Redefine beat six other nominees in the category including its own The Towers office precinct also in Cape Town.

The award aims to recognise efforts by individuals, teams or corporates involved in Facilities Management, which have delivered the best sustainability initiative during the course of the year.

Black River Office Park is the first office precinct in the country to receive Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) certified Green Star existing building ratings for all of its eight buildings, with a combined 75,000sqm of office space. Amongst its many firsts, Black River Office Park is also home to the first Green Star SA Existing Building Performance (EBP) certified building and the first building to receive a 6 Star Green Star SA EBP rating.

“The award validates our commitment to providing tenants with work spaces that are in itself conscious of the environment in which they operate and cost effective to run. It further demonstrates to our tenants, the community and all other stakeholders that our properties are managed to the highest standard of excellence,” says Ilse Swanepoel, Head of Utilities at Redefine Properties.

Black River Park also acclaimed with having Africa’s largest integrated rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system. The roof top installation at the office park in Observatory is rated at 1.56MW and is made up of approximately 6,000 panels spread over 9,000sqm of roof space. It ranks amongst the world’s top 20 commercial roof top solar installations. 

The office precinct has also implemented best practices in water, waste, energy, and overall sustainability. The park has retrofitted all of its common and parking areas with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) as well as instituted a cost-benefit sharing agreement with tenants to further the roll out of energy saving technology. The park has also engaged with tenants to reduce their energy consumption through tenant education and active audits.

Aside the potential energy savings the park has been able to ratchet, its environmental policy also extends to waste management with over 75% of waste collected being diverted from landfills. All waste from the park is sorted on site into recyclable and non-recyclable materials including correct disposal of fluorescent tubing. The park also maintains ecologically friendly gardens with water sourced from boreholes on site.

Sustainability is not a nice-to-have but rather a mindset that is embedded throughout the organisation. We have not rested after improving energy efficiencies and implementing water saving at our developments, we now assess our carbon footprint every year to determine the environmental impact of the company according to Swanepoel.

As a leader in the property development sector, we are fully conscious of and active in our role in protecting and enhancing the environment.

“The Black River Office Park is exemplary for its commitment to and achievements in sustainability and our drive towards sustainability is based on overwhelming evidence that demonstrates the impact of green buildings on productivity and wellbeing of its occupants,” Swanepoel says in conclusion.