The Green Building Council of SA (GBCSA) has recently launched for general membership and is an emerging member of the World Green Building Council.

Its mission, says GBCSA chairman Bruce Kerswill, is to promote the practice of green building, act as a resource centre for the industry, develop and operate a green building rating system and provide training and education to bring developers and investors quickly up to speed.

“A highlight of the Convention will be the launch of the first Green Star rating tool for SA, for office buildings,” says Kerswill. Similar rating tools have marked the mainstream uptake of green building in overseas markets, and this will be a crucial first step towards fulfilling the GBCSA mission in South Africa.

Green building accreditation of new and refurbished developments is a challenge already being taken up by property developers and investors globally, not least because the demand for these more productive spaces from tenants is strong and growing.

The office rating tool will be followed by specific tools to address retail, multi-unit residential and other building types, in order of market demand.

“The challenge to the SA commercial and industrial development industry is to see how quickly and effectively they are able to embrace the need for green accreditation,” says Kerswill.

As part of its mandate, the GBCSA will also be running its first Green Star SA Accredited Professional Course on 5 November, immediately after the main Convention programme wraps up.

The Convention aims to take global green issues and examine them from a South African perspective.

“The programme already includes topics like the response of the Built Environment to global warming, the world-wide Green Building movement and SA’s energy crisis,” he elaborates.

“Detailed, practical guidance on green building techniques will also be showcased as a key element of the Convention, using both local and international case studies.”

A group of high-profile keynote speakers are scheduled to facilitate the Convention’s critical and topical discussions.

International experts include: Che Wall, immediate past chairman of the World Green Building Council and managing director of Lincolne Scott, a building services consultancy with offices in Australia and Asia Pacific.

Che is arguably one of the world’s most experienced green building consultants; Richard Fedrizzi, the president, CEO and founding chairman of the US Green Building Council – Rick is a giant of the green building movement and a dynamic speaker; and Andrew Borger, MD of Leighton Properties will bring out key members of his consulting team to present a case study on Queensland’s first 5 Star Green Star project.

Local specialist Indresen Pillay, MD of Davis Langdon SA and a member of Davis Langdon’s global International Sustainability Group, is scheduled to talk on the costs associated with green building

Alongside the Convention, the GBCSA Exhibition will showcase an extensive range of green building developers, technologies, products and services.

The GBCSA Convention & Exhibition 2008 will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Cape Town’s Foreshore from 2 November-4 November 2008.