RECYCLED COMMERCIAL BUILDING

Since starting its sustainability journey in 2008, the V&A Waterfront has blazed a trail of sustainable development initiatives to increase energy efficiency, conserve water and promote waste recycling across its precinct.

Recently, a café was built using only waste materials harvested throughout the Waterfront precinct. The construction industry is responsible for about 19% of global carbon emissions and the Portswood Café was designed to show what can be achieved with an innovative approach. It is a carbon-zero, low energy structure, the first of its kind at the Waterfront. This can highlight the role of alternative building methodologies, demonstrating circular economy thinking in practice.

With a vision to enhance its environmental credentials, the Waterfront has committed itself to:

*reducing its carbon footprint through circular design and sustainable practices;

*eliminating single-use plastics by 2025;

*ensuring that new buildings achieve a minimum net-zero green rating;

*establishing a waste-to-energy plant to divert waste from landfills and produce synthetic gas for electricity, complementing solar power; and

*implementing a desalination plant to provide fresh water to the area, thereby reducing the strain on the city’s fresh water supply.

The waterfront will soon launch a public programme to showcase its commitment to sustainability and community development.

www.waterfront.co.za