Construction World August 2016

LEAVING LEGACY OF GROWTH After five trailblazing years at the helm of the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA), CEO Brian Wilkinson has announced his early retirement.

in which the South African property sector has stepped up to assume the vital role the built environment plays in climate changemitigation. Commenting on the significant progress of green building in the country, Brian says the property industry has been swift to recognise the simultaneous opportunity to ‘do well by doing good’, referring to the well-established and proven business case for green buildings. He adds: “Our purpose is to inspire property owners to design, build and operate better, greener buildings. Formal Green Star SA certi- fications are rapidly approaching 200 projects, up from only six certifications five years ago. I believe we are on the cusp of green buildings becoming standard, rather than limited to leading practice.” The GBCSA is already forging ahead with its latest initiatives. It is driving green building in the residential property sector with its My Green Home toolkit, anchored by the EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) residential green building rating tool. GBCSA has also partnered with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) to build capacity and green buildings skills at local government level and anticipates

Wilkinson steered the organisation through an exponential growth phase corresponding with the remarkable upsurge in the green building movement in the country. The World Green Building Trends 2016: Developing Markets Accelerate Global Green Growth – SmartMarket Report shows that South Africa is the country with the highest share of green building projects out of a global sample of 69 countries. More importantly, it also has the highest share of expected green building projects leading up to 2018. Seana Nkhahle, chairperson of the GBCSA, attributes this incredible recognition to Brian’s energetic leadership and to the team he has put in place. Brian, while proud of the organisation’s role, prefers to credit the success to the manner >

Brian Wilkinson.

extending this into the public sector as a whole. In addition, it is now focusing on the perfor- mance of existing buildings in the commercial property sector, at portfolio level. Wilkinson believes this is an ideal time to transition to new leadership that can provide continuity over this next exciting phase. He will remain CEO until the end of August 2016 to allow for a seamless transition process. The Chairperson of the GBCSA has asked Rudolf Pienaar, deputy chairperson and Growth- point Properties Office Division Director to drive the process for recruitment of a new CEO for the GBCSA.

SUSTAINABILITY HELP AECOM is actively working with Growthpoint Properties on a range of solar rooftop projects and existing building performance ratings, where low-performance buildings are identified and corrective measures proposed.

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“A Four Star rating acknowledging best practice is targeted for all buildings,” Peet Pelser, practice area lead – mechanical, electrical, llumbing & sustainability, building engineering, explains. “AECOM has considerable experience in the renewable energy sector, with a broad involve- ment in a range of other ‘green’ energy projects,” Nico Kruger, business line leader energy – Africa, resources & industry, comments. According to Werner Schneeberger, market sector leader, Renewable Energy, Africa, some of the rooftop solar installations AECOM is currently involved with include: • Key West Mall, 1,2 MWp • Airport Industria, 290 kWp • 33 Bree & 30 Waterkant, 103 kWp • Inanda Greens and Sunnyside Office park, 816 kWp

Growthpoint Properties, the largest South African primary listed REIT (Real Estate Invest- ment Trust), is now embarking on its largest rooftop solar installations yet, with the ultimate goal of generating an impressive 6 MWp. This translates into enough solar energy to power nearly 2 500 average South African homes. AECOM’s Buildings & Places, Power & Industries and Construction Services teams are supporting Growthpoint Properties in delivering this work by providing the following professional services: principle agent, electrical design reviews and structural integrity assessments. Growthpoint Properties has already completed the installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels with the capacity to generate over 3,2 MWp at seven of its office, retail and indus- trial properties. These rooftop solar installations are at its landmark assets across the country, including Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, The Constantia Village Mall, Bayside Mall and Airport Industria. In addition, the company has identified over 70 buildings across its portfolio for possible future solar PV installations. AECOM has also been approached by Growthpoint Properties to provide a proposal to manage the certification process of 11 sites, including two office parks in its existing building portfolio. It will deploy the Green Star SA™ Existing Building Performance (EBP) v1 rating tool developed by the Green Building Council of South Africa.

The 103 kWp 33 Bree Street project.

Airport Industria is a recent solar power project of AECOM.

The 290 kWp Airport Industria project.

CONSTRUCTION WORLD AUGUST 2016