EDITOR’ S note
Gareth Griffiths editor @ tobuild. co. za
To Build
This edition of To Build goes to print shortly after the Green Building Convention 2025 concluded in Cape Town. While the impressive attendance at the event reflects the strong respect that green building has earned in South Africa, it was interesting to observe a parallel shift in tone from mitigation to climate resilience matters. What have we already lost as a planet, and how is our urban habitat adapting?
This observation aligns with the tally of global climate tipping points, indicating that at least five major tipping events are now firmly established. For example, the Global Tipping Points Report 2025 highlights the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation( AMOC) as being at risk under current global warming trends.
In Southern Africa, changes in large-scale circulation or monsoon patterns could lead to altered rainfall regimes, increased drought, shifts in water availability, or flooding in some regions.
Other significant tipping point events that could seriously affect our region include coastal vulnerability— such as coral reef collapses due to warm water, sea-level rise leading to increased flooding, erosion, and economic damage.
The rapid die-back of the Amazon forests to savanna lands leads to the loss of the world ' s major carbon‘ sinks’, which further worsens the prevalence of greenhouse gases.
As this is the summer edition of To Build and considering our simultaneous B2B and B2C focus, we’ ve explored some practical guides on what householders can do— for example, attracting bees and butterflies back to the garden.
On the broader scale, the climate is changing irreversibly. What measures can we take on a larger scale to address water insecurity and the spread of arid landscapes?
Make sure to read our case study on this topic, based on a recent trip I undertook across the arid northern Cape regions. It contains lessons from the ancestors and from nature itself, which we can apply to our climate resilience journey.
But there’ s plenty of good news to celebrate. As the sacred season approaches, we hope that our home-related content will be helpful to all our readers over their holidays.
Wishing you all a wonderful, restful break. Be merry, but also be responsible.
Gareth
4 summer 2025-26 | www. tobuild. co. za