Opening address by Minister of Science and Technology, Mosibudi Mangena, at the Green Building Conference and Exhibition, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) International Convention Centre

8 November 2007

Programme director
Conference delegates
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

The Green Building Conference and Exhibition strives to enhance a sustainable relationship between buildings and the environment. In the construction industry, international declarations such as Agenda 21, call for ecologically sound land-use policies and energy-efficient designs, as well as an increased input of locally available resources, and the valorisation of traditional and indigenous building techniques. Hence, the related concepts of sustainable development and sustainability are integral to the 'green' concept in building operations.

Green requirements in buildings talks to three factors:

Firstly, as a response to environmental impacts, including global climate change; secondly, as a response to social well-being, including enhanced living environments; and thirdly, as response to improved economic performance, and immovable asset value.

Ladies and gentlemen, the latest scientific information published earlier this year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, illustrates consensus regarding coherent changes in many aspects of the climate system. The role played by greenhouse gases, in particular, is well understood, and their increases in the environment have been clearly identified.

It is predicted that if left unchecked, emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases from human activities will increase global temperatures by 1,8 celsius to four celsius by the end of this century. These rapid changes pose many challenges to the steps being taken globally and locally to create and enhance the quality of living environments.

Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions is a critical response to climate change. Meeting this particular challenge will require dramatic advances in technologies, and a shift in how the world economy generates and uses energy. In the construction industry, a 'green building', or a building conforming to 'green' principles, is a very important strategy for meeting the challenge of climate change.

As you are most probably aware, green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency of buildings and their use of energy, water, and materials, through better setting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal, the complete building life cycle. Thus, it is evident that there is significant mitigation potential throughout the building life cycle. Additionally, these practices are extremely critical to reducing building impacts on the environment and human health.

Green buildings have been known to eliminate the 'sick-building syndrome', and staff working in places with more fresh air and natural light, where there are less toxic emissions from materials used, have been found to be more productive, proactive and interactive.

Studies in the United States of America are showing that employees working in green buildings display an increase of up to 20 percent in productivity, and green hospitals are typically discharging patients, on average, two days earlier than patients with similar conditions recovering in conventional hospitals.

It should thus be clear from the above that the role of science and technology in supporting the construction industry in its attempts for sustainable buildings is indispensable. Here I will focus on a few key science and technology interventions, that is, the life cycle analysis, development of new materials and ecological design and engineering.

The construction of the built environment is heavily reliant on natural resources, the extraction of which often has a particular impact on the surrounding natural area, and in some instances, leaves a legacy of devastation for decades to come.

Globally, the construction of the built environment is estimated to consume more than 50 percent of natural material resources. It also utilises 45 percent of the energy generated for heating, lighting and ventilation, and 70 percent of global timber products end up in building construction.

In addition, 40 percent of clean water is used for sanitation and other uses in buildings and 60 percent of prime agricultural land is lost to farming for building purposes. This is the same land which is meant to feed the world's six billion people. The built environment further produces 40 to 50 percent of the waste in landfills, and is responsible for 20 to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

It therefore becomes very necessary for these impacts to be accounted for and included in the cost of development. The emerging field of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is thus one area where Science and Technology can play a role. Life cycle Assessment provides a holistic approach to understanding the environmental impacts of buildings and building materials.

However, LCA is not well understood or utilised in the building industry. As a result, the application of some well-intended green building principles can be misguided. Often, materials or products are compared, and decisions made on the basis of one or few isolated environmental attributes, without considering the full array of environmental impacts and implications in the total life cycle.

Such simplistic decisions can be risky, and often lead to poor choices. For example, even the use of wood from well-managed forests, energy from renewable resources and recycled content will not resolve critical issues around the environmental impacts of extraction and disposal, such as air quality, biodiversity and soil erosion.

Distinguished guests, none among us here can overstate the importance of the development of new materials. As the earth's non-renewable resources are depleted, new sources must be found for developing materials of the future. Some work is already under way in research institutes around the world, including South Africa. This work falls within the scientific field of biotechnology, and looks to the use of natural fibres as reinforcing material in new matrices.

Caution is nevertheless required. We all know that many of the materials developed in the past, and held up as the panacea for the future, have proved detrimental to human health. Thus, due diligence must also apply to any new endeavours in the field of materials science.

In terms of ecological design and engineering, ultimately nature herself remains the best teacher. Researchers are increasingly turning to Bio-mimicry, that is, the mimicking of nature, to find the next generation of materials to meet the needs nature, including those of current and future generations.

In this regard, Africa has a fine tradition of working with nature, and I have no doubt our scientists will find much in our history that will benefit the construction of the built environment in the future.

Let me now turn to what is happening here at home. With ever-increasing global emphasis on the need for climate-change mitigation, we understand that our built-environment professionals are beginning to take seriously the need to lessen the carbon footprint associated with buildings and residences, especially by using design and technological innovation to decrease energy consumption and limit waste.

I was very pleased to learn that our new head office just across the road was one of the 2007 awardees in the South African Property Owners' Association (SAPOA) Innovative Excellence in Property Development Awards.

I am also impressed that SAPOA is also encouraging innovation and excellence in a socio-environmental context that will impact on the way communities see and take responsibility for development.

A strong sign of the changes taking place within the built environment community is evidenced by the fact that a Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) was established just last month. The aim of this organisation is to promote green building in the commercial South African property sector. The establishment of the GBCSA is a move that will bring the country's industry in commercial and industrial property in line with global environmental practice.

It is also heartening to note that government and the private sector are becoming increasingly conscious of the need for environment-friendly building practices and corporations are starting to cotton on to the benefits of acting in sustainable ways.

Although the construction of new sustainable green buildings is a priority, retrofitting of existing buildings can yield remarkable energy and resources saving results. Government has agreed that it should lead by example in this regard, and has plans to retrofit about 106 000 buildings that are used by government departments throughout the country. This process is currently under way, and over 100 buildings in Tshwane, the Western Cape and the Free State have already been completed.

Smaller buildings and residences are often more thorough in implementing the principles of sustainability at grass roots level. Here the housing projects in the Claremont Municipality in the Eastern Cape, and Buffalo City in East London are a case in point.

A recent joint initiative between the department and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research will facilitate the introduction of technologies such as wind generation for electricity, and rain water harvesting for some of the needs of these community clusters. This project will provide baseline information on the efficiency of these sustainability efforts.

It is envisaged that the resulting evidence and learning from such initiatives should be used to positively influence government's thinking on subsidy levels where renewable energy options such as solar water heating would apply, and where there is a need for revising qualifying specifications to be adopted into housing developments.

In conclusion, I am convinced that a gathering of this nature will expedite our march towards the triple outcomes of a sustainable response to climate change, reduced environmental impact, as well as enhanced quality living environments.

These are indeed good reasons to construct more environmentally friendly buildings. I believe this conference presents a platform to advance the discussion beyond green building, to a conversation about what really makes for a sustainable society.

I wish you a most successful conference.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
8 November 2007
Source: Department of Science and Technology