Bruce Kerswill, Executive Chairman of the GBCSA, says that producing a rating tool is one of the GBCSA’s main priorities as it sets the standards for green building and provides clear guidelines on what constitutes a ‘green building’.
 
“This is an urgent issue as many corporates are moving ahead with green building and have been looking at a variety of different tools.”
 
After a process of consultation and workshopping, the GBCSA agreed to base the SA tool on the internationally-respected Australian Green Star rating system, and to customise it for SA. 
 
“The process involves examining every credit of Green Star and assessing its relevance to SA, revising where necessary and introducing local SA measurements and benchmarks.  Michelle Malanca, of Sustainability Consultants, has been appointed as project manager to drive the process, and international engineering consultancy, Arup, as technical consultants to do the groundwork.  The project held its first meeting in March and is scheduled to have the first tool ready in Pilot form in July,” says Kerswill. 
 
“The Technical Working Group consists of a voluntary panel of over 20 leading local experts, with expertise in the different areas of the rating tool (i.e. water, energy, materials, emissions, etc),” explains CEO of the GBCSA, Nicola Douglas.  “The panel will discuss proposals made by Arup, provide input and additional expertise, and agree the final credits and benchmarks.”
 
“Michelle Malanca is currently based in San Francisco but was previously the Director of Green Star for the Australian Green Building Council.  While at GBCA, she was responsible for the development of two of their rating tools (retail and multi-unit residential) and she oversaw the customising of the Green Star rating system for New Zealand - so she is extremely well-qualified to handle the customising of the tool for South Africa.”
 
Arup was appointed following a proposal call process involving multidisciplinary firms with green building experience and international networks.
 
“Green Star consists of eight environmental categories as well as an innovation category,” explains Malanca.  “The eight environmental categories are; management, indoor environment quality, energy, transport, water, materials, land use and ecology, and emissions.”
 
“Within each category there are credits attainable and each credit has a certain number of points allocated to it.  In addition a weighting is attributed to each category, which puts a certain level of importance on a category.  When a building is assessed it is awarded points for the credits it complies with, and these are totalled to produce a score out of 100.  45 – 59 points will be classified as ‘Best Practise’, 60 – 74 points will be ‘South African Excellence’ and 75 points or more will be regarded s ‘World Leadership’.”
 
“Buildings achieving a rating of four stars or more will receive a Green Star certification.  Certification can either be issued during the planning stage based on the designs or after a building is complete,” says Malanca.
 
According to Malanca, the customisation of Green Star involves looking at the current situation in South Africa, local environmental priorities, local building codes and regulations, and local standards and measurements.  It also involves establishing best practise that is specific to SA.
 
“While there are many similarities, the context in SA is different to Australia, particularly in certain areas.  Things such as public transport will need to be addressed differently, and different ecosystems need to be correctly considered.  The tool addresses green building issues specifically and not broader social and economic issues.  The GBCSA is sensitive to the broader issues in SA and down the line intends to look at the feasibility of introducing these into later versions of the tool.”
 
“The biggest challenge,” says Malanca, “is balancing a fine line between setting standards that comply with international best practice and move the South African industry forward, but having respect for local circumstances and not making it too impossible to achieve ratings.”
 
“However, all that aside, I am very happy to be involved in this process and, having seen how green building has transformed the market in Australia and the USA, I am very excited to think that the same will happen here in South Africa.”
 
Kerswill notes that the GBCSA has been through a very busy time since its inception and has received phenomenal support from the industry.  “Judging by experience internationally, the publishing of the Green Star rating system will be a turning point for green building in the local market.  With the cohesive efforts of the Technical Working Group, Michelle Malanca and Arup, we are confident that we will have a world-class pilot version of Green Star SA ready for launch in June.”