EMPOWERING WOMEN IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
The Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA), in proud partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has officially launched the 2025 Women in Green Building Competition. Now in its fourth year, this transformative initiative continues to open doors for women in the property, construction and sustainability sectors by offering career-boosting training, certifications and recognition.
South Africa’s Council for the Built Environment (CBE) reported that in 2021, only 13% of registered built environment professionals (such as in architecture, engineering and construction management) were women.
“This competition is more than a learning opportunity – it’s an accelerator for women driving sustainable change in the built environment,” says GBCSA CEO Lisa Reynolds. Green Building Lead for Africa at IFC, Lenore Cairncross, says, “We’re proud to continue our partnership with GBCSA to deliver a programme that tangibly empowers women and accelerates the green transition in Africa.”
The competition is open to women professionals working in the built environment based in South
Africa or its directly neighbouring countries, and runs from April to November 2025. For more information, visit https://www.gbcsa.org.za/women-in-green-building-competition/
TRANSFORMING THE GREEN BUILDING LANDSCAPE
The International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) Buildings certification programme has reached a 10 million m2 milestone of green-certified floor space in Africa, part of more than 100 million m2 certified worldwide.
The announcement coincides with the 10th anniversary of EDGE green building certification, which was launched in 2015 as an innovation of IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.
Over the past decade, EDGE has transformed the green building landscape globally, providing a measurable way for real estate developers, builders and asset owners to optimise designs for new builds and retrofits, ensuring a minimum 20% reduction in direct energy consumption, water use and embodied carbon in materials, compared to conventional buildings.
Lenore Cairncross, Green Building Lead for Africa at IFC EDGE says: “More and more developers and investors in Africa’s construction sector are now recognising that green buildings can be delivered at prices comparable to those for conventional buildings – and with all the benefits of cost savings and efficiencies from lower energy and water use.”
Sustainable buildings dramatically reduce energy and water use. South Africa alone has EDGE-certified
6.5 million m2, saving over 200 000 Megawatt hours (MWh) annually in energy, while EDGE-certified buildings across Africa are saving more than 382 000 MWh annually in energy by cutting energy usage through sustainable building design and retrofits. www.ifc.org; https://edgebuildings.com/
Climate and Economic Development Partnership
The Western Cape Government (WCG) and National Business Initiative (NBI) have partnered to launch the Climate and Economic Development Partnership, with support from Danish Industry.
This collaboration marks a critical step in supporting the WCG’s Growth for Jobs (G4J) Strategy 2035, which aims to grow the Western Cape economy by 5% by 2035 and accelerate the Just Transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy.
Within the strategy, seven priority focus Areas (PFAs) have been identified for the initial period leading up to 2026. In collaboration with the private sector and development partners, the NBI will support the following key areas:
- PFA 3: Energy Resilience and Transition to Net Zero Carbon and PFA 4: Water Security and Resilience – Addressing the challenges and opportunities associated with climate change and the green economy.
- PFA 7: Improved Access to Economic Opportunities and Employability – Advancing inclusive access to economic and skills development opportunities.
Dr. Ivan Meyer, the Western Cape MEC of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism, emphasised the importance of collaboration between the government, private sector and civil society to achieve these ambitious goals: “The Western Cape Government’s Growth for Jobs Strategy sets ambitious targets to ensure resource resilience, enhance the adaptive capacity of businesses and citizens, and promote skills development to access economic pathways.”
www.nbi.org.za; www.westerncape.gov.za
Manager for Economic Inclusion at the NBI.
EPC deadline
By 8 December 2025, certain public and private sector buildings in South Africa must publicly display their Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs).
An EPC provides an overview of a building’s yearly operational energy performance by measuring energy consumption per m2/year. This is shown in a colour-coded score from A-G, like the energy labels found on appliances. Knowing the energy performance of a building empowers potential buyers or tenants to make a more informed decision – once inefficiencies are identified, improvements can be made, such as energy efficiency retrofitting of a building, and ultimately conversion to a net zero carbon building.
Public sector buildings greater than 1 000m² and private sector buildings greater than 2 000m² are affected. These buildings include offices, places of assembly, and places of instruction as per the occupancy classes below:
A1: Entertainment and public assembly – Occupancy where persons gather to eat, drink, dance or participate in other recreation.
A2: Theatrical and indoor sport – Occupancy where persons gather for the viewing of theatrical, operatic, orchestral, choral, cinematographical or sport performances.
A3: Places of instruction – Occupancy other than primary or secondary schools, where students or other persons assemble for the purpose of tuition or learning.
A3: Places of instruction – Occupancy where school children assemble for the purpose of tuition or learning
G1: Offices – Large multi-storey office buildings, banks, consulting rooms and similar uses with lifts and energy consuming services that operate on a typical daytime occupancy.
G1: Offices – Stand-alone blocks and/or campus of buildings that form an office park but operate separately.
GBCSA Academy supports building owners and facilities managers with the training and skills to fulfil EPC requirements, and is a SANEDI-approved training provider. www.gbcsa.org.za/academy; https://epc.sanedi.org.za/info
