Hyundai has become the first automotive company in SA to achieve a four-star, green-rated head office.
According to Stanley Anderson, marketing director at Hyundai SA, the establishment of the Bedfordview office was a greenfield project that took 21 months to complete. Hyundai implemented an environmental management plan to ensure its goals to earn a four-star green building rating were achieved.
Hyundai was monitored from construction to building completion, said Anderson. "We were required to manage the entire process. Any waste generated during construction had to be disposed of in an eco-friendly manner," he noted. "The majority of the materials used to build our head office were locally sourced. Recycled steel was used in the reinforcement of the structure. We even reused some of the bricks from a pre-existing boundary wall."
The building's roof is fitted with solar panels to heat the water used in bathrooms and showers, and a rainwater-harvesting system reduces water consumption by using non-municipal water in the sprinkler systems, bathrooms and for garden irrigation, he added. Large tinted windows were used to control UV penetration and to exploit natural lighting, said Anderson, adding that all rooms in the building are equipped with motion- and daylight-lighting sensors to reduce electricity consumption by automatically turning off any unnecessary lighting.
But it is not just at its head office that Hyundai is increasing its sustainability efforts, said Anderson. "The wash bays at several of our dealerships have implemented water recycling programmes to minimise water waste, which is an important step when you are washing up to 40 cars each day."
For Anderson, the move to go green was driven by a need to be responsible citizens. "At the end of the day, it is about sustainability and about setting an example," he said. "It actually makes the building a more comfortable working environment.
"Yes, the decision to make this building eco-friendly cost us an additional R6 million, but it is about more than that," he concluded. "This is a long-term investment, but it is the right thing to do. Everybody should strive to be greener, and this is how Hyundai is doing its part."
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