Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa April 2016 | Page 48

GREEN CONSTRUCTION

Green
Living
and the psychology of change
BY ETTIENE PRETORIUS, MARI-LOUIS & CHARINE ELS

I

n an ideal world we would all have realized by this
time that we needed to change our consumerist
nature in order for our planet to be able to sustain
us. But we haven’t. We have not changed our way of
thinking, and as a result our behavior has stayed the
same. We still use as much as we want, when we want,
because we can - whether or not it makes sense to do
so in the long run, or not.

While that is definitely a viable approach we’re
already starting to implement, true behavioural
change is an incredibly complex concept. With that
in mind, it’s worth looking into other dynamics
of change that could have a significant impact on
the speed at which South Africans embrace a more
sustainable way of living.

A quick recap

The South African government is already forcing
new commercial buildings to be built according to
strict green standards, seeing as they put a significant
amount of pressure on our resources. But what’s the
next step?
Established residential developments obviously
can’t be instantly and completely converted to be
more sustainable. However, it might be time to put a
reasonable, permanent restriction on how much water
and electricity a household should be using, with an

In the previous issue we looked at how it might be
possible to cheat South Africans into converting
their homes to be greener. By offering consumers
an affordable UPS system that satisfies their need
to evade load shedding, we can coax them into
converting household appliances to more energy
efficient versions. The consumer’s immediate needs
are met, the solution doesn’t break the bank, AND
homes become greener versions of their former selves.
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APRIL 2016 SA Real Estate Investor

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