The WesBank and First National Bank group have been working hard at rating their building with its fifth green star by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).
They are drawing closer to reaching their dream through the construction of hundreds of solar panels and other features in their parking lot at the WesBank head office in Fairland.
For their 10th birthday next year, the WesBank building will supplement its electricity power generated from the solar panels. The carports will be replaced with new solar panels over the next 11 months.
The ceremony, which took place on 28 October, was attended by representatives, visitors and WesBank employees, who were addressed by WesBank’s CEO, Chris de Koch where he shared the plans for their branch’s plans to achieve a five-star rating.
De Koch said the goal of the overall project was to enhance more efficient power for their head office.
“We also have a water reticulation plan on the north-east side of the property that is designed, not only to use the water for building purposes but to keep watering the environment. In the event of floods, which this area is prone to, the reticulation plan does a good job of retaining the flooding,” said De Koch.
He added that the project has been a great success for all of them and they are very proud of what they’ve achieved so far. This initiative to use the carports and the sun to generate additional power for their building, doesn’t only make financial sense, but also makes good sense from an environmental point of view.
Miss Earth ambassador, Annie Kirten said the Miss Earth organisation supports green projects and as an ambassador, she is encouraged to get into ‘support the environment’ projects. She added that she looks forward to seeing the completion of the installation of solar panels.
