The journey to achieving this certification began in 2021 when L2D partnered with WastePlan to manage waste across its malls. At that time, only 47% of waste was being diverted from landfills. L2D dramatically improved its waste diversion rate through focused efforts, clear goals and innovative strategies.

To achieve the Level 2 certification, L2D needed to divert more than 70% of its waste from landfill for 12 consecutive months. The remaining percentage was offset through waste-related projects such as composting organic waste. By the time the certification process was complete, L2D’s recycling rates across its malls ranged between 80% and 94%, with the remainder being successfully offset.

Efficient Digital Backbone

The certification journey was not without its challenges as L2D was the first to apply for Net Zero Waste certification at this scale in South Africa. Developing appropriate benchmarks and offsetting methodologies required extensive collaboration with the GBCSA. Additionally, WastePlan’s meticulous documentation and tracking system were instrumental in navigating the certification process, which involved submitting detailed weigh bills and waste management licenses.

WastePlan’s sophisticated digital tracking system allowed for precise monitoring of waste streams and the establishment of clearly defined performance targets. This data-driven approach enabled L2D to steadily increase its waste diversion rates, ultimately leading to the commencement of the certification process.

Proactively Navigating Challenges

One of the significant challenges L2D faced was changing the behaviour of its tenants, particularly in high-waste-generating environments like restaurants. Achieving buy-in from tenants was essential, and L2D had to ensure that businesses aligned with its sustainability goals.

One of the methods used was implementing a billing system that incentivised tenants to recycle based on the “user pays” principle. The billing system, which charges tenants different rates depending on whether waste is sent to landfill or recycled, was key to driving behavioural change. However, maintaining high diversion rates required optimising various components, including waste sorting equipment, tracking systems, and staff training.

Educating tenants about the importance of recycling and separating waste at source was also critical. Problematic plastics and contaminated waste are difficult to recycle. L2D encouraged tenants to switch to recyclable alternatives and trained restaurant staff to properly separate food waste from packaging to enhance recycling and composting efforts.

Effective Communications

In addition to tenant education, L2D launched the #BeTheChange social media campaign to inspire shoppers to adopt climate-positive practices, such as using reusable shopping bags and reducing their reliance on harmful plastics. Sandton City also introduced reverse vending machines that allow customers to exchange recyclable packaging for vouchers, further incentivising sustainable behaviour.

L2D’s achievement was the result of a strong partnership between L2D, WastePlan, and Solid Green Consulting. It demonstrates that, with a clear, collaborative and consistent approach, significant progress can be made in waste management and resource recovery. Lisa Reynolds, CEO of the GBCSA, praised L2D’s achievement, emphasising that sustainability is not just aspirational but achievable with the right framework and commitment.

Overall, L2D’s achievement highlights the value of collaboration, innovation, and persistence in advancing sustainability, setting a new standard for other malls and property groups in reducing their environmental impact.

The post L2D Sets New Standards for Waste Reduction in Malls appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

“This certification has taken three years to complete,” acknowledges Brian Unsted, asset management executive at L2D. The idea to divert 90% of waste from landfill was clarified after the property group appointed WastePlan in 2021 to manage waste at their malls. At the time, waste diverted from landfill was only 47% – a far cry from where it needed to be.

By setting a clear goal and partnering with WastePlan, L2D was able to focus on significantly improving the diversion of waste from landfills at its malls. Sustainability manager at WastePlan, Mike Pienaar, explains the key focus areas to achieve this goal. He says:

Firstly, we needed to get tenants to comply and introduce a system of billing that incentivised them to recycle.

This was based on the “user pays” principle.

Marloes Reinink, director of Solid Green Consulting, which helped L2D achieve the GBCSA certification, says that a huge amount of effort was placed in educating retail staff. “The billing system introduced by L2D and WastePlan means that shops are charged different rates for waste,” she says.

A bin that goes to landfill is charged more than a recycling bin, for example. This creates an incentive for shops to recycle their waste.

Read the full article in Positive Impact magazine.

The post Liberty Two Degrees: Waste not, Want not appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.

Environmental sustainability has always been a key priority for Liberty Two Degrees, but the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated existing Future of Work trends, says Saadiyah Kahn, project lead of the interior fit-out at L2D. “The requirement for environmental sustainability was highlighted, employee wellbeing became a priority, digital transformation became more pronounced, and the need to support the responsible use of natural and local resources became a core focus,” Kahn comments.

Kahn mentions that the design of the Liberty Two Degrees interior office space needed to not only align to L2D’s strategic imperatives, but also had to take into account the human experience.

The office space was designed on the basis of four pillars – ‘Good’, which considers environmental sustainability, ‘Smart’, which speaks to ease of use in a plug-and-play environment, ‘Well’, which incorporates people’s wellbeing, and ‘Design’, which looks at incorporating local content in the form of artwork and materials as a representation of the focus on the South African context for L2D.

