Green building in South Africa continues to advance and grow thanks to great partnerships. As EDGE celebrates a decade of impact in green certification, it’s also an opportunity to reflect upon GBCSA’s history with International Finance Corporation (IFC) and EDGE.
How it began
EDGE (“Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies”) is a green building standard, and an international green building certification system. IFC created EDGE to respond to the need for a measurable and credible solution to prove the business case for building green and to unlock financial investment.
The GBCSA-IFC relationship goes back to 2014 when the EDGE conversation in South Africa was initiated between the two parties. The conversation developed, and in 2017, the first African EDGE Final certification was celebrated (Four Leaf Estate in Port Elizabeth, South Africa). Candlewood Crescent in Ekurhuleni,and Belhar Gardens in Cape Town, followed shortly after in achieving their EDGE Final certifications.
Since then, GBCSA has certified 80+ EDGE projects (Post Construction), and grown the project pool beyond housing to include education, healthcare, industrial, office and mixed use, student accommodation, as well as the largest EDGE Advanced retail certification in the southern hemisphere (Mall of Africa, 2025).
The journey continues
GBCSA today still enjoys strong relationships with key developers who have led the way, such as Similan, Balwin Properties and IHS Investments. Similan, the developers of Four Leaf, won two World Property Awards in 2024 for their EDGE Advanced development, Newinbosch Neighbourhood Estate. Balwin Properties currently has the largest EDGE-certified residential portfolio in the world.
GBCSA also currently has EDGE projects registered for certification in these African countries:
- Ethiopia
- Kenya
- Seychelles
- Uganda
- Mozambique
- Nigeria
- Rwanda
GBCSA continues to play an integral role in the certification of EDGE developments, and we take pride in the level of technical guidance we offer to willing developers to help them achieve their goals.
With the growth of green buildings and the service provider ecosystem across Africa, it’s valuable to look back on the journey, the learnings, and the exciting possibilities that were realised. Thanks to a powerful, inspiring vision, and many people working together with determination and a belief in a better future, a great scale of change has been achieved. Together, we can continue to have an incredible impact on the built environment across the continent.