Members of the Solid Green Performance team were the Net Zero Accredited Professionals on seven of the certified projects:

• three office buildings – 144 Oxford, Exxaro Lakeside 2, and Inanda Greens Business Park
• four industrial buildings – Ebony, GIE 1 Portions 1 & 2 of Erf 308, Growthpoint Industrial Estate, and Monteer

Decoding Net Zero Carbon Level 2

To achieve a Level 2 Certification, a building must prove that its actual net carbon emissions equal 0 kg CO₂/m²/year. The Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) enforces a strict hierarchy of pathways to ensure buildings are inherently sustainable before looking outside their borders:

• Pathways 1 & 2: On-site energy efficiency and on-site renewables must be the first priority.
• Pathways 3 & 4: Off-site mechanisms like renewable energy procurement and carbon offsets are only permitted once stringent efficiency thresholds are met.

To unlock off-site options, buildings have to demonstrate a serious commitment to energy efficiency, achieving either a 20% improvement from the baseline without onsite renewables, or a 40% improvement if on-site renewables are included. This ensures that the buildings themselves are highly efficient before neutralising the remaining energy use.

peter@hassall.co.za

The Roadmap to Zero: Offsetting Unavoidable Emissions

For emissions that could not be designed away or eliminated on-site, Growthpoint strategically tackled both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions using high-quality, verified market mechanisms:

1. Scope 1 Emissions (Direct Emissions)

• Carbon Credits, retired from the Tswalu Kalahari Carbon Project, were issued by Credible Carbon, supporting overall national emissions reduction and local biodiversity conservation.

2. Scope 2 Emissions (Indirect Grid Emissions)

• Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) were redeemed from multiple verified renewable energy projects in South Africa, through the FuelSwitch platform.

A Blueprint for the Future

By combining rigorous on-site efficiency with pioneering technologies like blockchain-backed RECs and verified local carbon projects, Growthpoint has set a benchmark for the South African property sector. Here’s to turning more portfolios green, one building at a time!