Stepping up to NEXT

Green building convention 2025

What inspired the theme “Stepping up to NEXT” for this year’s green building convention?

This is a double-pronged theme: we all must contribute to the success of meeting the national sustainability goals, to mitigating the effects of climate change, and to bring comfort and health to all our spaces. So, we all have to STEP UP! Secondly, we are an innovative group of people with differing needs and diverse challenges. “What’s next?” is different for each of us. The theme asks everyone to decide what is next in their sustainable development journey – and do it.

What future opportunities and challenges do you see for our green building industry, and how is GBCSA responding?

The green building industry is made up of leaders in the built environment. The biggest opportunity is to keep demonstrating leadership by striving to exceed sustainability goals, and to encourage those who have not started yet. Most of the banks are offering sustainable finance incentives. There are hundreds of thousands of non-green certified buildings in South Africa that have not taken advantage of these incentives. They haven’t realised the cost-saving potentials – be it in utilities, health or other aspects – of owning and/or occupying a green certified space. GBCSA’s challenge is get all of these people on board. It’s predicted that 40% of buildings “yet to be built” will be built in Africa. The potential for designing and building climate-resilient buildings is immense. Green Building Councils throughout Africa need to get this message to the public and private sector in each of their countries to ensure that futureproofing the built environment is top of mind.

Reflecting on the past year, which GBCSA highlights stand out most to you?

It’s quite difficult to choose only a few highlights from 2025, but I’ll do my best to limit the list:

There is continual growth in green certifications, with more and more stakeholders playing their role.
GBCSA is doing more bespoke training and expanding the knowledge sharing across a wider audience.
The public sector is actively seeking solutions and GBCSA is playing a supporting role.
And, in turn, GBCSA is being supported by the Green Building Council of Australia with information and
potential new developments.
We have common goals within the WorldGBC members, and GBCSA energetically participates in the relevant joint committees and task forces.

In your term as Chair, was there a particular moment that really captured what GBCSA stands for?

I’m always amazed by how much is achieved across our three strategic pillars of certification, advocacy and education. With 198 certifications completed during FY2024 – double our average since 2020 – and 250 new registrations, our pipeline is solid. Financially, we met most of our key metrics, and the 2024 Green Building Convention recorded its highest surplus since 2016 – clear indicators that our current strategy is working. But these are all just measures. What truly made me realise how well we were doing was when Georgina and Lisa returned from the GBCA’s convention in Australia. Their feedback was that, despite our size and the resource disparities between GBCSA and GBCA, we are still able to compete in the big leagues, so to speak – and that our achievements are stellar, given the relative size of our organisation.

What does “Stepping up to NEXT” mean to you?

My view is that South Africa has so much building stock built prior to “knowing about green building” and therefore has such huge potential for resource efficiency – and the possible unintended consequence of always looking for the next big thing is that we leave untapped potential behind. I’m looking forward to mainstreaming GBCSA’s New Build V2, so we can focus the team’s attention on improving and driving the Existing Building Performance (EBP) tool towards greater adoption.

What do you hope the wider green building community will focus on next to keep pushing boundaries?

One of the shortcomings I have with green building is where the initial design team and client buy into the principles – let’s say passive design, for instance. However, once the original client moves on, the new client has expectations of performance similar to that of conventional designs. When these expectations are not met, green building gets a bad reputation, not the second client’s unmet expectations.

What I’d like to see is green building designs with less complexity and easier maintenance regimes than is currently the practice. There are plenty of advancements in green building that are unnecessarily complex and don’t consider long-term operability and maintenance. There needs to be pushing of boundaries and consideration given in this area. I’ve come across too many complex systems that only ever worked once after commissioning, and when they needed repair or optimisation later on, were left defunct or inefficient because spares were no longer available, knowledge had not been transferred, or the novelty had simply worn off.

What are some common challenges green building projects face in certification?

One of the biggest challenges is not starting with sustainability early enough. Sustainability needs to be “baked in” as early as possible into the design or operational approach and technical solutions to get the most efficient results. If sustainability is part of the project from the get go, the certification is much easier to process. So, to project teams embarking on a certification project, start boldly and bravely by championing a sustainable design or maintenance approach as a foundational project principle from the project onset, to inform all subsequent technical responses.

