Portfolio Results Overview:

• 11 Buildings Assessed: 8 standard recertifications and 3 new certifications including 1 first-ever certification.
• Key Achievements: 4 buildings reached 5-Star status, 10 increased their score, 1 held steady, and none regressed – yielding a combined portfolio gain of +59 points.

Figure 1: Portfolio results

A Three-Year Report Card

As EBP requires recertification every three years, it creates a comparable performance trendline over time. For the eight standard recertifications with established core policies and management systems, the EBP process focused mainly on updated performance data and current indoor environmental quality audits.

Figure 2: Every project’s previous certified rating moving to its newly achieved rating, plotted against the 4-Star and 5-Star thresholds

Read left to right, the pattern is striking. Every single project in the portfolio either improved or held its ground. None went backwards. And four didn’t just improve – they crossed an entire rating band.

The 4 Buildings that reached 5-Star

Four projects successfully crossed the threshold into 5-Star territory (“South African Excellence”):

• 1 Holwood Park (single-tenant call centre and office): Jumped from 46 to 62 points (+16 pts), achieving the portfolio’s largest single increase through improved energy and water performance.
• Pharos House: Climbed from 45 to 60 points (+15 pts). Assessed as a new certification due to its lapsed EBP status, it achieved 5-Star status driven by a leap in water efficiency and stronger energy management.
• Mayfair on the Lake (multi-tenanted office): Rose from 54 to 62 points (+8 pts), bringing its ongoing operational performance into alignment with its original 5-Star New Build design rating.
• Ridgeview Umhlanga (multi-tenanted office): Moved from 58 to 61 points (+3 pts), crossing the threshold after sitting near the top of the 4-Star band.

Figure 3: Four buildings crossed into 5-Star territory

What Drove the Improvement

Portfolio gains were driven by operational monitoring across five core categories:

• Indoor Environmental Quality (+27.5 pts total gain): Delivered the largest total point increase across the portfolio, driven by improvements in air quality, thermal comfort, acoustic comfort, and occupant satisfaction surveys.
•  Energy (+18 pts total gain): The single biggest contributor to individual building score increases, achieved through continuous monitoring and management rather than major capital expenditures.
• Water (+5 pts total gain): Better monitoring of potable water use reduced demand on municipal infrastructure, notably at 1 Holwood Park, Mayfair on the Lake, Pharos House, and Peter Place Office Park.
• Emissions (+7 pts total gain) & Transport (+4 pts total gain): Driven by commuter surveys, refined refrigerant management, and stormwater best practices.

Figure 4: What drove the improvement

The Practical Importance of Timely Recertification

Recertifying within the required three-year window allows properties to use a streamlined recertification path. The main focus is on updated measurements and audits (energy, water, indoor air quality) when existing management frameworks like the Green Cleaning Policy, Building Operations Manual, and Green Travel Plan are maintained.

Missing the window forces a full, ground-up assessment as a new certification. The takeaway for managers? Recertifying on time confirms existing systems; recertifying late requires rebuilding them from scratch.

Portfolio Scoreboard

Why this matters beyond the Plaque

A Green Star EBP rating acts as an operational diagnostic providing independently verified proof of environmental and comfort improvements for tenants, financiers, and consultants. Achieving these results required close collaboration between facilities management teams, sustainability specialists and building owners, together with independent assessment by the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA).

The post What it takes to elevate an Existing Building Portfolio appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

Greg Gordge, partner at Elphick Proome Architecture, explains that orientation, views and flexibility were design determinants in this multi-tenanted building, which needed to accommodate any type of tenancy within certain allowances. “While the building’s footprint was restricted by the site, its favourable orientation and position on the site allowed the southern aspect to be opened up, thus delivering views towards the sea,” says Gordge.

The north, east and west facades were more controlled, with strip windows on the north façade to control solar ingress; and double-glazed fenestration on the east and west facades to control heat gain while allowing natural daylight into the spaces.

The three-storey office offering, with an entertainment area at roof level, was designed around a central core housing the building’s ablutions, services and vertical circulation. This allows a corridor to run between two sectionalized, open-plan office spaces, designed around the notion of maximum flexibility. Gordge adds that, aesthetically, the effect of a floating box was created by encapsulating the upper two floors in a concrete surround, while the remaining floors are glazed with infill brickwork. The restrained colour palette in a series of greys was determined by the Umhlanga Ridge Management Guidelines.

Nomamfengu Mbele, Sustainable Building Consultant at Solid Green, explains that, prior to construction, a comprehensive Environmental Management Plan was developed and implemented throughout the development of the building to minimize the impacts of construction work on the local environment.

The building also targeted over 70% of demolition and construction waste to be reused or recycled – however, the contractors far exceeded this expectation during construction, realizing almost 100% reused or recycled waste. A conscious choice of the materials used within the structure ensured the use of concrete with a reduced Portland cement content, and reinforced steel made of 92% recycled content.

