Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa November 2015 | Page 51

manufacturing process, which is inert and BPA-free,
but the upcycled product is used to build classrooms,
clinics and houses in previously disadvantaged
communities,” says Manas.
With no fewer than 100 initiatives designed by the
GBCSA to score “green” in their Green Star SA rating
tool for new buildings, business in South Africa is not
only waking up the social prerogative, but also seeing
the better investment return that green buildings can
hold for their owners. “Future-proofing your assets,
but also mitigating the onslaught of increased utility
costs through energy, water and waste savings, is an
imperative,” says Manfred Braune, GBCSA’s Chief
Technical Officer.
In August, the Investment Property Bank (IPD)
along with GBCSA released the South Africa Annual
Green Property Indicators 2014 which indicate that
energy-efficient buildings held a greater net-income
growth and capital value per square metre, with higher
occupancy levels, compared to their less energyefficient counterparts.
Aside from the investment merits that an
environmentally friendly building offers, Braune says
that they can improve the wellbeing of their people
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too. Issues such as recirculated air, dust, mould, poor
lighting and the use of materials with toxic chemicals
can all contribute to poor health.

THE TOP FIVE MEASUREMENTS TO CONSIDER IN AN INFORMAL
GREEN-AUDIT OF A BUILDING ARE:
• Total annual energy consumption (and sub-meter your
larger energy users such as HVAC, lighting and power)
• Total annual water consumption (and sub-meter your larger
water users such as HVAC and irrigation)
• Your annual operational waste production (and determine
how much of this can be recycled)
• Staff comfort levels through surveys of aspects such as
lighting, acoustics and thermal comfort
• Office equipment kW load to see whether some equipment
(computers, fridges, copiers) can be replaced with more
energy-efficient versions