How are certification frameworks evolving to include things like precincts, infrastructure, biodiversity and social impact?

The original green building frameworks already went “beyond the building”, but they weren’t great at naming these things in a digestible way for the public, so this is often unknown or misunderstood by newcomers to the green building space, especially by finance- or investor-related stakeholders. For example, the Green Star framework prioritises a building’s location and how this impacts on subsequent carbon emissions associated with getting to work. Maintaining existing ecology and biodiversity is essential to achieving a Green Star rating for new construction and the framework actively promotes increasing the amount of nature, or nature inspired design, in buildings. The Green Star framework has a big focus on creating healthy spaces in which to live, work and play by promoting natural daylight, views to the outside, good air quality and appropriate acoustics. Lastly, recent updates to original green building frameworks have explicit focuses on people and social elements. The update to the Green Star tool includes a category dedicated to people, which covers inclusive design, skills development and local economic development.

What role has capacity building (training APs, engineers, architects and teams, by GBCSA Academy) played in advancing sustainability across the industry?

To meet the challenges of a changing climate and a just transition, we will need solutions that we can’t even imagine. That means supporting and nurturing solution-shapers with the skills and confidence to drive green buildings on their projects. Our training is about growing an understanding of what it means to define and measure a green building in the South African and African market. We have also grown capacity by focusing a collaborative research partnership on the cost of greening and business case for greening. This research has demonstrated a viable financial case for green-certified buildings, which the sector has been able to use when making the case to deviate from business-as usual. Our training has contributed to capacity development in government and among built environment professionals so that they are equipped to drive real-world solutions and take their place at the front lines of climate action.

How does GBCSA balance its self-sufficiency with its independence, transparency and own sustainability?

This a challenge that we at GBCSA relish. As an independent NPO, we take pride in the fact that we “wash our own face” and uphold our integrity in a tough business environment. We’ve maintained this balance between financial self sufficiency and mission integrity by diversifying revenue streams while remaining true to our core values. We have increased revenue through membership, certifications, training and strategic collaborations while maintaining our independence and non-profit status. Transparency is built into our operations through regular reporting, open stakeholder engagement and governance structures that ensure accountability. Our own sustainability is supported by incorporating the same ideas that we advocate, such as resilience, adaptability and innovation into our operations.

What are some highlights from 2025 in terms of growing GBCSA sustainably?

Over the past year, GBCSA has experienced significant growth in key areas aligned with our strategic objectives. This has been gratifying to see, after several years of building up to this point. We’ve seen an increase in green building certifications, and this, combined with new members joining from diverse sectors, reflects our transition from recovery to growth. A key highlight for us was the launch of the New Building V2 rating tool, which is currently in its pilot phase. We also introduced a new course, Introduction to Green Buildings and Sustainable Design, as part of our training offerings, to meet the market need for more basic green building training for students and professionals across the built environment. Internally, we are continuously seeking to enhance our operational efficiencies to ensure we provide the most effective service possible. We have also ramped up our thought leadership activities, actively participating in critical conversations through media and industry events, as well as through our own publications, which has strengthened our position as a trusted voice in the built environment.

What does good governance mean for you, and for GBCSA?

Good governance, at its core, is integrity in action. It means consistently doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. This foundational principle guides my own actions and ensures my decisions are always guided by a strong ethical compass. For GBCSA, governance guides everything we do, from board-level decisions to daily operations, ensuring that we are always aligned with our mission and values. It influences our decisions, from the rigorous process of certifying green buildings to the transparency of our financial reporting. This ensures that GBCSA remains a trusted and credible authority in the built environment, building confidence among members, partners and the public. Governance is embedded in GBCSA’s DNA.

As you begin your term as GBCSA Chair, what top priorities are you hoping to tackle?

GBCSA has come a long way in visualising the dream of sustainable real estate. In my term as Chair, I’d like us to build on that dream, focusing on three priorities:

Build on our leadership position: GBCSA has led the continent in the envisioning of green buildings and how to consistently assess and measure them. I’d like us to continue to lead in advocating for green buildings, while deepening our understanding of the business case and providing an authentic forum for the increasingly polarised debate surrounding real-world impact. Critically, though, I’d like to see GBCSA taking its place at the table and leading the conversation with courage and conviction, even when it’s uncomfortable.

