The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) has secured Eskom’s Integrated Demand Management department (IDM) as a new founding member.
Eskom’s sponsorship is part of the company’s commitment to promoting energy efficiency across the country, and in the commercial sector in particular, says Andrew Etzinger, Eskom’s senior general manager IDM.
The R500 000 Platinum Founding membership will support the organisation’s efforts towards changing the way South Africa is built.
According to the GBCSA chief executive officer Brian Wilkinson, the new partnership is based on a shared ethos and strategies.
“Both the GBCSA and Eskom are working towards finding ways to minimise energy consumption in order to create a sustainable future for South Africa.
“We are thrilled by Eskom’s commitment to the local green building movement and look forward to an ongoing relationship, which will see us sharing thought leadership and industry experience.”
Eskom’s sponsorship is part of the company’s commitment to promoting energy efficiency across the country, and in the commercial sector in particular, says Andrew Etzinger, Eskom’s senior general manager IDM.
“The commercial sector uses ten percent of the country’s electricity and represents a significant savings opportunity given that historically, most buildings were not designed with energy efficiency in mind,” says Etzinger.
As an independent, non-profit organisation, the GBCSA is reliant, to a large extent, on funds raised through sponsorship and membership to facilitate green building awareness and education.
“Our ultimate aim is that all buildings will be designed, built and operated in an environmentally sustainable way,” says Wilkinson.
He says it is through the foresight and commitment of GBCSA members that the organisation is moving towards a sustainable built environment.
“We would therefore like to officially welcome Eskom as a Platinum Founding member.”
The GBCSA and Eskom have collaborated on several initiatives to date.
Eskom contributed significant sponsorship and technical input towards the development of the Energy and Water Benchmarking tool currently being developed by the GBCSA.
Since being established in 2007, the council continues to work towards, developing and providing its rating tools to facilitate necessary change within South Africa’s built environment.
The tools are leveraged off what we deemed to be the best international rating tools and have been adapted to local circumstances with the input of industry experts and government agencies, he says.
“We are also focusing on knowledge sharing and training of professionals within the property industry that can help take green building forward.”
Locally, the GBCSA has a network of over 900 local corporate members and with Eskom as partners, we also look to support their energy efficiency programmes through our initiatives and tools, he adds.
Eskom joins other significant industry Platinum members, including Old Mutual, Growthpoint, Capicol and Grohe.