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GBCSA / Green Building / Why the focus on minimum requirements? By Dash Coville, GBCSA Technical Manager – Special Projects

Why the focus on minimum requirements? By Dash Coville, GBCSA Technical Manager – Special Projects

April 21, 2023

What is a Green Building and do minimum requirements within the V2 Tool help to deliver on this?

A green building is defined as a building that is energy-efficient, resource-efficient, and environmentally responsible, incorporating design, construction, and operational practices that significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of development on the environment and occupants.

The Green Building Council  South Africa is currently underway with an update to the Green Star New Build rating tool. This new V2 Green Star tool aims to achieve this green building definition through introducing a wider range of minimum requirements, covering a variety of key elements that lead to a building being comprehensively green. These minimum requirements will help to establish a level of consistency in the markets understanding of green, ensuring that all buildings seeking certification meet a minimum level of environmental performance.

Further to the above, the planned minimum level of environmental performance the Tool aims to achieve will lead to a building that  –

  • is responsibly designed and constructed
  • prioritises operational performance
  • supports health and wellbeing of the users
  • protects and conserves ecological value

The upcoming V2 Tool has new categories which include Responsible, Healthy, Resilient, Positive Places, People, Nature, and Leadership. These categories cover the range of important aspects of sustainable building design that we are used to from the current New Build tools, including management, indoor environmental quality, energy, transport, water, materials, land use and ecology, emissions, and innovation. The current tools only have two minimum requirements, one for Energy and the other for Land Use and Ecology. The new tool will cover minimum requirements within each new category.

As before, the minimum requirements are only the starting point for a project seeking certification. Following on from here, projects will be able to push their sustainability agenda further through the clear guidance and updated benchmarks based on global best practice that the Tool will offer.

Some examples of the minimum requirements within each category are –

  • Responsible
    • Commissioning, Metering, Environmental Management and Waste Management
  • Healthy
    • Clean Air, Quality Lighting (artificial and natural), Reduction of exposure to toxins
  • Resilience
    • Climate change resilience (consideration of the direct and indirect impacts of climate change)
  • Positive
    • Minimum energy and water performance, Upfront Carbon assessment
  • Places
    • Contribution of Place (building’s design and provision of appropriate spaces makes a positive contribution to the quality of the public environment. )
  • Nature
    • Impact on nature (the building does not significantly impact on a site with high ecological value)

The development of the new tool is based on the Green Building Council of Australia’s tool, but has been adapted to the South African context to ensure its applicability. Considerations that have been made during this process include applicability to the South African context, ease of use and implementation, cost implications, global trends, as well as the overarching need to drive market transformation. The minimum requirements will drive this transformation without leaving anyone behind.

In conclusion, it is essential that when a project achieves a Green Star certification that the market knows that at a minimum the project can be considered a Green Building. The minimum requirements aim to ensure that this goal is met. And that we are Transforming Tomorrow.

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