The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) and the Carbon Trust, an expert guide to net zero from a climate change perspective, are calling for 250 building owners and 5 SMMEs to participate in an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) project funded by UK Pact (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions).
Since inception of the UK PACT-funded project in early 2021, the GBCSA and the Carbon Trust have supported the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), and the National Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) with implementation of a mechanism to support the new local EPC regulation that aims to drive energy disclosure within existing building stock.
“Climate change and sustainability continues to move up the corporate agenda with global stock exchanges (including the JSE) and investors placing ever increasing emphasis on ESG management and reporting, EPCs could become an important part of South Africa’s national decarbonisation strategy, driving energy efficiency in buildings, and ultimately aiding the just transition to a low-carbon economy,” says Jonathan Booth of the Carbon Trust.
South Africa’s EPC regulation was made effective in December 2020 with the requirement for certain types of public sector buildings greater than 1000m² and of private sector buildings greater than 2000m² to obtain an EPC within a two-year period.
As the December 2022 deadline for obtaining an EPC looms for affected building owners, the project is shifting focus from helping to lay the EPC groundwork to supporting the implementation of the mechanism. This is anticipated to accelerate the uptake of EPCs in South Africa.
The project team is now actively seeking to support building owners with EPC groundwork and SMMEs who would like to become SANAS accredited inspection bodies.
Support will be offered to 250 building owners or managers in obtaining EPCs, whose building fits the following criteria:
- The building is older than two years with no recent major refurbishments.
- The buildings are of one of these ‘Occupancy Classes’:
- Entertainment & Public Assembly
- Theatrical & Indoor Sport
- Places of Instruction
- Offices
- A minimum of 12 months of energy data is available for the building.
- Public sector buildings greater than 1 000m2, private sector buildings greater than 2 000m2.
Owners (or building or facilities managers) of the selected buildings will be provided with:
- Introductory EPC training.
- An EPC tool to facilitate data gathering and to assist with the necessary calculations.
- Availability of an email based ‘help desk’ to provide ongoing support.
If you are a building owner or manager responsible for obtaining your building’s EPC and would like to benefit from this support, sign up online here.
5 SMMEs will be offered financial and technical support to help them obtain accreditation from SANAS as an Inspection Body able to issue EPCs.
If you are an SMME and interested in becoming a SANAS-accredited Inspection Body, apply online here.
