Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa October 2014 | Page 40
GREEN
BY MONIQUE TERRAZAS
Get The
EDGE
A game-changer in the residential sector
G
lobal real estate portal Lamudi recently
published the top 10 most important factors
for those looking for a home in 2014. Taking
the number 1 spot on the list of modern house-hunters’
demands is energy efficiency.
In South Africa, where our electricity supply is on
a knife-edge, our water resources are under extreme
pressure and consumers’ monthly utility bills are
crippling, green buildings could not be more important.
Buildings in South Africa account for 48% of
electricity consumption, with 37% of that amount
attributable to the residential sector.
The EDGE
At the recent 7th Annual Convention of the Green
Building Council South Africa (GBCSA), a new
green building certification programme for homes was
launched in South Africa by the GBCSA in partnership
with World Bank Group member, the International
Finance Corporation (IFC) and local rollout partners
the National Home Builder Registration Council
(NHBRC).
The launch of the “EDGE” rating system, to be
utilised for homes in South Africa, comes in the wake
of the GBCSA’s hugely successful My Green Home
education and awareness campaign for the greening of
homes, in addition to a detailed market research study
on the potential need and impact of EDGE in the
South African market.
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October 2014 SA Real Estate Investor
EDGE, which stands for “Excellence in Design
for Greater Efficiencies,” seeks to help facilitate a
transformation of the property sector in rapidly
urbanising countries by influencing design
considerations. To achieve the EDGE standard,
minimum savings of 20% energy, water, and embodied
energy in materials must be met.
Global first
“This entry into the housing market is another major
milestone for us and illustrates our commitment
to bolstering and promoting green building in all
sectors of property development in South Africa. The
groundbreaking partnership between the GBCSA and
IFC will see South Africa become the first country to
operate the EDGE certification program for homes
on behalf of IFC,” says Brian Wilkinson, CEO of the
GBCSA.
GET THE EDGE
Medium to large residential projects currently at concept design
stage that are interested in piloting certification using the EDGE
rating tool should register their interest with the GBCSA via
[email protected].
“This partnership puts South Africa in a leading
position globa