One of the main challenges facing sub-Saharan Africa is undoubtedly the enormous demand for housing. With housing settlements sprouting uncontrollably, energy efficient buildings are highly recommended by experts.Buildings are responsible for 40 per cent of all energy consumption and up to 30 per cent of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions globally.

Promoting the uptake of green buildings has become the priority of many developed countries and now Africa has been awakened to this fact. Being the least contributor to climate change and global warming, the continent is nonetheless the worst-hit. The concept of green buildings is gradually taking root as the construction sector has been shown to provide the greatest potential for delivering significant cuts in emissions.

By using solar water heating, ultra-low flush toilets, effective   day-lighting, the elements of green building are falling neatly in place. These in addition to high-efficiency windows and insulation in walls, ceilings and floors are some of the materials used in green buildings.

Deemed as the first step towards the promotion of green buildings in any given country, GBCs are non-profit, member-based organisations that seek to transform the building industry towards sustainability through encouraging the adoption of green building practices.

CONCEPT

In Kenya, the Government together with stakeholders developed a housing  policy aimed at developing sustainable human settlements. Mr Tirop Kosgey, the Ministry of Housing Permanent Secretary, revealed government’s plans for revising the Building Code, a move that is aimed at encouraging and ensuring that new buildings being set up embrace the green building concept in order to protect the environment and ecosystems from pollution, degradation and destruction.

Speaking at a conference on green building rating systems in Africa at the UN in Nairobi, stakeholders from 20 African countries had converged in early May.

Vincent Kioo of UN-Habitat says, “the EAC member countries’ governments, in partnership with UN-Habitat and UNEP, have over the last two years been working on a project that is looking into ways of promoting sustainable building production”. According to Kioo, the majority of buildings in tropical Africa are a replica of buildings in Western countries with cold climates. “Our target is to reduce at least 10-30 per cent of energy consumption of existing buildings in order to enhance property value,” Kioo said.

UN-Habitat recently helped the government to establish a building code in Rwanda, where the agency is planning to build 2,006 houses. “A building lasts 40-50 years, so energy-efficient decisions made today have a huge long-term impact on energy consumption and cost implications,"  A UN - Habitat report says Robert Kehew, Human Settlements Advisor at UN-Habitat, urges stakeholders to be cognisant of the fact that sub-Saharan Africa has a lot of energy and water rationing programmes going on.

Dr Manal Elbatran, co-ordinator of Egypt’s GBC, estimates that by 2012 all tourist buildings in the land of the Pyramids must go green. The process of setting up a GBC in Egypt was initiated by the government with the GBC Chairman being the Minister for housing.Bruce Kerswill, GBC South-Africa, emphasises that they will extend support to anyone who wants it in Africa as they would want to see a council established in every country.