Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa May/June 2015 | Page 48

GREEN

Energy Efficiency

Incentives
How Green Is Your Property?
BY MEGAN DIENER

M

inister of Public Enterprises, Lynne Brown,
has warned South Africa of Eskom’s
continuing supply vulnerability and to
expect load shedding for at least the next two years
as it battles to deal with the power shortfall, which
has already caused South Africa’s Growth Domestic
Product to decline by an estimated 10%.
Given this threat, President Jacob Zuma has
encouraged the private sector to ‘go green.’ Government
now plans to increase energy efficiency incentives.
These incentives will offer landlords and business
owners a much needed financial respite from
rising electricity costs needed to power industrial
manufacturing plants, office spaces and retail shopping
malls.

“Greater energy efficiency
is crucial.”
Greater energy efficiency is crucial. More property
developments today are built with renewable energy
infrastructure. Some corporate head offices are selfsufficient and have completely gone off the national
power grid.
How green do you have to go to be considered officially
green, and how will this be measured and rated?
Businesses are seeking solutions to bring about
reductions in operation and facilities management
costs in light of, for example, Eskom’s announcement
in March that they are appealing for an additional 9,5%
increase on electricity costs over and above the already
approved 12%. Sustainable solutions are desperately
sought.
“The focus on green building has demonstrated the
need for a rigorous, standardised system that rates just
how green projects are with tangible results to back up
these claims. The Green Building Council of South
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MAY 2015 SA Real Estate Investor

Africa’s (GBCSA) Green Star SA rating tools not
only guarantee that businesses live up to their green
building claims, but also assist with their endeavours to
minimise their carbon footprint,” says GBCSA CEO,
Brian Wilkinson.
“With happier, healthier employees and existing
of evidence significantly reduced operations and
maintenance costs at greener buildings, the benefits of
a Green Star SA rating are extensive,” Wilkinson says.

Firstly, use the Energy Water Performance (EWP) mini-tool
to do a green audit. This tool benchmarks an office building’s
energy and water consumption against an industry mean. So, if
your asset compares poorly, you can be sure that investing in its
electricity and water efficiency will bring worthwhile benefits to
the building’s bottom line, attractiveness, and sustainability, and
the environment too. While the EWP mini-tool makes up 40% of
the EBP, it is also available as a separate certification.
Building owners wanting to get a Green Star SA rating can,
together with their green building consultant, submit the
necessary documentation to the GBCSA. Independent assessors
are employed to evaluate submissions and allocate points based
on the green measures that have been implemented. Certification
is awarded for 4-Star, 5-Star or 6-Star Green Star SA ratings.
Rating tools are property specific. The Green Star SA Interiors
tool, meanwhile, focuses on efficient maintenance and operations
of interior fit-outs and caters for a broad range of tenancies,
including office, retail and hospitality projects.
Tenants have all the power with this tool, allowing each tenancy
to have their own unique environmental design initiatives fairly
and independently benchmarked. It rewards healthy, productive
places to work, which are less costly to operate and maintain and
have a reduced environmental footprint.
The Green Star SA Existing Building Performance (EBP) tool
focuses on how efficiently the building is operated and managed.
It is only valid for a period of three years. Energy and water
monitoring, management policies and plans are all required.

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