SAs Commercial Properties Can Play A Role In Water Conservation
Category News
South Africa’s Impending Drought
This news may not come as relief to many facing the current heatwave, but South Africa is on the verge of the worst water crisis in history.
After the situation had been escalating for some time, the City of Johannesburg started imposing water restrictions on Monday.
The municipality was following suit after The City of Tshwane implemented them in October. There are parts of the province which have been cut off from water supply sources, with residents being rationed water via mobile water tanks.
In early November, Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane estimated that the number of stand-alone rural communities experiencing water shortages is 6500. Some of the worst hit provinces include KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West.
The Department of Water and Sanitation was briefing parliament on its plans to intervene in the situation, and provide relief to affected provinces around the country.
SA Commercial Property News reports that the government has allocated R350 million rand to combat the persistent drought.
SA’ Commercial Properties Can Make a Contribution
Although government is making plans to deal with the water crisis, these will definitely not be sufficient. The South African property market can do a lot to contribute to making a positive impact.
The first step to suitable water conservation begins with setting up a water savings plan. This helps companies know how much water they should or could save, and give an indication of how much it would cost to achieve those targets.
The type of business will inform your water savings plan. Office buildings and hospitals for instance, will demand a larger portion of water for mechanical systems, while hotels and eateries would need the water for various hygienic applications. Other heavy water users include sports complexes with large playing fields and stands, with usage being mainly driven by large public toilets and irrigation system.
Commercial Leaders in Water Sustainability are Already Emerging
South Africa’s commercial banks are already ahead of the curve when it comes to sustainability. Nedbank, Standard Bank, Absa and First National Bank have started embedding the idea of sustainable building into their business and are working with communities to grow the ‘green’ movement.
SA Commercial Property News reports that Standard Bank staff are close to moving into their new Rosebank offices in Johannesburg. The building received a 5-star rating rating for ‘green’ design from the Green Building Council of SA (GBCSA).
The building stands atop a ridge and is bordered by Baker Street, Bolton and Oxford Roads, and Cradock Avenue. It will bring roughly 5000 people to the commercial suburb, and is conveniently located close to the Rosebank Gautrain station.
Absa moved into a new Johannesburg CBD building that it said had ‘5-star as built’ green building rating by the Green Building Council.
The second phase of Nedbank’s headquarters in Sandton won a four-star design rating. First National Bank, and it’s vehicle financing wing Wesbank, moved about six years ago into a sprawling complex in Fairlands, near the N1 and Beyers Naude Drive.
Green is the New Black
The Green Building Council of South Africa has enjoyed massive progress in the commercial property sector. The council has reached significant milestones, with 100 Green Star SA certifications.
To show how rapid the growth has been, think of how in just 2009, the country’s first green certification was awarded by GBCSA. Then in April 2014 this number rose to 50. Now just a year later, we have seen this number double to 100, with 25 certifications awarded in the first quarter of 2015 alone.
At a media presentation Brian Wilkinson, CEO of GBCSA, said achieving 100 certifications indicates the commercial property sector’s commitment to sustainability and resource efficiency in response to growing cities and related challenges to energy infrastructure.
The Future of Water Conservation
Water shortages are here to stay. And if they’re not addressed, they could affect the long-term socioeconomic stability of South Africa and its neighbours. Commercial properties have the potential to lead the way in finding sustainable water-saving solutions that can have various applications. The pace with which things are changing is impressive, but it’s long overdue. The faster everyone gets on board, the quicker we could turn things around.
Author: Quirk
