An investigation of the impact of green methods and technologies on the environmental sustainability of supportive educational buildings, case study of UCT

Abstract

As water and energy costs rise in South Africa due to the limited water and energy supply, green methods and technologies implemented in buildings will help alleviate the burden of this crisis. Many literatures studied green building technology; however, there is limited research on the barriers and drivers of using green methods and technology in supportive educational buildings at universities. It is essential to note the distinction between the different types of university buildings. Although the focus will be primarily based on supportive educational buildings, the overall study deals with the university as a system in a holistic view. This study makes use of a mixed-method approach, using an over-arching case study of supportive educational buildings at the University of Cape Town. A field survey of a supportive education building at UCT and semi-structured interviews were conducted with executive management at UCT. Findings reveal that across UCT’s various buildings, numerous green methods and technologies have been installed to help monitor and manage water and energy usage. Furthermore, it was indicated that the university had employed various strategies since the early 2000s to increase environmental sustainability to achieve sustainability. Additionally, there has been a shift to positively influence student behaviour through the phasing in of water and energy-saving campaigns around campus. The findings also reveal that UCT has recently prioritised green methods and technologies implementation, which inherently improves the resource efficiency and environmental sustainability of the supportive education buildings and, consequently, the overall university.