GREEN STARS AND NET ZERO: YOUR GUIDE TO GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Written by Bertie Lourens | Jan 28, 2025 9:20:02 AM

Efficient waste management, sustainable water and energy use, significant reductions in carbon emissions – these are notoriously difficult to achieve in the built environment. Still, there are ways of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future, and green building certifications can be useful allies on the journey to sustainability.

These certifications provide clear frameworks and set benchmarks through the various stages of design, construction, and operation – all aimed at creating beautiful spaces that prioritise environmental performance, resource efficiency, and the well-being of the people who eventually use these buildings every day. In South Africa, the two most prestigious certifications (Green Star and Net Zero) are awarded by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).

Who is the Green Building Council of South Africa?

The GBCSA was founded as a non-profit organisation in 2007 with the aim of demystifying green building practices and promoting a sustainable built environment in South Africa. Besides facilitating knowledge sharing between industry professionals, it also publicly recognises environmental leadership by rating and certifying both existing and new buildings.

What does a Green Star rating mean?

A Green Star rating is considered the South African gold standard when it comes to sustainable buildings and places, and this is internationally recognised. Its versatile, holistic approach has been designed specifically for the South African built environment, and it is suitable for the different stages in a building’s life cycle. There are six Green Star ratings:

1 STAR	2 STAR	3 STAR	4 STAR	5 STAR	6 STAR
A good start	On the journey	Good practice	Best practice	South African excellence	World leadership

What type of building projects are eligible for a Green Star rating?

There are four types of building projects that can apply for a Green Star rating. These include: interior fit-outs, new buildings or major refurbishments, existing buildings, and precincts.

PROJECT TYPE	EVALUATION BASED ON:
Interior Fit-Out	The environmental attributes of interior fit-outs, recognising spaces that are healthy, productive places to work and have a reduced environmental footprint. Ideal for office, hospitality, education, retail, and large volume projects such as branch roll-outs.
New Buildings and/or Major Refurbishments	The design features of new buildings and major refurbishments, assessing them at tender stage or at construction completion. Evaluation criteria are tailored to specific building typologies: office, public and education buildings, retail spaces, multi-unit residential, industrial, hospitality, healthcare, and mixed-use buildings.
Existing Building Performance	Sustainable operations and management, including energy and water management, indoor environment quality, and tenant-landlord relations. This rating is valid for 3 years, promoting continual improvement. (See for example this free Energy Water Performance (EWP) tool that is useful to benchmark an office building’s energy and water performance against its peers.)
Sustainable Precincts	The environmental performance of large-scale precinct and neighborhood development (not individual buildings) during the planning, design, and construction phases. Because of the complexity of large-scale developments, this rating is valid for a maximum of 5 years, after which the project can recertify.

How does the Green Star rating tool work?

To be eligible, a building project must satisfy specific minimum requirements. Projects achieve credits in 10 categories, and the total number of credits determine the Green Star rating. Each category focuses on a different environmental and sustainability facet in building design, construction, and operation:

CATEGORY	FOCUSES ON:
Energy	Reducing overall energy consumption, without decreasing building functionality.
Water	Reducing overall water use and supplying different water needs through sensible sources, such as efficient re-use and harvesting rainwater for non-potable requirements.
Materials	Finding building materials from local and ethical sources, re-using materials efficiently, using materials with low embodied carbon, while ensuring their excellent performance as construction components.
Innovation	Implementing new techniques and technologies, and advancing industry best-practice.
Emissions	Reducing the release of greenhouse gases and other contaminants as much as possible, to do the least harm.
Socio-economic	Improving some element of the socio-economic conditions around, or in some way connected to, a project.
Transport	Ensuring building users can easily connect to public transport, and supporting walking and cycling as transport alternatives.
Indoor Environment Quality	Supporting the well-being of users by ensuring these buildings maintain a comfortable temperature, have good acoustics, are well-lit (with daylight where possible) and well ventilated.
Management	Adopting environmental principles from project inception, through design and construction, to the ongoing daily operation of the building.
Land use and ecology	Promoting initiatives that improve or reduce the building’s impact on ecological systems and biodiversity.

What does Net Zero certification mean?

Net Zero is a framework designed to evaluate and certify buildings based on their carbon emissions. It assesses various facets of a building’s design, construction, and operation to ensure that it minimises carbon emissions throughout its lifecycle. Based on accurate, verifiable data over a 12-month cycle, this certification is awarded to buildings that surpass partial reductions, demonstrating their commitment to achieving complete carbon neutrality.

How does the Net Zero rating tool work?

The Net Zero rating tool distinguishes between two levels based on the carbon measurement boundary:

Level 1 includes only base building emissions (meaning it applies only to emissions generated by the building’s core operations and systems managed by the building owner, such as heating, cooling, lighting, and ventilation).
Level 2 extends beyond base building emissions to also include operational emissions by building users (meaning it applies to the building's inherent energy efficiency and operational impact as well as the broader footprint from how tenants use the space). Level 2 is therefore more difficult to achieve than Level 1.

Certification can be achieved in one or more of the following 4 categories:

CATEGORY	FOCUSES ON:
Carbon	Highly energy-efficient buildings that get most of its energy from renewable sources, that are ideally on-site. The goal is to be carbon neutral or even carbon positive.
Water	Highly water-efficient buildings that use significantly less water during construction and ongoing operation. The goal is to treat, recycle and reuse water so that the amount it uses matches the amount it produces.
Waste	Buildings that excel at reducing, reusing and recovering its waste – with zero solid waste sent to landfills. The goal is to convert waste into valuable resources, and even collect waste from other places to put it to good use, instead of sending it to landfill.
Ecology	The impact of a building on its surrounding ecology. For greenfield sites, this means not harming natural surroundings during construction so that they retain their ecological value. For developments on existing sites, it’s about restoring and improving the environment to increase its ecological value.

Want to achieve a Green Star rating and/or Net Zero certification?

Follow these steps to apply for a Green Star rating, and/or a Net Zero certification:

Decide which rating tool to use for your building project
Appoint an accredited professional (who is qualified in your rating tool)
Register your project with GBCSA through their online platform
Submit your documentation through your accredited professional
An independent panel of sustainability experts will assess your submission
Once successful, you will receive a certificate and building plaque
Celebrate your incredible achievement!

You can find out more about the certification process here.

Achieving a Green Star rating and/or Net Zero certification is a significant milestone on the path to sustainability, and it is a worthy ambition. However, it is not a journey to embark on alone – it requires expert guidance, ongoing collaboration with service providers, as well as accurate, verifiable data.

At WastePlan, we have a proven track record of assisting our clients to achieve the prestigious Net Zero Level 2 certification. Why not let our specialist team help you achieve your green certification goals too?

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