’s first internationally accredited
green building professionals, establishing her company Ecocentric in 2007. She has degrees
from the Universities of Bonn (Germany) and Cambridge (UK), and a diverse blue-chip client
base. Berns specialises in sustainable and net-zero solutions for large property portfolios.
She has several LEED Platinum and 6-Star Green Star projects in her portfolio, is a GBCSA
faculty member, a Green Star Assessor and GBCSA TAG member, and winner of the Gauteng
Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 Award by the Women’s Property Network and 2019 winner of
the Established Green Star Awards by the GBCSA.
BOB VAN BEBBER
Bob van Bebber, a senior director at Boogertman + Partners spearheads the conceptualisation
and delivery of many of the practices’ large complex projects. From Soccer City, the main
stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, to large mixed-use precincts as well as the largest
single tenanted corporate head ofÏce in the southern hemisphere for Discovery Health.
He was recently recognised by the South African Professional Awards as the winner of the
Professional of the Year: Architecture Class Award as well as the Overall Professional of the
Year for 2019. Van Bebber’s passion extends into urban design, interior design and education.
GRAHAME CRUICKSHANKS
Grahame Cruickshanks has worked as a professional architect, sustainability consultant and
management consultant with 20 years of experience in the design, construction and property
industry. Focusing much of his career on green buildings and an expert in his field, he has worked
on a variety of Green Star and BREEAM certified projects and other building projects in South
Africa, Singapore and the UK. Prior to joining Growthpoint Properties as the head of sustainability
and utilities, Cruickshank’s previous roles included managing executive for market engagement
at the GBCSA and manager at EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services.
MARLOES REININK
Marloes Reinink is owner of Solid Green Consulting. With an academic background in
innovation and architecture, she has been working as a sustainable building consultant for
more than 15 years in South Africa and Africa. She founded Solid Green in 2010, which is one
of the leading sustainability consultancies in Africa and achieved its 100th green building
certification in October 2020. Reinink’s passion is advocating for a greener built environment
and she recently started GreenED, an online education platform for sustainability in the
sector. Reinink is an ambassador for the International Living Future Institute; a Living Future
accredited professional; and a facilitator of the SA Collaborative Network for a Living Future.
MANFRED BRAUNE
Braune currently holds the position of Director: Environmental Sustainability at the
University of Cape Town (UCT), where he leads the strategy and implementation of
environmental sustainability across all spheres of the university since early 2019. He has
also served as a non-executive director of GBCSA in a voluntary role since August 2020.
Braune’s background is as a professional engineer, having worked at WSP Group for over
10 years as a consulting engineer, where he then started and led WSP’s green building
business for three years and then worked for the GBCSA for 10 years.
www.boogertmanandpartners.com
www.boogertmanandpartners.com
www.growthpoint.co.za
www.growthpoint.co.za
www.ecocentric.co.za
www.ecocentric.co.za
www.solidgreen.co.za
www.solidgreen.co.za
https://www.uct.ac.za/main/explore-uct/sustainability
https://www.uct.ac.za/main/explore-uct/sustainability
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
EDITOR’S NOTE
n the 2023 Budget Speech and in recognition of government’s role in
encouraging adaptation and mitigation, Minister Godongwana announced
two tax measures to encourage businesses and individuals to invest in
renewable energy and increase electricity generation.
From 1 March 2023, businesses will be able to reduce their taxable income
by 125% of the cost of an investment in renewables. There will be no thresholds
on the size of the projects that qualify, and the incentive will be available for
two years to stimulate investment in the short term.
Secondly, a new tax incentive for the installation of rooftop solar panels was
introduced: individuals who install rooftop solar panels from 1 March 2023 will
be able to claim a rebate of 25% of the cost of the panels up to a maximum of
R15 000. This can be used to reduce their tax liability in the 2023/24 tax year
(for this period only).
Government will guarantee solar-related loans for small and medium
enterprises on a 20% first-loss basis through the Energy Bounce Back Scheme
that will be launched by National Treasury in April 2023.
The minister spoke about the considerable risks that climate change poses
to sustainable economic growth in South Africa. We are among the most
water-scarce countries in the world, and recent events have shown that extreme
weather events such as floods, heatwaves and drought are occurring more often.
Don’t miss Five ways green buildings save water on page 60.
Infrastructure investments lay the foundation for inclusive and sustainable
growth; they address supply-side constraints and expand access to basic
services. Overall, the public sector is projected to spend R903-billion on
infrastructure over the medium-term. Most of this, around R448-billion,
will be spent by state-owned companies, public entities and through public-
private partnerships.
