Rudolf Pienaar, Growthpoint Properties Divisional Director: Offices, has been appointed to the World Green Building Council’s Board of Directors
Rudolf Pienaar, Growthpoint Properties Divisional Director: Offices, has been appointed to the World Green Building Council’s (WorldGBC’s) Board of Directors. Pienaar is Deputy Chairman of the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA), a member of the WorldGBC.
The WorldGBC connects a global coalition of more than 100 national Green Building Councils and their 27,000 member companies with a single mission: to transform the building industry and ensure our buildings and cities are sustainable, healthy, efficient, and productive. Its Board includes representation from five regions: Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa.
Pienaar was one of seven leaders in the global green building movement to be recently appointed to the WorldGBC’s Board.
WorldGBC Chairman, Bruce Kerswill, also from South Africa, comments: “Pienaar brings with him regional knowledge and expertise that will be valuable in helping WorldGBC increase our impact as we work through our member GBCs to accelerate sustainability in the built environment around the globe. We are fortunate to have such experienced and passionate individuals on board, as the environmental challenges our planet faces are daunting and we have a full agenda with some ambitious projects”.
Brian Wilkinson, CEO of the GBCSA, adds: “We’d like to congratulate Pienaar on his appointment to the WorldGBC board. Pienaar has been a dedicated and active member of the GBCSA board and is a committed advocate of green building practices. His appointment is richly deserved. He is a valuable member of our team and will undoubtedly serve as an asset in his new role.”
Growthpoint Properties is South Africa’s largest JSE-listed REIT and a JSE ALSI 40 company, which has property assets valued at nearly R100 billion. Growthpoint is a Platinum Founding Member of the GBCSA, a JSE Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Index company and a Dow Jones Sustainability Index company. It is a top performer in the CDP Climate Performance Index.
Growthpoint owns or co-owns the largest portfolio of green buildings of any company in South Africa. It co-sponsored the GBCSA’s Energy and Water Benchmarking Tool and is taking part in the pilot programmes for the Green Star SA Existing Building Performance Tool and the Socio-Economic Category. It has also partnered with GBCSA for the Greenovate Awards pilot which encourages students of the built environment to find ways to live more sustainably and helps link environmental challenges to innovative thinking.
Pienaar has been at the forefront of South Africa’s movement for a sustainable built environment since 2008 and has championed many of Growthpoint’s green building achievements. He has 30 years of experience in the property industry and is an avid advocate for green building. Pienaar has been a member of the GBCSA board since 2010, chairs its Marketing Committee and sits on its Exco.
Commenting on his appointment, Pienaar says he is looking forward to the opportunity to exchange information and learn valuable lessons from around the globe.
“By freely sharing information on a global scale, about both our successes and failures in green building, we have more positive and meaningful impacts on our cities, environment and societies. I am extremely proud to be representing our country and our continent in the effort to drive green building forward with greater pace and results,” says Pienaar.
