Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa December 14/ January 15 | Page 44

GREEN

REITs

By BRIAN WILKINSON

have a key role to play in
good green business in SA

Sustainable green buildings set to grow into better investments

A

s large owners of commercial property in
South Africa, the SA Real Estate Investment
Trust (REIT) sector has a central role to
play in furthering good green business in the country.
This is according to the Green Building Council of
South Africa (GBCSA), which emphasises that green
building isn’t only good for the environment, but good
for business and the financial performance of property
assets too.
Brian Wilkinson, CEO of the GBCSA, comments:
“These shows the massive impact buildings have on
our environment and the potential for extraordinary
energy- and cost-savings that property investment
companies have.”
Wilkinson explains: “Energy-efficiency, which is an
intrinsic part of green building, has multiple benefits.
Besides buildings consuming fewer resources, it helps
minimise utilities bills for tenants, and green buildings
are proven to provide better returns for owners.”
The first ever IPD South Africa ‘Annual Green
Property Indicators’ provided proof that energyefficient buildings offer higher returns for their owners.

“Green buildings are
proven to provide better
returns for owners”
The benchmark return for green buildings was 15,9%
versus the 14,2% for the overall sector. This makes
them better investments, and means that energyefficient buildings also benefit REIT investors. Energy
and water savings over the long-term also mean lower
costs, which frees up more financial resources for
building operations and maintenance, securing the
performance and investor-appeal of assets for the longterm. Wilkinson notes the benefits of green building
increase exponentially with each building certified.
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December 14 /January 15 SA Real Estate Investor

Marc Hoberman
The award-winning No. 1 Silo office building at the V&A
Waterfront in Cape Town, which was awarded the Green
Building Council of South Africa’s first ever 6-Star Green
Star SA ‘as built’ rating earlier this year. It is part owned
by SA’s largest Real Estate Investment Trust,
Growthpoint Properties.

“Simply put, the more green buildings a REIT owns,
the more savings and benefits they achieve, and the
lower their impact on the environments. The impacts
are real and significant,” says Wilkinson.
The GBCSA’s landmark 50 Green Star certified
buildings earlier this year. These buildings were
designed to be about 48% more efficient at saving
water, 34% more energy efficient and save more than
57% of greenhouse gas emissions. Green building is
rapidly taking hold in South Africa. Overall 16% of
local firms reported heavy levels of green in 2012, an
eightfold increase in just three years. This was expected
to triple by 2015. “Almost all SA REITs own portfolios
made up of commercial property assets, they are set to
have an important role to play in the future of green
leadership,” concludes Wilkinson.

RESOURCES
The Green Building Council of South Africa
www.reimag.co.za