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is the largest property
owner in South Africa, spending up to R8-billion in water, electricity and waste
expenditure each year. The Integrated Renewable Energy and Resource EfÏciency
Programme (iREREP) is the public sector’s renewable energy plan. It has up
to 320MW of clean energy procured per annum and will attract private sector
capital investment of between an initial R120-billion and R253-billion to 2050.
With sustainability embedded into its strategy, being a responsible business
is at the heart of Liberty Two Degrees’ (L2D) purpose. “Through our strategic
building block Good Spaces, which aims to minimise the impact of our assets
on the environment, we have various initiatives in place to reduce our impact,
contributing to our green building strategy,” says Brian Unsted, L2D asset
management executive and head of Good Spaces (page 12).
Best practices, and the certifications that standardise them, need to continuously
push boundaries for the built environment to consistently achieve better levels
of performance. And so, the process of assembling a task force to advance the
existing GBCSA Green Star New Buildings tool started in late 2021. The New
Build V2 is aimed at Transforming Tomorrow (page 20).
GBCSA partnered with International Finance Corporation to facilitate
certification using the EDGE tool in Africa. The tool was developed to provide
scaleable green building standards through an online software platform. In this
issue, we feature KwaZulu-Natal’s development Aurum Zimbali Lakes which
applied for EDGE certification (page 54) and Rubicon’s new headquarters
designed to qualify for an EDGE Advanced Certification (page 30).
What are the processes, digital tools and advancements that will change
the way we occupy and build cities 50 years from now? Turn to page 58 for a
glimpse into the future.
Transform tomorrow!
Alexis Knipe
Editor
Transforming Tomorrow
POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 22
MEET THE GBCSA CHAIRMAN
Brian Unsted is an asset management executive and drives “Good Spaces” at Liberty
Two Degrees. Unsted has over 25 years of experience in the South African property
industry with a particular focus on extracting value from South Africa’s most iconic
mixed-use properties. Unsted’s role includes ensuring the implementation of
sustainability interventions to propel towards the set net-zero strategies in the waste,
water and carbon space.
In 2014, he co-authored a book called Sandton Places – a guide to the hidden gems,
corners and destinations of northern Johannesburg, while providing both the history
and future insights of Sandton.
Chair’s
Corner
COLUMN
POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 22
I
am writing this chairman’s note while flying from Cape Town to Johannesburg
after a great business trip in the Mother City. It has been incredible to experience
the vibe and energy of what’s happening in Cape Town currently. Dining at the
magnificent V&A Waterfront on Monday night, it was difÏcult to believe that
it was indeed a Monday. I noticed two cruise liners docked in the harbour no doubt
boosting trade.
Cape Town is hosting the Formula E “E-Prix” in Green Point this weekend, and is
also a stop-over point for the Ocean Race, adding to the hustle and bustle. The city
appears to be shouting out that it is indeed open for business.
On the topic of business, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented the
2023 national fiscus budget today [22 February]. There were a few notable parts of his
presentation for me in the context of this issue of +Impact:
• It was good to see an entire section devoted to climate change.
• The Just Energy Transition featured strongly. There is a significant amount of
work to be done to ensure an equitable transition in a resource-rich economy such
as South Africa’s. The Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (what a mouthful)
has a R1.5-trillion investment allocated over the next five years.
• Of course, the energy sector was highlighted with comments made on how to
improve the power supply shortage. South Africa faces the difÏcult challenge
of trying to rapidly improve our energy supply to stimulate economic growth
and drive the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while simultaneously having to
transition to clean energy away from fossil fuels.
• Welcome tax relief was announced for businesses and individuals investing in
solar systems.
+Impact 22 has some great reading context, including news on GBCSA’s New Build
Tool Update. The original tool was relevant at the time, but as the sustainability
industry in the built environment has matured, targets need to be further challenged
and the rating criteria required fine-tuning. The updated tool is more appropriate for
2023 and beyond.
I am extremely proud to have been personally involved with the Six-Star Green
Star interiors V1 rating of Liberty Two Degrees’ wonderful new ofÏce space in the
Nelson Mandela Square West Towers in the heart of Sandton. The ofÏce space was
transformed from a rather drab and difÏcult space into an incredible workspace that
occupants can enjoy, and where creativity is encouraged and productivity optimised.
The design approach was centred around people and usage of space.
