IGBC&E – A national framework for green buildings in South Africa

The government adopted a National Framework for Green Building in South Africa (NFGBSA) in November 2011 as its official policy toward green building. The NFGBSA assists the Government in meeting its sustainable development commitments through its construction programme, especially with regard to the development and maintenance of the national estate. The NFGBSA also supports two of the 12 performance outcomes on which departmental action plans are to be devised and public sector delivery measured.

The NFGBSA identifies Five Strategic Focus Areas, the first of which is to adopt green building regulations, standards and best practice. Although the NFGBSA lays the foundation for a more comprehensive strategy to follow, it also supports a visioning and system phase to give momentum to the implementation of the NFGBSA. The paper uses the People/Environment/Development (PED) Nexus to develop a basis for building regulation that will be able to strengthen the resilience of the natural and constructed environment. The paper proposes that additional parts to Part X: Environmental Sustainability as contained in the National Building Regulations be expanded by the inclusion of a broader objective of PlusGreen addressing water, waste, emissions, biodiversity, and human well-being.