Ensure our continued relevance within a culture of innovation: We understand that our world, and the markets we operate in, are constantly changing. We acknowledge that change, particularly when informed by an uncertain future, can be difficult. I see GBCSA’s role as an enabler of that change – a role that requires a willingness to listen, an ability to innovate and the necessary focus to invest time and resources in remaining relevant.

Enable a clear and pragmatic strategy that our members and stakeholders feel invested in. GBCSA is a member-led organisation. We have an incredibly powerful team that has succeeded through a number of cycles. Even with the support of our stakeholders and the enduring commitment of the staff, GBCSA has limited resources. I look forward to seeing how the executive and staff build out the strategy, and pragmatically focus those resources for maximum impact.

How can your ESG and real estate expertise help GBCSA engage investors, developers and policymakers on sustainability?

I’ve had a varied journey that’s taken me through the realms of insurance, equity investing, ESG advisory and real asset investment and performance benchmarking. I’ve enjoyed working all over South Africa and have been fortunate to interact with some of the largest asset allocators, here, in the UK and the Middle East. If anything, my experience has provided me with an amazing network and a broad understanding of the sector. I’m a self-declared sustainable capitalist and look forward to working with all stakeholders to prove the case for green certification while ensuring a fair reward for capital allocated to sustainability.

What are you most hoping to take away from the 2025 Green Building Convention?

I love the networking and reconnecting with everyone. It’s also an opportunity to thank the incredible team that makes GBCSA such an amazing organisation. Given that this year’s theme is “Stepping up to Next”, I’d love to walk away from the convention with a better understanding of what the attendees think “next” is going to look like.

PLENARY SPEAKERS

How can Neo-Heritage Architecture help cities stay rooted in their cultural identity while still embracing innovation and sustainability?

Neo-Heritage is a set of architecture and planning principles I have derived from my understanding of heritage design ideation. Culture and innovation are not opposing forces, but complementary drivers. When we plan and design cities applying heritage design ideation, we leverage centuries of tested sustainability practices and principles; these principles guide innovation for the future. Smart technologies, renewable energy systems and advanced materials can be innovated according to the principles our ancestors derived. This means a steep, pitched roof designed in West Africa intended for rainwater harvesting can now be paired with modern water collection systems and powered by solar panels. In this way, cities rooted in heritage leverage cultural identity while confidently embracing innovation. Sustainability becomes a continuation of legacy while embracing innovation.

How can spirituality shape the way we design spaces to foster connection and healing?

One of the main principles my design is based on is the Fourth Dimension. There is an intangible value, a spiritual value that transcends the physical to the best architecture and art; one that causes an emotional connection with the work and its design. This intangible force is a key feature of heritage architecture. Some call it the genus loci, referring to the spirit of the place – which does not quite capture my descriptions of the fourth dimension in architecture. For me, this attribute involves deep connection and communication. It is the connection and emotional interactions people have with the spaces that bear meaning, which translate into healing. This should be our focus as architects, planners and designers – to design spaces that foster deep connections with humans and bring them healing.

What role do you see Green Microbiology playing in the future of regenerative design and climate-smart cities?

Think of microbes as the world’s tiniest city builders. They can clean water, break down waste and even help “heal” cracks in concrete. In the future, I see Green Microbiology shaping cities that don’t just reduce harm but actually give back to the environment. Imagine a housing block where the walls are coated with microbe-based materials that filter the air, or a park where soil microbes restore nutrients and make the grass greener without chemicals. These small, invisible allies can make our cities healthier, smarter and more resilient. By working with nature’s oldest problem solvers, regenerative design becomes less of a concept and more of an everyday reality in climate-smart cities.

What approaches have proven most effective in turning complex environmental science into real change in how cities are planned and built?

