Following a refurbishment and implementation of various sustainable interventions, Vodacom’s Century City building in Cape Town has been accredited with a five-star Existing Building Performance (EPB), Version 1 Certification by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).

“The GBCSA is thrilled to be awarding an Existing Building Performance Version 1 Certification to Vodacom Century City. A decision to retrofit an existing building to reach sustainability levels doesn’t come easy; it reflects bold and responsible leadership. Vodacom has taken the lead in the telecommunications sector by practically demonstrating responsible business practices over the years and continues to do so. Resource efficiency, especially water and energy, is by far the best option in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, while ensuring great financial returns. This iconic building will remain a best case for EBP ratings in the country and we commend Vodacom for putting employees, clients and nature first,” says GBCSA CEO Dorah Modise.

The Vodacom Century City offices consists of three floors of office space, with an external open and basement parking. The building, which was constructed in 2000, has adopted green cleaning principles, indoor air quality management and a rigorous occupant feedback process. Furthermore, the building consumes even lower resources when compared to the national GBCSA benchmark building standards.

Sustainable design

Consulting company WSP Africa oversaw the design and implementation of a number of environmentally sustainable design features in the Vodacom Century City building, including the construction of a 542kWp single-roof photovoltaic solar array on the building. The installation comprised about 2,000 mono-crystalline solar panels onto Solar World Sundeck roof sheets and 100% recycled Suntabs over a 3,600 m² area.

“The thinking behind the refurbishments was in recognition of the fact that green buildings are not solely about reducing energy, but are also about consuming less water, using more sustainable materials, reducing waste, improving air and light quality, the restoration of habitat and reducing dependency on vehicles,” said Vodacom managing executive Carol Hall..