Sustainable solutions are important for business

Buildings are the key to a cleaner and greener future, and Bidvest Facilities Management aligns itself with this statement.

The company participated in the recent annual Green Building Convention (GBCSA), aimed at leading the sustainability journey in the South African property industry through inspirational thought and action.

Onisms Manyewe, an energy engineer at Bidvest Facilities Management and a green star accredited professional with the GBCSA, says that electricity accounts for 90% of the utilities bill for an average South African business, and this power percentage is unlikely to drop in the near future, given the current energy situation the country is facing.

“Today, most firms focus on their core competencies, and there is a limit to the efficiencies that a business can achieve on its own. As such firms require experts who can realise significant savings for them, while their businesses remain productive and efficient,” he says.

Bidvest Facilities Management aims to deliver an integrated facility management strategy that minimises total costs through forward looking, performance-based risk and maintenance strategies. “We participate at events such as the Green Building Convention of South Africa because we recognise the importance of sustainable solutions for businesses, which has a ripple effect on the economy of the country as a whole. We have always been about applying environmental and sustainability strategies in various industries, through our technical knowledge and experience which facilitates conservative electrical energy consumption and is dedicated to holistically reduce the impact of energy consumption on the natural environment,” comments Manyewe.

According to Bidvest Facilities Management, a global rise in the demand for energy is seeing organisations turn to greener solutions, and as people begin to recognise the importance in energy consumption, a significant increase in the number of South African firms adopting green building initiatives is noticeable. It was projected that in 2015, the level of green building activity in the country would rise to 60%.

Green building and smart building design solutions provide firms with lower operating cost, which results in healthier neighbourhoods, while rendering higher returns on investments, and promoting lower taxes on carbon emissions.

“Our solutions have been tested, and yielded results. One of our clients achieved a massive electricity cost saving during the 2013/2014 financial year, which saved R47,9-million on a project that would have costed them R73,7-million,” adds Manyewe.

Bidvest Facilities Management has in-depth expertise in providing energy efficient propositions for existing firms that wish to retrofit their buildings into green ones. The company also assists with planning future green developments in accordance and consultation with the Green Building Council who develop a rating tool for existing buildings.

“We have our own qualified in-house engineers, so don’t need to outsource these services. This team belongs to a group of only 13 000 globally, and are always on hand to assist in reducing the electrical energy consumption in buildings,” says Manyewe.

Source: it-online