Business-led initiative Accelerate Cape Town says the call to move towards the construction of green buildings in the city forms part of the increasing awareness of the need to protect the environment and mitigate climate change.

The construction of green buildings and retrofitting existing buildings to become more energy efficient are growing international concerns, says Accelerate Cape Town CEO Guy Lundy.

Buildings have a greater impact on global warming than cars, so constructing energy efficient buildings is the starting point in effecting change, he says.

The United Nations (UN) Intergovern-mental Panel on Climate Change previously warned that building-related emissions could nearly double from almost 9-billion tons in 2004 to about 16-billion tons in 2030. A 2008 UN report stated that energy use in buildings accounts for one-third of greenhouse-gas emissions.

“One of Cape Town’s significant differentiators is its natural environment, so we run the risk of being negatively affected by climate change and have a responsibility to act on it. As a business organisation representing major corporates, one of the areas where we can have significant impact is assisting our member companies in reducing their carbon footprints,” he explains.

This has been achieved by hosting seminars with green building specialists and presenting papers that assist members in reducing their carbon footprints.

Accelerate Cape Town says that existing buildings can be retrofitted with technologies that save energy and water and reduce the need for air conditioning. Further, other green technologies that can be incorporated into existing buildings include solar panels and wind turbines as alternative sources of energy, and technology for the collection of rainwater and the recycling of grey water for toilet cistern use.

“We organise a quarterly Sustainability Forum, where we bring together decision- makers within companies who have the responsibility to implement sustainable practices. This is a way for companies to share knowledge and learn from experts in the green building industry,” he says.

“We communicate information about sustainable business practices to our member companies and the broader business database of several thousand businesspeople. We also inform our members of other companies who have gone green – for example, companies such as petroleum company BP’s green building offices, at the Waterfront, and South African retailer Woolworths’ green retail store, in Claremont,” says Lundy.

Accelerate Cape Town works with its partners, audit, tax and advisory services firm KPMG and sustainability, training and organisation consultancy icologie, on the Sustainability Forum.

Many individuals believe that embarking on green building projects is expensive, but extra costs are eventually mitigated by low water, energy and other services costs.