New tool encourages reduced impact of interior projects

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The new Interiors tool, sponsored by Standard Bank as the main sponsor and Saint Gobain as supporting sponsor, encourages tenants to rate the interior fit-outs of their premises. The overall aim of this new rating tool is to encourage the reduced environmental impact of interior projects.

"Our current suite of rating tools focus largely on the design and construction applied to new buildings and major refurbishments. Until now, they've had very little consideration for interior fit-outs inside each premises. The new Green Star SA Interiors tool is a key rating tool that will make a significant impact, especially on multi-tenant retail and office space," Brian Wilkinson, CEO of the GBCSA, comments.

"We are excited to launch this pioneering new tool for South Africa, and believe that it will help transform thousands of offices, shops, restaurants and many other places, in existing and new buildings across the country, into sustainable green spaces," Wilkinson adds.

Sound business sense

Nathi Manzana, Standard Bank's head of Professional and Technical Services, says the bank is committed to sustainable business. "This commitment is seen in the business practices we conduct, the facilities we manage, and the associations that we support. Working sustainably makes sound business sense, supports the environment and provides a productive space for our employees to serve our customers."

Lisa Reynolds, sustainability director at Saint-Gobain Gyproc, says they are mindful of the fact that developing green environments requires much more than just energy planning. "The company's primary focus is the contribution our products make to the reduction of energy usage in both homes and workplaces.

"We have a number of products in our portfolio that have been designed and developed in-line with the company's commitment to moving towards a greener environment, ensuring our products are able to contribute to energy efficient buildings being awarded the highest Green Star certification."

Unique design initiatives

The Green Star SA Interiors tool will reward high-performance tenant spaces that are healthy, productive places to work and incentivise best practice for sustainable and efficient interior fit-outs that are also less costly to maintain and operate. It is designed to allow each tenancy to have unique environmental design initiatives, and to fairly and independently benchmark each one.
The benefits are far-reaching. Significantly lower building operation and management costs will provide cost savings for both tenants and landlords, and an energy-efficient premises would be less affected by soaring energy prices. In addition, with the national energy crises, lower energy consumption in green buildings reduces the strain on the power grid.

"A healthy building means happier employees and improved productivity. Businesses will be in a better position to retain talented staff and fast-track behavioural change," says Wilkinson.