Staff Writer 
Mike E. Juru
IN the corridors of African finance ministries and corporate boardrooms, the acronym ESG — Environmental, Social and Governance — has become a fixture. Yet, when it comes to the built environment, the continent risks treating ESG as a box-ticking exercise rather than a strategic necessity. The cost of complacency is mounting, and nowhere is this more evident than in the policy vacuum surrounding green building standards.
Drawing attention to Africa, a new office tower is designed to look like Dubai. It uses the same glass, the same air-conditioning, and the same assumptions about power and water. The difference is that in Dubai the grid rarely fails. In Africa chances are high that it fails daily. In Dubai, diesel is heavily subsidised. In Africa it costs much more. That is the cost of complacency. And across Africa, it is being priced into every new roof we put up.
Africa is urbanising at a pace unmatched anywhere else. By 2050, the continent’s urban population is projected to triple, with cities like Lagos, Kinshasa and Nairobi swelling into megacities. This surge demands infrastructure — housing, offices, schools, hospitals — that will lock in energy use and carbon emissions for decades. If these buildings are constructed without sustainability in mind, Africa risks embedding inefficiency and environmental degradation into its economic future. Therefore, how we build will determine whether the continent’s infrastructure premium shrinks, or whether we lock in 50 years of expensive energy, stranded assets, and climate vulnerability. ESG is no longer a reporting exercise.
Building in Africa already costs more than it should, but the sticker price is only half the story. Africa further faces the highest construction cost inflation in the world, driven by “hyperinflation, currency depreciation and political instability”. Add ESG risk. A building that needs 200 kWh/m²/year will be hit twice: first by power suppliers (your ZESA, Eskom or KPLC) tariffs that are rising, and second by diesel when the grid fails. Another dimension, a building with no stormwater design will flood in a 1-in-10 year event that now happens every two years. A building with no data on energy use will never get a green loan, because the bank cannot underwrite the savings. That is the cost of complacency: we are paying a premium upfront, and a penalty every month after.
Globally, ESG frameworks are increasingly shaping investment flows. In Africa, however, ESG often remains a rhetorical flourish in corporate reports rather than a binding policy instrument. The absence of robust green building codes means developers are on free will delivering projects that are cheaper upfront but costly in the long run — both financially and environmentally.
The cost of complacency manifests in several ways:
l Energy inefficiency: Poor insulation and outdated design drive up electricity demand, straining grids already dependent on fossil fuels.
l Water stress: Buildings without rainwater harvesting and water recycling systems exacerbate shortages in drought-prone regions.
l Climate vulnerability: Structures not designed for extreme weather events increase disaster recovery costs.
l Investor flight: Global capital increasingly avoids markets where ESG compliance is weak.
The financial argument for green buildings is compelling. Studies show that energy-efficient structures reduce operating costs by up to 30 percent, while certified green buildings command rental premiums and higher occupancy rates. For African governments, integrating ESG into building codes could unlock concessional finance from multilateral lenders and climate funds.
But financing mechanisms remain underdeveloped. Green bonds, though growing in popularity, are still concentrated in South Africa, Nigeria and Morocco. Without broader uptake, developers lack incentives to absorb the higher upfront costs of sustainable construction.
The governance dimension of ESG is critical. Weak enforcement of building codes, corruption in permitting processes, and lack of transparency in procurement undermine sustainability efforts. In countries where informal construction dominates, the challenge is even greater: millions of homes and small businesses are built outside formal regulatory oversight.
The policy gap is stark. Few African nations have mandatory energy performance standards for buildings. Fewer still require lifecycle carbon assessments. Without these, ESG remains aspirational rather than actionable.
Green buildings are not just about carbon. They deliver tangible social benefits: healthier indoor air quality, reduced respiratory illnesses, and improved productivity. In Africa’s hot climates, passive cooling design can reduce reliance on air conditioning, cutting household energy bills. Schools and hospitals built to green standards provide safer, more resilient environments for vulnerable populations.
Ignoring these dividends perpetuates inequality. Wealthier urban enclaves enjoy modern, efficient buildings, while poorer communities remain trapped in structures that are unsafe, unhealthy and expensive to maintain.
Complacency carries a triple cost:
l Economic: Higher operating expenses, reduced competitiveness, and missed opportunities for green finance.
l Environmental: Locked-in emissions and resource depletion that undermine national climate commitments.
l Social: Widening inequality and vulnerability to climate shocks.
Africa cannot afford this trajectory. The continent is already disproportionately affected by climate change, despite contributing minimally to global emissions. Building policy that ignores ESG compounds the injustice.
Zimbabwe is illustrative because the pain points are all present. Interest rates are high. Power is unreliable. Climate finance is available but undrawn. Construction costs in Harare are higher than the regional costs. There is every reason to embrace green building.
What is needed is a continental push similar to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) — but focused on green building codes. Harmonised ESG-aligned codes would create economies of scale, attract investment, and prevent regulatory arbitrage where developers flock to jurisdictions with weaker rules.
Regional bodies like the African Union and the African Development Bank could spearhead this effort, linking compliance to access to climate finance. National governments must embed ESG into construction permits, procurement contracts, and urban planning.
Africa’s urban future is being built today. The question is whether it will be built sustainably. ESG offers a framework, but only if translated into enforceable policy. The cost of complacency — economic stagnation, environmental degradation, and social inequity — is too high.
For Africa, green building is not a luxury. It is a necessity, a cornerstone of resilience in a century defined by climate volatility. The continent’s policymakers must move beyond rhetoric, embedding ESG into the bricks and mortar of its cities. Only then can Africa’s urban surge become a story of sustainable prosperity rather than squandered opportunity. For every building we approve today without energy modelling, without climate resilience, and without data is a liability we hand to the next tenant, the next lender, the next owner and the next generation.
The infrastructure premium will not be removed by cheaper cement. It will be removed by policy that makes efficient building the default building. The cost of complacency is not theoretical. It is in the diesel bill, the flood damage, the empty office, building to the antiquated code and hoping the market will not notice. The market is aware and Africa has one chance to build its cities right. We should not waste it paying twice.
l Juru is an accomplished business leader who is the current chairman of the Green Building Council Zimbabwe, Valuers Council of Zimbabwe and CEO of Integrated Properties. Previous national leadership roles include chairman of Institute of Directors Zimbabwe, president of Real Estate Institute of Zimbabwe, inaugural chairman of REITs Association, vice president ZNCC. He has sat on several boards in the private and public sector. He passionately leads the transformation of Zimbabwe’s built environment to sustainability.
