30 October 2012 - Over the last few years, the green building movement has been gaining much ground in South Africa. This year, the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) celebrated their fifth birthday. The council’s mission is to “lead the transformation of the South African property industry to environmental sustainability” (Gbcsa-convention.org.za).

Encouraged by what the council calls “the bold leadership demonstrated by our members,” it decided to launch the 'Green Star Leadership Awards' which serves to acknowledge pioneers in green building for the initial five years of their history (Gbcsa-convention.org.za).

At the awards, held during the annual GBCSA convention and exhibition which recently took place on 23rd-25th October 2012 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, Candice Manning, a consultant in Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) at Aurecon’s éThekwini’s office, won the ‘Rising Green Star Award.’ This acknowledges her steadfast commitment to the green building movement and the part she has played thus far in the transformation of sustainable building design.

In response to the commendation, Manning said, “It is an honour to be recognised by the GBCSA and receive this award. As an environmentalist, it has become a personal challenge to change the way developers and engineers think about the design, construction and operation of their buildings. I hope that in some way, my contribution to the green movement will make a small difference.”

Manning has been involved with green building developments for almost three years. She began her career as a Green Star co-ordinator on the 24 Richefond Circle construction site, ensuring the contractor and subcontractors understood and carried out the Green Star requirements for the Shepstone and Wylie project. She then joined Aurecon in January 2011 to continue with the Shepstone and Wylie ‘As Built’ rating and has since been involved in achieving Green Star Ratings for:

• 24 Richefond Circle/Shepstone and Wylie (4 Star Green Star SA As Built). This became the second Green Star rated building in Durban, and achieved the second ‘As Built’ rating in South Africa. It is the home of the Shepstone and Wylie attorneys, and is situated in the Ridgeside Office Park in Umhlanga.
• Mayfair on the Lake (4 Star Green Star SA Office Design v1 and As Built v1). Also located at Durban’s prestigious Umhlanga Ridge, this development has just recently been awarded a 4 Star Green Star SA Office ‘As Built’ v1 rating through the Green Building Council of South Africa. The building, which already has a 4 Star Green Star SA Office Design v1 rating, is the third building in South Africa to achieve both ratings, and is also Aurecon’s third Green Star rated building in KwaZulu-Natal.

“It is extremely exciting to be part of the movement towards sustainable development in the Property industry in South Africa. It is vital we start changing the way we design and build to reduce the impact development has on the environment. We spend so much of our lives in buildings. Ensuring a building is ‘green’ allows occupants to work productively in a healthy indoor environment that has a significantly reduced impact on resources such as energy, water and materials,” she says.

Ermis Marques, Aurecon’s Property Industry Director, adds, “My congratulations to Candice Manning on her Rising Green Star award. The Aurecon group is committed to designing and executing sustainable buildings and infrastructure for our clients. Our teams consist of registered and industry-recognised green building professionals whose joint experience ensures that our solutions are innovative, environmentally responsible and commercially viable. I’m proud to note that Manning’s well-deserved achievement proves this commitment.”