Good

The “Good” pillar aligns with L2D’s Good Spaces strategic building block, which is headed by Brian Unsted who is also current Chairman of the GBCSA. This pillar brought in an element of biophilic design including plants and natural lighting, and aimed to reduce stress, enhance the mood of people in the office environment, and improve creativity and productivity. A further key consideration was that of regenerating and transforming an old and unappealing office space into something new and fit for the changing nature of work.

Targets were set to minimise energy and water use. Water efficient sanitary fittings have been installed to conserve water as much as possible. Energy efficient LED lighting has been phased into the interior retrofit, and motion sensors and daylight harvesting sensors were used to ensure maximum energy efficiency of lighting systems.

The building is equipped with new water and energy meters to measure the major water and energy consuming systems in the building. Energy consumption and peak demand figures are measured using smart meters. These meters are connected via an impact interface to the building management system (BMS), which is updated continuously at the polling speed of the BMS controller (live trending). The system provides information such as system failures and sudden increases of energy consumption beyond a certain level. It also provides a consumption trend over time, enabling quick identification of irregular usage.

The waste generated by the building’s operations becomes part of the Sandton City precinct waste streams with high percentages being recycled or composted, and minimal waste ending up in landfill. It is L2D’s policy to carry out regular waste stream audits of the consumable waste stream at each building to establish a baseline that identifies the types and amounts of waste making up the waste stream, thus identifying opportunities for increased waste minimisation, recycling, and waste diversion.

Smart

The “Smart” pillar aligns to the L2D digital transformation strategy of Smart Spaces, taking the rise of technological demands into consideration. The aim was to create an easy plug-and-play office environment that is mostly wireless, allowing for an inclusive blend of online and offline collaboration.

Well

Elri Syfert, sustainability consultant at Solid Green, adds that one highlight of the fitout is the special attention given to air quality within the office, or Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ). This speaks to the wellbeing of building users, which is of key importance to L2D.

At least 95% of the Nominated Area, is provided with fresh air at a rate of 10l/s/per person, a 33% improvement over the per person requirements of SANS 10400-O:2011. The building makes use of carbon dioxide control, which monitors the outside air rates to ensure that CO₂ levels are kept at less than 700ppm in each plantroom, with automated fresh air supply damper control. Indoor air quality monitors will also assess temperature, humidity, VOC, carbon monoxide, dust particles and nitrogen dioxide levels.

Modular air-cooled chillers will supply chilled water to Air Handling Units (AHU) as chiller units have a higher cooling capacity as well as higher efficiencies compared to other mechanical cooling systems.

L2D implemented a Green Cleaning policy to address environmental best practices for cleaning the interior of the building. The plan reduces the exposure of building occupants and maintenance personnel to potentially hazardous chemical, biological and particle contaminants, which adversely impact air quality, health, building finishes, building systems and the environment.

Design

Finally, a focus on “Design” allowed for the inclusion of a variety of bespoke artwork, colour and a choice of innovative materials. Priority was given to locally sourced and natural materials as far as possible, and most of the previous office furniture was re-used in the new space. The most prominent design feature was the use of recycled plastics in the form of 100 000 compressed used tubes of toothpaste making up the 3D ceiling feature, which has integrated LED lighting accentuating the waves of the ceiling. The concept of the “Tree Office” arose from the unusual footprint of the office space, wedged between two atria with connected urban views onto Nelson Mandela Square. The shape of the space resembles a tree with a wide base and a long thin trunk which opens into a wide foliage area.

A further focus following Covid was to bring a sense of home comfort into the space, through the choice of furniture and fixtures in ergonomically designed workspaces and spaces such as relaxation and meditation areas. The layout and design of the overall office was created with fluidity in mind allowing for expansion, as business requirements change over time.

Kahn concludes:

This development is fit for purpose, offering an agile and collaborative environment, coupled with an ambience that inspires creativity and allows people to do their best work. We are pleased to see the L2D people utilising the office space as it was intended.

Project team

Owner: Liberty 2 Degrees
Accredited professional: Solid Green Consulting
Architect: Batley Partners International
Electrical engineer: Qualelect Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd
Mechanical engineer: RPM Consulting Engineers
Quantity surveyors: Amara Quantity Surveyors
Sustainable design review: Solid Green Consulting
Sustainable building consultant: Solid Green Consulting
Project manager: Bartley Partners Architects
Facilities management company: Liberty 2 Degrees
Interior designer: Bartley Partners Architects
Ergonomist: Ergomax Holdings (Pty) LTD
Waste contractor: Waste Warrior
Landscape management company: Bidvest ExecuFlora
Recycling contractor: Tsebo Cleaning Solutions
Construction / fit-out contractor: Trend Group
BMS systems professional: Solid Insight

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