Certified at the leading edge of sustainability
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- 31 March 2023
The mixed-use Jewel City Precinct development – which spans six blocks and is an extension of the existing Maboneng Precinct located in Johannesburg’s CBD – has been awarded an EDGE Preliminary Design Certificate from the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA). It is now on the brink of earning post-construction EDGE status.
EDGE stands for ‘Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiency’. It is an international green building certification and an innovation of the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.
This certification confirms that the building design is based on the prescribes of the EDGE Standard, which requires a minimum of a 20% improvement in energy, water, and embodied energy in materials as measured against current standard building regulations.
Tommie Richards, Development Manager of Divercity Urban Property Group, says it is committed to addressing environmental sustainability through its developments and, therefore, seeks to comply with EDGE certification on all new development projects. This includes retrospectively applying for this green building status for projects completed since 2019.
Saving the environment and reducing tenant costs
“We have registered five projects for this certification, with Jewel City’s The Onyx and The Diamond – both completed projects – in the preliminary certification process.”
Richards says The Onyx has been designed with energy efficiency in mind and comprises more efficient building materials, effective design and layouts, and water- and electricity-saving features.
“By meeting these requirements, we are not only helping save the environment but, importantly, giving our tenants the ability to save money through their utility consumptions.”
Divercity relies on the advice and support of its specialist consultants, Gass Architects and InsideOUT Consulting, to navigate and make good progress on their eco-smart efficiency journey.
The Onyx is expected to reach certification soon, while a new ‘first-of-its-kind’ precinct development in Sandton, Barlow Park, which is currently under construction, has also been put forward for certification.
“And there is more exciting news to come,” Richards says.
Divercity is privileged to be one of only a few local property development and management businesses included in an EDGE South Africa marketing video to be showcased to an international audience. “We have also been asked to act as an ‘EDGE Champion’.”
Setting sights on net zero
The Edge certification is proof of Divercity’s undertaking to develop and manage buildings in an environmentally sustainable manner. International acknowledgement assures all our stakeholders, including, most importantly, our tenants.
“We endeavour to be a green market leader in our asset class,” he states.
In addition to EDGE certification, Divercity aims to achieve net zero certification for its developments.
The GBCSA awards these certificates to projects that go beyond the partial reductions recognised in the council’s current tools and have taken the initiative to reach the end point of completely neutralising or positively redressing their impacts. Projects can achieve net zero in carbon, water, waste, and ecology.
Learn more about The Onyx at Jewel City’s Edge project study at https://app.edgebuildings.com/project-studies/jc-the-onyx