Energy modelling was carried out during the design phase to establish an annual benchmark for energy consumption of 160 kWh/m2/per annum – a 42% improvement over a SANS 204 notional building. Because accurate data is key to understanding and managing building systems, and to assessing opportunities for energy savings, sub-metering of major energy consuming systems was installed to guide the behaviour of occupants and users, which is critical to reducing resource consumption.

In terms of Indoor Environmental Quality, an air-cooled HVAC system supplies fresh air at a rate of 2.5l/s/person for 95% of the usable area. All selected gaseous and fire suppression systems and thermal insulants have an Ozone Depleting Potential (ODP) of zero; while only low VOC adhesives, sealants and carpets were used.

Sub-metering of all major water uses was implemented, to monitor and manage consumption. The project has implemented a 5000-litre harvesting system, which supplies recycled water to all low flow sanitary fittings. In addition, the xeriscaped garden surrounding the development will not be irrigated after its initial 12-month establishing period.

All building systems were successfully commissioned to ensure efficient operations as designed. With this As-Built certification, the developers of 29 Richefond Circle are continuing to demonstrate leadership in the green building sector by driving positive change.

Project Team

OWNER: Growthpoint Properties
ACCREDITED PROFESSIONAL: Solid Green Consulting
ARCHITECT: Elphick Proome Architecture (EPA)
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: DBA Consulting
FIRE ENGINEER: WSP
LIFE SPECIALIST: Woollatt & Clarke
MECHANICAL ENGINEER: Spoormaker & Partners
QUANTITY SURVEYORS: FWJK
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS: ARUP
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING CONSULTANT: Solid Green Consulting
WET SERVICES: Spoormaker & Partners
MAIN CONTRACTOR: Trencon
PROJECT MANAGER: Betts & Townsend Construction Project Management
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT: SHE Sage
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Land Art Studio

The post 4-Star As-Built rating for 29 Richefond Circle appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

Growthpoint’s light manufacturing building, leased by Serra® Services, has been awarded Gauteng’s first 5-star Green Star Existing Building Performance (EBP) rating for an industrial building.

Paul Thomaz, Group Marketing Director of Serra®, says that, as a leading hygiene service provider and washroom dispenser manufacturer, Serra is duty bound to highlight health and sustainable environmental practices as they become more relevant for everyone.

From the outset, our discussions with Growthpoint hinged on our mutual determination to regard sustainability as a joint core value. This is in keeping with Serra’s all-encompassing philosophy and long-term vision of ‘no harm’, and our commitment to applying best international practice in reducing our overall carbon footprint.

As the first Industrial sector site to receive this recognition in Gauteng, Serra® has achieved another milestone in a history of numerous ‘firsts’ both in our industry and in the broader South African context. We are especially proud of this achievement as we are celebrating our 35th anniversary this year.

Sustainability was identified by both Growthpoint and Serra® Services as a joint core value.

Errol Taylor, Head of Asset Management: Industrial at Growthpoint Properties, remarks:

It is interesting to note that this small but prominent corner of Meadowbrook has become a shining example of green building in South Africa. Serra’s premises are directly adjacent to Growthpoint’s award-winning 5-Star Office Design v1 certified Grundfos development.

The EBP certification for the building occupied by Serra is part of a pilot programme to develop an industrial EBP rating tool for the GBCSA, which can be used by everyone in the industrial property sector. Growthpoint works in close collaboration with our clients and professional teams to achieve optimal environments for occupants while ensuring that our buildings operate efficiently, sustainably and with minimal impact on the environment. We believe it is important to certify our green buildings because a recognised building rating provides an important independent verification of environmental performance.

Dashiell Coville, Sustainable Building Consultant at Solid Green, explains that the GBCSA’s
Existing Building Performance (EBP) tool focuses on the operational phase of an existing building’s lifecycle, to enable facilities management to set in place policies, plans and processes to optimise the operations and performance of the building.

The certification process for industrial buildings requires a lot more tenant engagement than for office buildings, as industrial tenants are typically in charge of all aspects of property management and cannot simply gain credit from the landlord’s green policies.

Serra has demonstrated a marked reduction in consumption, and both energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives have been implemented.

Key features of the Meadowbrook building’s performance include energy and water efficiency. “Serra consumes in the region of 16kWh/sqm/year, which is an 85% improvement on a typical light industrial building of this scale (106kWh/sqm/year),” says Coville.

This is the ongoing targeted consumption level. Thanks to reduced consumption, as well as energy efficiency and the renewable energy initiatives implemented, the consumption in 2019 was lower than in 2018.

A large solar photovoltaic system on the roof provides renewable energy to the facility. 130 panels, with a capacity of 25kWp, were installed as phase 1; and Thomaz advises that the aim is to install a further 110 panels for phase 2 – with capacity for 550 panels in total. He adds:

Three lithium-ion battery banks provide the office component with 24 hours of uninterrupted power. In winter – June through to end August – these are bled during peak load periods (06h00-09h00 and 16h00 to 18h00) to reduce our electricity consumption and carbon footprint.

Thanks to the water saving initiatives implemented as well as the efficient habits of the Serra staff, the facility has demonstrated an 88% improvement in water consumption on a typical light manufacturing industrial building of this scale, and this is the ongoing targeted consumption level.

