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LOCAL property concern Integrated Properties, which recently attained three ISO certifications simultaneously, is in the process of transitioning from generic real estate products and services to “green” products in order to achieve organisational stability in line with global trends.
While in 2013 the company managed to attain the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System, it recently managed to meet the rigorous requirements to comply with ISO 14001 Environment Management System and OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety.
The International Organisation for Standardisation, whose central secretariat is in Geneva, Switzerland, is the world’s largest developer of voluntary international standards.
Its certifications are neither mandatory nor easy to attain.
It was founded in 1947 and has since published more than 19 500 international standards.
But it is the company’s inclination towards environmentally-friendly products that has forced it to upgrade its product portfolio to include sustainable valuation and advisory services); green leasing (property management); green urban design and development (town planning consultancy); green construction management (construction management) and environmental impact assessments.
The new products, which are mainly designed to help in management of financial resources and the environment, advocate for energy efficiency, water conservation, recycling and reuse and reduction of materials.
Integrated Properties founder and CEO Mr Mike Juru, who is also chair of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce Harare chapter, said the real estate sector had a role to play on reducing ozone depletion and environmental degradation as studies have shown that the built environment is responsible for more than 40 percent of global energy use and one-third of global green house emissions.
“We cannot continue to live and do business as usual as if there is another planet in the making,” said Mr Juru in an interview last week, adding that the firm would seek to comply with more certifications.
“We are not stopping with these three systems. We are already working on other critical and relevant management systems like enterprise wide risk management system and business continuity which would make Integrated Properties an undoubted ‘going concern’ and would give confidence to all stakeholders
“We are geared towards being a world class organisation complying with best practice and strategically designed and capable to support organisations to comply with the requirements for global reporting initiatives and the National Code on Corporate Governance Zimbabwe.
“It is no longer time for trial and error, but an era for strategic systems thinking.
It is therefore a key investment that we are making today for the benefit of our stakeholders into the long future.”
Mr Mike Juru has won several awards since 2011 when he was crowned the ZNCC Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2012 he was also voted Director of the Year by the Institute of Directors Zimbabwe.
Similarly, Integrated Properties was recognised and awarded the Customer Service Excellence Award by the Zimbabwe Institute of Management in 2013.
It was also voted the Company of the Year at the National Annual Quality Awards in 2013 and became the Sadc Company of the Year at the 2014 Sadc Annual Quality Awards.
Online Reporter