Property and Sustainability leaders to gather at GBCSA Green Building Convention 2026
Cape Town, 16 October 2026. The 19th Green Building Convention, hosted by Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA), brings together more than 800 built environment and sustainability leaders at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town from 27-29 October 2026.
The industry’s ‘year-end party’ celebrates the huge progress made in sustainability in the built environment and spotlights the proven solutions shaping the future of the built environment. Under the theme ‘The Green Revolution: From ambition to action’, this year’s Convention will focus on the decisions, technologies, evidence and approaches that are already driving change.
For property owners, developers, investors, architects, facilities managers, asset managers and other built environment professionals, the convention comes at a time when sustainability is moving decisively beyond the realm of specialist environmental considerations and into questions of asset performance, operating costs, resilience, tenant expectations and long-term value.
Georgina Smit, CEO of GBCSA, says: “Most people are not going to go green simply because they think it is the right thing to do. They will do it if it makes business sense,” she says. “We now have the data to assure decision makers of this, and that is helping to drive change in the right direction.”
That conversation will be central to the Convention. The Buildings Track will interrogate issues ranging from what high-performance African buildings should look like, to the practical opportunities and limitations of artificial intelligence across the property lifecycle, and the role of human behaviour on performance of green homes in South Africa.
A leader in the delivery of future-fit, environmentally efficient homes, Balwin Properties continues its support of this important industry gathering. Steve Brookes, founder and CEO of Balwin Properties, says: “Balwin has supported the GBCSA for many years because green building only matters when it is delivered properly, at scale and in a way that makes sense for the people who live in the buildings.
“For us, sustainability is not a badge on the wall. It is designed into the home from the start: lower electricity use, lower water use, lower operating costs and a better long-term product for the buyer. As the world’s largest developer of IFC EDGE Advanced-certified homes, we have proved that sustainable residential development can be done at scale in South Africa.
“We are proud to support the Green Building Convention and GBCSA’s Green Star New Build V2 rating tool, from development through to market adoption. The industry has spoken about ambition for long enough. The next phase is about evidence, standards, delivery and accountability.”
Elizabeth Wathuti O.G.W, globally recognised Kenyan environmentalist and founder of the Green Generation Initiative, will share an international perspective on climate leadership. Other key voices include Prince Mashele, political scientist, author and political commentator and Samantha Skyring, Founder and CEO of Oryx Desert Salt, as well as Lorne Sulcas, The Big Cat Guy. Also among the plenary speakers is Adam Levy, the entrepreneur behind Play Braam in Johannesburg. Adam will speak about how urban regeneration can revive city spaces and build cultural destinations.
“An empty building is a property owner’s worst nightmare. Climate change is increasingly becoming one of the factors that can make a building or precinct untenable, and this extends to the infrastructure supplying its services, ” Smit says.
Rand Water, a partner of GBCSA for the fourth consecutive year, will be championing its “Blue is the New Green” message, highlighting the need to place water sustainability alongside energy efficiency and carbon reduction in the green building agenda.
The organisation is calling for a more water-wise approach to the built environment. This includes reducing potable water demand, improving the efficiency of building systems and expanding the responsible reuse of water through solutions such as rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse and intelligent monitoring.
Through its Water Wise environmental awareness initiative, Rand Water also encourages businesses, institutions and communities to adopt responsible water-use practices. Its continued partnership with GBCSA reflects the importance of collaboration across the water and built environment sectors in turning sustainability commitments into practical action.
The Century City Conference Centre actively embodies the very principles the event promotes, holding both a 4-Star Green Star certification from the GBCSA, and the distinction of being the first venue in Africa to achieve the prestigious global Green Key Eco-Label. Situated within Cape Town’s eco-conscious Bridgeways Precinct, the venue minimizes environmental impact through an integrated, walkable design, resource-efficient infrastructure, and strict sustainability standards.
Find full programme details available on the website.
Register for the 19th Green Building Convention at Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town, from Tuesday 27 to Thursday 29 October 2026 – where the decision-makers who are planning, developing, investing in and managing the next generation of buildings, will be connecting and sharing their ideas for what comes next. Registration closes 20 October.
For more information and to register: https://www.gbcsaconvention.org.za/ – download a PDF of the full programme details.
For more on GBCSA visit: gbcsa.org.za