The Serra building uses cutting-edge energy and water monitoring systems to accurately report on consumption. Data is monitored via online dashboards and used to analyse trends and highlight problem areas; and the utility metering process is outsourced to a specialist
contractor who manages meter reading and processing.

Periodic audits and occupant surveys are carried out to ensure that sufficient fresh air is provided (to meet or exceed national design standards), that lighting levels are optimal, and that temperatures are comfortable. This all translates into a healthier, more productive space.

Taylor says that the current global COVID-19 pandemic has clarified the importance of work settings that have a positive impact on the health of people and the environment.

As people slowly return to their desks and workbenches after the hardest levels of the COVID-19 lockdown, the design and operation of workspaces to safeguard occupant health and wellbeing will undoubtedly become the priority for all responsible businesses. Factors such as good ventilation and air quality are going to be the defining features of healthy workspaces.

Certified green buildings are certainly among those best positioned to provide superior healthy working environments. In addition, energy and water savings translate to valuable cost savings, which will be more important than ever to businesses as they focus on recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.

Serra is constantly reviewing its approach to recycling within the building in order to improve its waste management practices. The goal is to integrate recycling both at a manufacturing and operations level. Recycling bins for paper, glass, plastics and aluminium cans will be situated within the office space as well as the warehouse waste storage area and collected weekly by the waste management contractor. Thomaz explains that the 3R principle has been implemented. For example, all bonded paper is reused or repurposed where possible in printers, and then recycled after shredding as product bulk packaging. And all stainless steel offcuts are either repurposed or recycled (if not fit for purpose) – resulting in a wastage factor of less than 2%.

An extensive Building User’s Guide was developed for the facility’s ongoing operations, which includes recommendations around several factors to provide the most efficient, healthy and enjoyable working environment. These include indoor emissions; choice of materials and finishes; and design considerations such as thermal comfort, ventilation, daylight, internal noise levels, and the provision of quiet spaces.

Marloes Reinink, director at Solid Green Consulting, notes that it has long been widely acknowledged that the management of buildings is critical to enhancing users’ health and wellbeing – both in terms of productivity, and mitigating disease and absenteeism. She emphasises:

As the links between sustainable practices and public health become more apparent, building professionals and their clients will need to be proactive in navigating the way forward. We must work together towards creating sustainable buildings that are enablers of health.

With its recent EBP certification, Serra® has set a new benchmark for owners and users of Africa’s existing industrial building stock – proving that a more efficient and responsible way of operating is both possible and necessary.

Professional Team:

• Tenant and Facilities Management: SERRA® Services
• Owner and Landlord: Growthpoint Properties
• Sustainability Consultants: Solid Green Consulting

The post Growthpoint & Serra® achieve Gauteng’s first EBP Industrial rating appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

Prior to construction, a comprehensive Environmental Management Plan was developed and implemented to minimize the impacts of construction work on the local environment. The building aims to have over 70% of its demolition and construction waste reused or recycled. Contractors on the project have also been conscious of the materials used within the structure, making use of concrete with reduced a Portland cement content, and reinforced steel containing 92% recycled content.

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) has been the main focus of the development. The HVAC system is an air-cooled system that does not use potable water, with fresh air supplied at a rate of 12.5l/s/person for 95% of the usable area. Ample natural daylight and views of the surrounding landscape have been designed into the building, with options to control glare for overall user comfort. The building has also implemented a non-smoking policy; and low-VOC materials have been specified to prioritise the quality of the air to which users are exposed.

Efficient energy and water usage have been prioritised throughout the development, with initiatives including the installation of lighting occupancy sensors; and sub-metering provided for all substantive energy uses within the building to monitor energy consumption and limit the building’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Water sanitary fittings are all fitted with actuators to reduce and control water consumption; and the project has implemented a rainwater harvesting system which provides water to the toilets and urinals, further reducing the use of potable water.

Building users are also encouraged to limit their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions by rethinking their modes of transport. The building makes preferential provision for alternative fuel vehicles, motorbikes/scooters, and cyclist facilities that include racks, lockers and showers.

To maintain the sustainability initiatives throughout the building’s lifespan, Growthpoint required a Building Users’ Guide to create awareness of the building’s systems and their optimal use; and has included a green lease within their agreement to ensure that all future tenants will be required to monitor the performance of energy, water and waste consumption on an ongoing basis; and to prepare a procurement policy for the use of environmentally friendly consumables.

Professional Team

OWNER: Growthpoint Properties
ARCHITECT: EPA Architects
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: DBA Consulting
FIRE ENGINEER: Woollatt & Clarke
LIFT SPECIALIST: Schindler Lifts (SA)
MECHANICAL ENGINEER & WET SERVICES ENGINEER: Spoormaker & Partners
QUANTITY SURVEYORS: FWJK
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS: Arup
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING CONSULTANT: Solid Green Consulting
MAIN CONTRACTOR: Trencon
PROJECT MANAGER: Betts & Townsend Construction Project Management
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT: SHE Sage

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