Supertech Durban’s state of the art dealership is receiving much recognition, recently winning first place in the Independent Newspapers ‘Your Choice 2014’ Awards in the best new car dealership category.

The iconic building, which was opened in January 2013, is situated on the corner of Solomon Mahlangu Drive and Bellair Street in Rossburgh.  With great foresight and at a huge investment cost, much attention was paid to ‘green issues and elements’ in the design and construction of the building. Supertech MD Shabir Tayob and the directors Farida Tayob, Mohammed Ubaid Tayob and Mahomed Sader are committed to environmentally friendly practices and the desire to proactively reduce their ecological foot print.

Consequently, the pristine and striking building is equipped with a number of sustainable technologies. These include:

• Rainwater harvesting â€" the building has an underground 300 000 litre tank from where collected rainwater is fed into the wash bay and used for garden irrigation in order to have a close to zero draw on municipal water. In addition, the plants used in the landscaping design are all indigenous and water wise.
• The Eco Wash system forms a major part of the water-saving initiatives, as very little water is used to wash each car (less than a litre of water per vehicle).
• Sensor lighting is used in all office areas which means that the lights automatically turn on and off depending on the presence of people in the room.
• The double volume windows and sky lights ensure that natural lighting is used as much as possible. The windows are also glazed to filter UV light.
• The air conditioning system is a state of the art multiphase system, which is self regulating and eco driven, responsive to temperature changes internally and externally.

Healthy lifestyle

The promotion of a healthy lifestyle forms part of Supertech Durban’s sustainable living focus. The Isetta bar caters for healthy food options. Staff have the use of an onsite gym to encourage physical fitness.  Weekly visits by a doctor for medical advice and the dispensing of chronic medication as well as a nurse for routine health screening tests and queries all form part of the employee wellbeing programme provided. The layout of the dealership is wheelchair friendly catering for both disabled staff and clients.

The future

BMW South Africa will be launching two electric vehicles in the very near future; the i3, which is aimed at urban drivers and the i8 sports hybrid in 2015 which is BMW’s Supercar. As part of this launch and a wide-reaching global sustainability programme, BMW SA has tasked its designated i-dealers to improve the environmental standards of its showrooms. All initiatives are aimed at limiting the reliance on environmental resources such as power and water as well as decreasing CO2 emissions with zero emissions as the end goal.

The next six months will see some additional projects implemented at Supertech Durban, which will be the only dealer in KwaZulu-Natal to participate in the programme.  These include:

• The installation of solar energy panels that will supply 70-80% of electricity needed during work hours.
• All lighting systems will be upgraded to LED/efficient lighting in order to reduce power draw.
• Water from the washbays will be purified, recycled and fed into the dealership toilet system.
• Real-time water and electricity usage will be monitored and the usage data will be available for customers to view.

Supertech Durban is well on its way to obtaining a much valued formal four/five star green building rating from the Green Building Council SA. It will be the only BMW dealership in South Africa to obtain a formal rating against the very stringent requirements set and will ensure that the dealership continues to be the one of choice.