As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, South Africa is committed to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The government has taken a sector approach, establishing targets per sector, one of them being the building sector. Both the private and the public sectors have implemented strategies to reduce carbon emissions associated with buildings. Initial efforts promoted building energy efficiency, but there has been a recent shift to target net zero carbon buildings by 2030 (new buildings) and 2050 (all buildings). Government strategies included the addition of building energy efficiency requirements to the National Building Regulations (NBR), in 2011, and the introduction of energy performance certificates for buildings in operation, in 2020. Non-government organizations, such as the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA), promoted energy efficiency as part of the voluntary Green Star rating scheme, which offers several rating tools, one of them being the Net Zero Building rating tool in 2017. At the local government level, five major municipalities in South Africa have joined the C40 Cities network, leading to the development of local policies and bylaws that target a net zero state for buildings, exceeding the minimum energy efficiency requirements of the NBR. Despite these mechanisms, implementation has faced challenges. This article reviews and discusses the above mechanisms, evaluating the level of success of public and private efforts, considering implementation challenges and lessons learnt. It is concluded that capacity building is one of the key needs to ensure effective implementation of strategies.