Growthpoint gets 6-star rating
LOCAL NEWS
Growthpoint ’ s head of asset management : office . He adds , “ Growthpoint ’ s portfolio of highly efficient office buildings achieves a lower cost of occupancy for clients , a lighter impact on the environment and a better return for investors . The signature Exxaro and Discovery buildings exemplify the calibre of offices in our portfolio . These are the types of workspaces that we believe our clients are going to want to support their employees ’ health and well-being and their businesses ’ performance .”
Sappi acknowledge women ’ s role
GROWTHPOINT
The Exxaro building in Centurion has received a 6-Star green rating .
The Growthpoint Properties owned and developed Exxaro head office in Centurion , Gauteng , has achieved 6-Star As-Built rating from the Green Building Council South Africa ( GBCSA ) under the Green Star New Build certification system .
Green building certification integrates a broad spectrum of
green initiatives , and a 6-Star As-Built rating confirms via independent third-party verification that these initiatives have been implemented at a global leadership level .
The 18 500m ² building was conceptualised in a collaboration of Growthpoint ’ s Trading and Development team and Exxaro and delivered by exceptional professionals .
In addition to environmental and financial benefits , green buildings have positive effects on the people who use them . Exxaro ’ s green certified head office provides it with enhanced resource efficiency in an optimal working environment , with indoor environmental quality being among the categories covered in Green Star certification . For Exxaro , this has been taken to an exceptionally high standard , resulting in its WELL rating – a first for Africa . The WELL Building Standard is a global rating system focused exclusively on how buildings , and everything in them , can enhance health and wellness . Scientific and medical research and leading property expertise form the basis of WELL .
Local and global studies show that better indoor air quality , lighting and acoustics lead to an improvement in people ’ s health , well-being and cognitive performance .
“ This supports the relevance and functionality of the workplace when there is much change taking place in this field ,” says Paul Kollenberg ,
With about 4 000 women employed directly or indirectly by Sappi Forests nationwide – through its own personnel in its nurseries , and sub-contracted to its harvesting and silviculture contractors – the company is very aware of the crucial role that rural women play in the agricultural labour force .
Besides creating an honest income for many of these
women through the creation of jobs in the forestry industry , many other women have also been introduced to the forestry value chain by becoming timber suppliers to Sappi .
The Sappi Khulisa programme is an example of an empowering initiative which has around 2 700 rural women participants , who supply Sappi with timber . What started out back in 1983 as treefarming scheme aimed at subsistence farmers and which involved only three farmers working eight hectares of land , is now a successful supplier and entrepreneurship development model contributing towards sustainable livelihoods in rural areas , which has earned more than R4-billion cash for its participants since its inception .
Today more than 4 000 small growers and 67 land reform projects , working more than 34 000ha of land , harvested and delivered timber to Sappi and earned R382-million in 2019 . One such woman who has found success with the programme is Sappi Khulisa grower , Bhekekile Ngema from Ngudwini , in southern Zululand . Mama Ngema ( 82 ), initially had a small piece of land and she and her now late husband supplied logs to the Sappi mill with a two-tier truck , until she saw a gap to expand by partnering with Sappi Khulisa , something that has brought advancement to her family and her tree-farming business . Since joining Sappi Khulisa , Mama Ngema , has sent three of her children to university to study teaching – an achievement she values highly .
Another long-serving Khulisa grower is Doris Mdladla ( 57 ) – a Sokhulu based timber supplier who has been part of the Khulisa programme since the early 90s . “ Through the assistance of Khulisa , I have been able to live-off my combined 15-hectare plots and send my children to university . I am proud to say we have a teacher and an agriculture professional in our home . We have built a 12-room house worth over R500 000 and bought ourselves a family car through our Sappi Khulisa profits ,” says Doris .
www . timberiq . co . za // DECEMBER 2020 / JANUARY 2021 5