How will the poorest and soon-to-be most populous region in the world lift its people out of poverty and navigate a net-zero transition simultaneously?

Buildings play a key role in this transition hence the focus on net zero buildings for this discussion.

The panel comprised Smita Chandra Thomas, Founder and Principal of Energy Shrink, USA; Pauline Anaman, External Advisor Africa: EU H2020 Negative Emissions (NEGEM) Project; Alexi Miller, Associate Technical Director, New Building Institute (NBI), USA; and Solome Girma, Program Management Director, DC Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU), USA.

Smita, an expert in energy efficiency in buildings at the cutting-edge of green technology and energy management strategy, brought to the table a wealth of experience on Integrated Design and Net Zero. She pointed out that there is a strong business case for green buildings in emerging economies because:

• Buildings consume large amounts of energy
• The demand for new buildings, especially housing, is booming. Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, and the African construction market is expected to grow at a rate of 6-7% over the next 5 years.
• The utility costs for both residential and commercial sectors is very high. In housing, annual energy savings in homes can cost more than a month of rent.

According to the 2016 IFC Report ‘Climate Investment Opportunities in Emerging Markets’, green buildings are a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity. In addition, GDP and energy use have been decoupled in almost all advanced economies – with GDP continuing to increase, while energy use is decreasing.

Net zero makes enormous sense for these reasons. Examples around the world show that net zero buildings can be attractive, modern, and built at commercially competitive costs. They can even come in under budget if the project team utilizes integrated design principles from the project outset. Commenting that designing for net zero is both an art and a science, Smita emphasised that an understanding of how a building interacts with the grid can produce even better results.

Looking back on the Ghana Green Building Summit, she observed

It was really heartening to see the high attendance and interest in net zero buildings at the Ghana Green Building Summit. Such events can be really effective in helping interested parties to network with each other, and in demystifying some of the newer concepts.

Alexi then contributed his insights about cutting-edge technologies and strategies, as part of a wide-ranging effort to improve the energy performance of the built environment. The central theme in his presentation were the five foundations of the Zero Carbon building policy – namely Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Grid Integration + Storage + EV, Building Electrification, and Life-Cycle Impacts.

Commenting on the GGBS he says: “We know from experience, drawing from our database of 700+ Zero Energy buildings in North America, that there are many pathways to a green building, starting with energy efficiency. A wide range of proven and emerging solutions are available to make buildings more efficient, cleaner, more affordable, healthier, and safer. African zero carbon building professionals have the opportunity to learn from past successes and challenges, both at home and abroad, to leapfrog past many of the dead ends in order to make buildings part of the solution to the climate crisis. The Ghana Green Building Summit showcased a wide range of solutions and actionable steps that local and far-flung buildings industry players can use to lead by example and do well by doing good.”

The importance of efficiency first was really brought home by Chilufya as the moderator, who summarised the discussion:

We saw first-hand examples of just how energy efficient buildings have to be to achieve net zero. The efficiencies reported were 40 to 60% improvement over one of the most stringent energy codes in the world (Ashram 90.1). We also saw the important role that building codes can play in setting the right environment for energy savings.

The race to Net Zero is definitely not a fad. It is an opportunity to not only solve a serious environmental issue but also to create a building stock that is energy efficient enough to solve energy supply issues that are a burden to development in Africa.

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Makhosazana Mthethwa, Sustainable Building Consultant at Solid Green, says that EDGE, an innovation of the IFC, was used as a fast, easy and affordable certification tool for the Hotel to benchmark its green building strategies. The tool was also easily customisable to Ghana’s local context. Edge Preliminary Certification is used to recognise a building’s green interventions during Design Phase. This process will be repeated, and the hotel audited, at the post-construction stage to earn final EDGE certification.

“The Pullman Accra Airport Hotel is committed to sustainability and so achieving third party verification for their efforts to go green is a major priority,” she says.

This EDGE certification demonstrates Pullman’s leadership as well as advocacy in the green building sector. The benefits of the energy and water efficiency measures will include lower operational costs, and will result in market differentiation as the hotel is likely to attract more clientele who are environmentally conscious.

The reduction in energy consumption was due to the following measures:

• A reduced window to wall ratio of 30%.
• Well insulated external walls.
• An energy efficient air conditioning system with Air Cooled Screw Chiller with a COP (coefficient of performance) of 4.
• A high efficiency boiler for water heating.
• 100% LED energy-saving light bulbs for all internal and external spaces.
• Occupancy sensors were used in the hotel common areas so that lights are only on when they need to be, while room cards will be used to control lighting in the hotel rooms.

