Africa's greenest building made its official debut yesterday, as mobile operator Vodacom opened the R24 million Vodafone Site Solutions Innovation Centre at its head office, in Midrand.
The centre received a six-star rating from the Green Building Council of SA (GBCSA) to make it the greenest building on the continent. The carbon-neutral centre will house 12 specialists from Vodafone and partner companies who will work on solutions for reducing the company's global carbon footprint, as well as lowering the costs of deploying and maintaining networks.
Vodacom's parent company chose to locate the innovation centre in SA because the country functions as both an emerging and developed economy. Speaking at the launch event, Vodacom CEO Pieter Uys said the companies hoped the resulting innovations would spill over into the global arena, as mobile solutions that eventually lead to smart cities and infrastructure that's better for the environment.
Vodafone has set a target of reducing global CO2 emissions by 50% by 2020, and carbon intensity by 20% in emerging markets by March 2015. Vodacom has also committed to reducing its own 400 000-ton yearly carbon footprint by 5% per annum.
“Our objectives really address two core strategic deliverables; one being our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint, and the other to reduce operational costs while increasing enterprise value across the company. We firmly believe that the Vodafone Site Solutions Innovation Centre will drive the delivery of these objectives, not only for Vodacom in SA, but also for the broader global group,” said Uys.
The event also saw the handing over of the six-star green building award by GBCSA CEO Brian Wilkinson, who said it was the highest level of achievement and a mark of leadership. “In building the case for green buildings, the GBCSA had to look overseas for examples, and it's great that we now have an iconic demonstration of a green building here in SA, and that it's serving as a prototype for what's happening globally.”
The centre incorporates several cutting-edge design features, and already has a number of solutions to show off, many with broader applications. Architect Xavier Huyberechts, executive partner at GLH & Associates, says the building's innovations start from the bottom up, with concrete-free solid earth foundations, which reduced the total amount of concrete used in the building by 34%.
In addition, the supporting structure consists of a layer of rock store over which cold air passes at night, chilling the stones so they can act as a cooling source for air circulated through the office during the day. Photovoltaic panels on the roof provide 230kWh of electricity per day in winter, double the requirements of the building, so the surplus is channelled back into the grid to supply the adjacent main building at night.
Natural lighting, automated blinds, and motion and daylight sensors have also been installed to prevent unnecessary energy use. Apart from harvesting rain water, a recycling system also re-uses grey water for flushing toilets and irrigation. All the operations are monitored in the nerve centre at the heart of the building.
“These solutions will go into our offices and networks, but hopefully they will stimulate people in the broader South African environment as well, and encourage them to think differently,” Uys concluded.
Share