Pretoria - The City of Tshwane is the first metro in the country to have a green building development and net zero carbon building by-law and policy.
This is according to Economic Development and Spatial Planning MMC Hannes Coetzee, who said the net zero carbon building by-law and policy intended to encourage the uptake of green building principles and design measures.
The municipality was acutely aware of the environmental impact that buildings and non-renewable energy have on its ecological footprint.
“Therefore, the City has taken steps to capacitate building control officers, building plan examiners and inspectors from the Economic Development and Spatial Planning Department by means of the recently held SANS 10400 XA and net zero carbon buildings training workshop,” Coetzee said.
He hailed the City for being at the forefront of climate action, saying it had signed the international net zero carbon buildings declaration and committed to a transition to net zero carbon by 2030 for new buildings and by 2050 for all buildings. “This is a huge task that requires knowledge, skill and capacity to succeed. The built environment is one of the most resource-intensive industries across the world, consuming more than 3 billion tons of raw material annually and producing an enormous amount of waste,” he said.
Moving forward, he said, building plans would be assessed in compliance with the newly reviewed SANS 10400 XA, the green building development and net zero carbon by-law and policy, and trends related to green buildings.
“For the built environment, having energy-efficient buildings, introducing renewable energy in buildings, following clean construction methods and building greener buildings are critical in ensuring the City’s contribution to climate mitigation and adaptation.”
The training is part of the South African-German energy programme sponsored by the German Agency for International Co-operation, German Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. It is locally supported by the SA Local Government Association and SA National Energy Development Institute. Locally, Sustainable Energy Africa manages co-ordination, and Solid Green and GreenED the training.”
Pretoria News