To achieve the 26% reduction in water consumption, low-flow fittings such as showerheads and faucets were specified throughout the hotel, with efficient dual flush for water closets in all bathrooms. Auto shut-off faucets were specified in public bathrooms, together with water efficient kitchen faucets.

Embodied energy savings on materials were largely due to the medium weight hollow concrete blocks used for internal and external walls; and wall insulation was significantly improved with a 100mm wide air gap.

According to TripAdvisor, close to 60% of travellers make eco-friendly choices when booking hotels. With its EDGE certification, the Pullman Accra Airport City Hotel will therefore not only save resources and improve operational costs, but also boost profit margins and safeguard against occupancy risk.

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Solid Green has been working closely with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to develop an easy to understand User Guide for Section 37 of the Ghana Building Code. Section 37 of the Ghana Building Code focuses on Green Buildings and sustainability in buildings. We have also developed a training package for architects, consulting engineers and other professionals from the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies.

The purpose of the training sessions held in October 2019 was to set out the different methods of compliance for future buildings to acquire their local authority approvals. The two methods are the prescriptive route of compliance and the green building certification-based route.

Prescriptive Route of Compliance – Ghana Building Code Section 37

Ghana is revamping its building code and it’s a monumental feat! The Ghana Building Code draft is an adoption of the International Building Code. The 1700-page document was created by the Ghana Standards Authority for the Ministry of Works and Housing and was supported by the IFC with donor funds from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

This progressive code has set a new benchmark in sustainability for buildings in Section 37, which outlines Green Building Requirements. As is widely known, existing buildings account for more than 40% of the world’s total primary energy consumption and 24% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Buildings are also responsible for a huge share of water and materials consumption. The good news is that the building sector has the greatest potential to deliver significant reduction in emissions at minimum cost.

This code shows Ghana’s commitment to mitigating against climate change, as the standard is set relatively high when compared to other countries. Furthermore, the GSA aims to revise the code every three years to ensure a consistently improving benchmark.

The highlights of the new code will include:

Energy Efficiency:

• Minimum efficiency requirements for electric air-cooled systems – Energy Efficiency Ratio of 2.8.
• Maximum lighting power densities and efficient luminaires based on building typology.
• All lighting must have occupancy sensor controls.
• Renewable energy generation is required for homes over 75sqm and commercial/industrial buildings over 5000sqm.

Water Efficiency:

• Onsite stormwater management (with a minimum of 50% permeable or soft landscape required).
• Minimum of 50% of the roof area to be used for diversion to a dedicated rainwater storage tank.
• Metering of all ground water wells.
• Onsite sewage treatment facility must be provided for all building larger than 1500sqm, or with more than 15 multi-family residential units. The treated water must be used for irrigation, cooling towers or flushing.
• All water fittings and fixtures must be below the maximum allowed water consumption.

Waste Reduction and Recycling:

• An onsite enclosed waste collection and separation facility that is at least 1sqm per 250sqm GFA of the building.

Performance Route of Compliance – Green Building Certifications

As an alternative, the GSA allows professionals to submit a green building certification to demonstrate compliance with Section 37. Green building rating or certification systems reward buildings achieving a sustainability performance target. The approved certification systems are:

• Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) Buildings (IFC)
• Green Star Africa (via GBCSA)
• LEED (USGBC)
• DGNB (DGNB Germany)
• BREEAM (BRE – UK)

Our training extended to providing demonstrations on how to make use of the EDGE tool. EDGE, an innovation of the IFC, is a fast, easy and affordable green building certification tool. EDGE provides design solutions that are climate specific. It also supports the ambitions of Architecture 2030 and the World Green Building Council for new buildings to be zero carbon by 2030 and all buildings to be zero carbon by 2050.

It was a privilege to be able to contribute further to the Green Building movement in Africa, and to pass on the skills that we have acquired over the years!

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The keynote address was delivered by the Minister of Works and Housing, Hon. Samuel Atta Akyea, who charged some of the relevant professional bodies to ensure extensive training and adoption of green building principles and technologies by their members. He also intimated that government was willing to support green building projects with land and other resources.

The Honourable Minister was among eight other speakers and eight panelists who made presentations and discussed alternative material use, rating and certification, green finance and the creation of sustainable smart cities. Chilufya Lombe, Director at Solid Green, presented on ‘High Performance Buildings for Ghana’ and conducted a post-summit workshop that looked at the detailed application of building physics for improving performance of buildings.

Chilufya Lombe, Director at Solid Green, presented on ‘High Performance Buildings for Ghana’

The event aims to continue to engage key stakeholders to achieve the main target of public sensitisation, access to green funding, and certification of residential and non-residential developments. The Summit was organised by Yecham Property Consult, with the IFC-EDGE as major partner.

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