By Zola Tau, GBCSA Key Account Specialist
The battle against climate change has resulted in a socio-economic awakening. Carbon reduction and green development principles are no longer confined to the domain of sustainability officers. The impacts of climate change are tangible. It is no longer sufficient for sustainability initiatives to be isolated within specialised departments; they must be fully integrated into company decision-making and culture.
The timing of conversations is what makes history and as a global business community, we are at a sustainability tipping point 1. More formalised international regulations as well as investor concerns for measurable green interventions are about to force business-as-usual to convert to business-as-sustainable. The change this will require in thinking elevates these discussions to the highest organisational levels and boardrooms (CxO and Board level) and calls for the incorporation of these initiatives into company KPAs.
The apparent choice then becomes: Are we going to position our companies and teams as green leaders, or green defaulters? If we choose this moment to act, initiating conversations along the entire corporate chain about sustainability and certification, we choose leading over lagging. We choose first adopter advantage over frantic compliance.
Certified green assets offer a key step on the journey to total sustainability. There are some amazing tools available such as the annual MSCI SA Green Property Index 2; and the GBCSA, ASAQS and University of Pretoria’s 2022 Cost of Green Report 3 that build out the business case to assist you in shaping a climate-sensitive company culture. Beyond the investment case, there are other studies to get different departments talking sustainability, like the well-being and productivity benefits of building green 4.
The correlation between environmental sustainability and business resilience is clear.
Proactively investing in risk mitigation and adaptation measures that deal with regulatory change head on, not only future proofs company operations but enhances competitiveness.
The certification of property assets and implementation of measurable sustainability solutions is in the end what will demonstrate our conviction as the business community. What conviction, you say? Whether we care enough to put our money where our mouth is today to secure environmentally-sound tomorrows.
There has never been a better time to get the green conversation going than now!
At the GBCSA, we strive to collate, collect, and share as many of these certification conversation starters as possible, because we know that green buildings can serve as a gateway to broader green thinking, climate-sensitive company culture development & future-proofed bottom lines. You can find some of them on our website.
Let us help build your sustainability blueprint, and start the journey to your company’s certification.
- 2024: a tipping point for investing in sustainable buildings | World Economic Forum (weforum.org). ↩︎
- MSCI SA Green Property Index 2023. ↩︎
- Cost of Green report is currently available on request. Please send your enquiry to [email protected]. ↩︎
- https://worldgbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WorldGBC-Doing-Right-by-Planet-and-People.pdf ↩︎
