The Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) has certified its 50th building.

After just six years, GBCSA has seen some exceptional growth and the groundswell of green building in South Africa. 51% of South Africa firms are expect to be building green by 2015.

“Globally, the built environment is responsible for one third of all carbon emissions and with global warming a very real concern that affects us all, a shift in focus to green building is something that should be foremost in everyone’s minds – from government, to developers to the average man in the street,” says GBCSA CEO Brian Wilkinson.

Nine government buildings have been certified to date, one of which is one of only three 6-star buildings to be certified in South Africa. Wilkinson says government, as the largest owner and operator of property, plays an influential leadership role in accelerating sustainability in the built environment. He says it is very exciting to see this impressive line-up of Green Star SA rated buildings which indicate governments buy-in to green building practises.

“We are absolutely thrilled by the uptake in green building in South Africa. In the past few months the number of buildings that have been certified, or which have applied for certification, has increased exponentially – with 20 buildings being certified in 2013 alone. We are confident that this upward spike will continue as an ongoing trend as increased market demand and clear financial rewards, coupled with mounting government regulations and shareholder pressures, provide multiple incentives to own and occupy high-performance green buildings,” concludes Wilkinson.