Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa September/October 2014 | Page 61

If You Think Green
Building Doesn’t
Impact You, it’s
Time to Think Again

G

reen building’s influence and
importance reaches far beyond the
construction industry. It is a critical
intersection for many disciplines as
it plays a key role in our economy,
the latest trends, our mobility and
enjoyment of public spaces and, in fact, just about
everything. Moreover, it is providing innovative
solutions to many of Africa’s biggest challenges.
Building green is an opportunity to use resources
efficiently and address climate change while creating
healthier and more productive environments for
people and communities.
The Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA)
leads the transformation of the South African property
industry to ensure that buildings are designed, built
and operated in an environmentally sustainable way.
The construction and building industry is responsible
for 40% of solid waste generation, 12% fresh water
consumption and buildings consume 40% of our
energy generated making buildings one of the main
contributors to climate change.
Conservationist, Braam Malherbe, a speaker at
this year’s Green Building Convention, was the first to
run the length of the Great Wall of China with running
partner David Grier and a speaker at this year’s Green
Building Convention. Malherbe takes the view that
everything we do should have a distinctly green focus.
Green Building

“The single greatest threat facing humanity’s
survival is climate change,” says Braam. “I’m not
holding my breath in expecting governments to
ensure legislation is urgently implemented to mitigate
climate change. I do however remain optimistic. More
and more ethical choices are being made in the
corporate sector, especially in the property industry
and I applaud the pioneering work being done.”
Innovator, creative thinker, trend analyst
and a returning speaker at the GBCSA’s annual
convention, Dion Chang, considers sustainability a
key consideration for tracking trends for the future.
“What’s happening with issues of sustainability is just
as important as pop culture or socio-political and
socio-economic issues. They’re all interconnected.
Understanding eco trends, especially, maps the way
forward into a new world order,” he says.
Addressing both the need discussed by Malherbe
and the trends mentioned by Chang, GBCSA CEO
Brian Wilkinson, affirms, “Green building offers
a distinct opportunity to mobilise and educate
communities around sustainable building practices.
Green, sustainable practices provide a unique
opportunity to mobilise, change and reap the
rewards of that change. Locally, the GBCSA has long
advocated building high performance buildings as
a necessity in African cities, where power shortages
and infrastructure breaks threaten to destabilise areas
61