JSE-listed real estate investment trust Growthpoint Properties will provide verified renewable energy certificates (RECs) to 26 branches of financial services firm Nedbank that use the power Growthpoint's renewable energy small-scale embedded generator (SSEG) plants generate.

The bank will offset its Scope 2 emissions across the branches located in Growthpoint-owned shopping malls and offices in five provinces, which together cover 8 200 m² of retail space.

Scope 2 emissions, which stem from purchased electricity, are difficult for businesses to reduce in multi-tenanted leased premises without support from the landlord, Growthpoint says.

This is because tenants can reduce their consumption but cannot control the electricity supply at these buildings, and the vast majority of South Africa’s national electricity is coal-fired.

Its REC initiative addresses these gaps and can also be used as certified, blockchain-tracked green attributes by businesses in South Africa, Growthpoint notes.

“Access to RECs through Growthpoint gives us an immediate, auditable way to reduce Scope 2 emissions for our branches in their buildings, thereby removing a barrier and supporting our long-term climate goals, especially where it is too complex to wheel or generate renewable electrons,” says Nedbank group business services executive head Charl de Kock.

“Nedbank achieved a 30% energy reduction target two years ahead of schedule. In 2024, our electricity use stayed below 97 000 MWh, and renewable energy reached 10% of total consumption. We have been carbon-neutral since 2010, making us the only major bank with this track record,” he adds.

RECs mark a pivotal shift for carbon offsetting and reporting in South Africa. Transparent carbon emission offsets are urgently needed, particularly for businesses in leased spaces, as they cannot tackle the challenge alone, says Growthpoint corporate advisory head Werner van Antwerpen.

By taking these initial steps in the REC market together, Nedbank and Growthpoint are advancing their sustainability ambitions and opening the way for businesses of all sizes in South Africa to achieve credible Scope 2 emission offsets while stimulating the local green economy.

This transaction is expected to help pave the way for broader integration of green attribute instruments and grow South Africa’s sustainable economy, he adds.

Growthpoint has a fleet of renewable energy SSEGs that are linked to transparent certification frameworks. Its 80 rooftop solar power systems provide 61.2 MW of capacity.

Nearly half of its solar power plants are registered on the international Renewable Energy Certificate (I-REC) registry, in partnership with blockchain-enabled REC exchange Fuel Switch.

The I-REC mechanism provides globally recognised certification for renewable-energy generation and is increasingly being adopted by companies and institutions to meet sustainability targets, Van Antwerpen says.

Separately, Growthpoint launched its wheeled renewable-energy initiative, e-co₂, in October 2025, which is supported by a 195 GWh power purchase agreement (PPA) with Etana Energy for a sustainable mix of renewable hydro, wind and solar electricity.

The first renewable energy generation project to come online as part of the PPA is Boston Hydroelectric Plant in Lesotho Highlands Water Scheme near Clarens, which is a new R390-million development by Serengeti Energy, with an operational lifetime of over 40 years.

Growthpoint has acquired a 30% stake in this plant and secured exclusive access to all of the about 30 GWh/y of renewable electricity generated by the plant.

The certified zero-carbon electricity from Boston Hydro is already being added to the national grid and supplying 20 Growthpoint buildings on State-owned utility Eskom’s direct grid and three on the City of Cape Town’s grid.

This includes ten e-co₂ office buildings in Sandton where, in addition to compounding cost-saving fixed escalations on green electricity, each unit of clean energy consumed by a tenant automatically generates a tradable, digital REC for them, tracked via Fuel Switch’s blockchain-enabled platform, says Van Antwerpen.