This issue also reports on the EDGE Advanced certification at the Rubicon head
ofÏce in Richmond Park. Well done to all involved with this achievement.
It is always great to receive news of what is happening in the sustainability space in
the rest of the African continent. First Capital Bank Project in Lusaka has achieved a
5-Star Green Star OfÏce Design v1.1 rating.
The largest owner of real estate in South Africa, the government through the
Department of Public Works has the single greatest opportunity to make a meaningful
difference to the impact that real estate has on the environment by making commitments,
rating buildings and making operational changes and improvements. It is fantastic to
read about the wheels of motion being set in place in government to enable change to
take place through its implementation of the energy efÏciency and resource programme.
I am hopeful that thousands of government employees attend the course and champion
the green cause throughout this significant organisation and owner of immovable assets.
Enjoy reading the latest edition of +Impact.
Brian Unsted
GBCSA Chairman
Brian Unsted.
www.afrisam.com
Creating Concrete Possibilities
THAT’S SUSTAINABILITY, FIRST.
Since our sustainability journey began, we’ve been leading the
way, writing our planet-friendly story one industry f rst at a time.
From becoming the f rst cement manufacturer in Southern Africa
to publish an environmental policy, to modifying our plants to
emit lower CO2 emissions, to introducing a range of green cement
as early as 2000, putting sustainability f rst has been, and always
will be, second nature to us.
1012608
POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 22
Think of a space, what does it look like? How does it make you feel? Is it a memory or an imagined space? GBCSA
is creating a space like no other for its 16th Green Building Convention from 15 November 2023 at the Century City
Conference Centre in Cape Town. Register your interest by email to gbcsa@idna.co.za.
SAVE A SPACE FOR CONVENTION 2023
MAKING AN IMPACT
Leading East African architecture and engineering firm
FBW Group has been appointed to the international team
tasked with delivering the trailblazing Kigali Green City
project in the Rwandan capital.
The transformational development is being hailed as
an important milestone on the road to creating more
sustainable green cities in the region. Its aim is to
demonstrate that building green is “a necessity, not a
luxury” and it will feature a range of initiatives, including
the use of renewable energy, rainwater harvesting,
wastewater management, recycling and reuse of water
and sustainable transport solutions.
The project pilot should deliver 2 000 much-needed
quality homes for the lower-to-middle-income brackets.
Green City Kigali has been envisaged to cover the full
600ha Kinyinya Hill, a suburb of Kigali.
FBW Group, which has ofÏces in Rwanda, Uganda and
Kenya, has been appointed to be the local team on the ground,
delivering the key services of architecture and engineering.
Antje Eckoldt, FBW group director, says: “The pilot
TRANSFORMATIONAL AFRICAN “GREEN CITY” DEVELOPMENT
NEWS
project will lay the ground for the design of quality,
low-carbon and resource efÏcient housing types suitable
for various sites and density conditions and point the way
towards the future for sustainable urban development.
“One of the aims of the project is to combine appropriate
technologies, progressive thinking and the use of local skills
and materials to show that this urban environment has
everything it needs to sustain its community and for people
to live green.” She adds, “At the moment we are exploring
local low-carbon construction methods and materials and
how they can be used to their maximum affect.
“We are also looking at ideas relating to urban farming and
a green economy that will create jobs for existing and new
residents on Kinyinya Hill, all based on low tech processes,
on waste reduction and on circular economy principles.”
FBW is involved in a series of major projects in Rwanda.
Rwanda, including delivering a masterplan for the expansion
of the University of Global Health Equity and working with
the International School of Kigali to create a 21st Century
“green” campus in the Rwandan capital.
01 March 2023 Green Star New Building & Major
Refurbishments Accredited Professional (AP)
08 March 2023 Green Star Existing Building
Performance AP
14 March 2023 Net Zero AP
23 March 2023 Green Star Interiors AP
29 March 2023 Green Star Sustainable Precincts AP
30 March 2023 EDGE Expert Live Workshop
Course name
Description
Price (Incl VAT)
AP New Building / Existing
Building Performance /
Interiors / Sustainable
Precincts / Net Zero
Member
R6 170
Non-member R8 230
Student
R5 560
Individual
R7 000
Edge Expert
Member
R2 930
Non-member R3 660
Student
R2 640
Individual
R3 110
2023 GBCSA WORKSHOP
TRAINING SCHEDULE
Overall masterplan aerial
perspective of the green city.
Character views, town centre.
FCBS