Public Works joins green building council amid fiscal reform

The department of public works & infrastructure has formally joined the Green Building Council of SA (GBCSA), allowing it to embed sustainability standards in state‑owned property management and infrastructure delivery.

The announcement was made by public works & infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson at the GBCSA’s annual convention in Cape Town.

According to the ministry, the department will pursue Green Star certifications for new and existing buildings, train officials as accredited green building professionals and publish annual reports tracking energy efficiency, renewable energy adoption and resource use.

Green Star is widely recognised as SA’s benchmark for sustainable buildings, offering ratings from 4‑Star (“best practice”) to 6‑Star (“world leadership”). Certification requires independent assessment against criteria such as energy and water efficiency, waste reduction, materials use and indoor environmental quality.

These commitments align with the 2025 medium‑term budget policy statement, which stresses that fiscal consolidation must be accompanied by effective spending and measurable outcomes. The Treasury has highlighted infrastructure as one of the fastest‑growing items of expenditure, with capital payments rising at 7.3% annually and the Budget Facility for Infrastructure approving projects worth R379.1bn.

The May budget had already set the baseline by prioritising infrastructure as a growth lever, allocating R1.03‑trillion over three years to public investment. This included R402bn for roads, R219.2bn for energy projects and R33.7bn for water and sanitation. Within this envelope, the department’s role as custodian of government property places it at the centre of efforts to ensure that infrastructure spending delivers efficiency gains and socio‑economic returns.

The medium-term budget update has sharpened this focus, emphasising that resources will be directed to departments and projects able to demonstrate accountability and tangible results.

The department’s planned certification of existing government buildings under the Existing Building Performance programme includes the installation of solar panels on suitable state‑owned properties and the roll out of time‑of‑use meters for real‑time monitoring of energy and water use. These initiatives are presented as environmental and fiscal measures, intended to reduce operating costs and improve asset performance.

The department has also committed to publishing a State of Public Works Green Building Report, providing annual updates on progress in energy and water efficiency, waste management and the socio‑economic impact of green infrastructure.