Multinational companies investing in South Africa are seen as being under more pressure than local companies to locate themselves in sustainable buildings. In June, American multinational energy group Chevron’s office building in Cape Town achieved a five-star Green Star South African rating.

Of the 39 Green Star-rated buildings in South Africa, only 12 have achieved five- or six-star ratings from the Green Building Council of South Africa.

Investec Asset Management portfolio manager Neil Stuart-Findlay said in July that sustainable properties were becoming increasingly attractive, particularly for multinational companies investing in South Africa, which were under more pressure than local companies to "limit their impact on the environment and their carbon footprint".

"Provided that these initiatives can be rolled out in a cost-effective manner, green buildings are likely to become an even more desirable offering for tenants over time," Mr Stuart-Findlay said.

The Black River Park office development in Cape Town, which reports that it is being fitted with the largest roof-mounted solar panel system in Southern Africa, has said a number of large multinational companies have already positioned themselves in the park.

The Grundfos building, at the junction of the R24 and N12 highways in Johannesburg, near the Gillooly’s interchange, has solar panels, filtration systems and pumps supplied by Grundfos, to demonstrate the company’s trust in its own products, Grundfos said last week.

The building has a solar-powered rainwater harvesting and water treatment plant, installed in the atrium for all visitors and employees to see.

Quinton Piek from Empowered Spaces, the architectural company that designed the Grundfos building, said last week that to save on water wastage, "all the stormwater — as per authority requirement — and rainwater on the site is harvested into the underground tank".

"From there it is pumped by means of Grundfos’s solar-powered pumps into the building, where it is filtered into potable water for the building," Mr Piek said.

The rainwater is then recycled and reused in the building’s internal and external water features and used to flush toilets and irrigate the landscape.

"We introduced Grundfos solar panels into the western façade sun control panels. They generate enough electricity to run the entire Grundfos water filtration system for the building," he said.

Source: BD