Science often feels complicated, but I’ve learned it lands best when people can see and feel it in their daily lives. For example, with our “Officially Green” pledges, kids as young as six proudly say, “I will never drop that waste on the floor” – and then remind their parents in the car park! That’s complex science turned into simple action. In cities, I’ve seen the same with community dialogues: when local women in coastal Nigeria share how rising seas affect their homes, planners suddenly grasp the urgency beyond the charts. Storytelling, practical projects and inclusive conversations make science real. When people connect the dots between policy, practice, and personal habits, real change in how cities are built naturally follows.

Is there a key message you hope the audience takes away from your presentation?

The heart of my message is simple: sustainability is everyone’s business, and it starts small. Climate-smart cities won’t just come from new technologies – they’ll come from everyday choices. Just like microbes, which are invisible yet powerful, small human actions add up. Think of separating your waste at home, or choosing public transport – it may seem ordinary, but collectively, it transforms cities. I want people to leave knowing they don’t need to wait for grand innovations to act; they already have power in their daily decisions. Regenerative design isn’t just for architects or scientists – it’s for all of us. Together, we can make cities that breathe, adapt and truly work with nature.

How has your AI experience shaped your vision for democratising AI across the continent?

My journey, from co-founding CSense Systems, Africa’s first AI company sold to a multinational, to establishing the Machine Intelligence Institute of Africa (MIIA), has reinforced my belief in AI’s power to address our continent’s greatest challenges. These experiences have shaped my vision for democratising AI, ensuring its benefits are universally accessible. This philosophy is a cornerstone of my recent venture, Sustainable Technology Ventures Capital (STVC). Through STVC, we are not just investing in technology; we are building an AI-driven ecosystem designed to unlock sustainable and equitable opportunities, truly democratising access to capital and innovation for a thriving Africa in the Smart Technology Era. Through MIIA, we are building a collaborative ecosystem of AI and data science experts to drive innovation and empower individuals and organisations across Africa to thrive in the Smart Technology Era.

How can AI and blockchain boost sustainable development and economic inclusion in Africa?

AI and blockchain are critical catalysts for sustainable development and economic inclusion in Africa. These technologies can help build data-rich platforms that unlock significant societal and business value. For instance, AI can optimise large-scale infrastructure projects and drive smart, technology-driven solutions for governments and businesses. They enable us to tackle systemic inefficiencies head-on. At Sustainable Technology Ventures Capital (STVC), we are specifically targeting what we call the “Trillion-Dollar Nexus” – the convergence of AI, sustainable development and financial innovation. Our proprietary AI Alpha Engine is designed to identify and de-risk high-impact ventures, directing capital to solve profound challenges like the $6.4 trillion SDG financing gap. By deploying these smart technologies, STVC aims to build a more resilient and equitable future, transforming global challenges into profitable, sustainable opportunities.

How can African businesses and governments scale impactful innovations together?

Effective collaboration between the public and private sectors is the key to scaling innovation across Africa. My massive transformative purpose is to help business and society thrive. This requires creating new, synergistic platforms. Sustainable Technology Ventures Capital (STVC) is structured as such a platform – a fund-of-funds that orchestrates a de-risked ecosystem of specialised partners. STVC provides the AI-driven framework for businesses, impact investors and development finance institutions to align and deploy capital at scale. This model fosters the deep alignment needed to fund transformative projects and build a sustainable, technology-driven future for the continent.

How are global politics, power plays, and policy reversals reshaping the sustainability landscape?

We are in a very dynamic period in global politics. What we have held to be true for decades is falling apart all around us. Our core beliefs are being challenged; our key institutions are being undermined. The Italian political theorist Antonio Gramsci described such a transitional period, characterised by massive social and political instability (often called the “time of monsters”) where the breakdown of existing orders creates opportunities for new social forces to emerge or for negative phenomena to flourish. In his prison notebooks, he wrote: “The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.”

My view is that we are at the very beginning of this momentous change in global politics. The next decade will be characterised by the intensification of the “morbid symptoms” we have already seen unfold over the past five years. This “interregnum” has been starkly illustrated at the United Nations Climate Summit in September, where we saw most of the world’s nations make their newest pledges to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade. Nations ranging from China, Russia, Japan and Germany to Chad, the Central African Republic, Venezuela, Syria and Iran pledged their commitment to combating harmful climate change. Yet the United States, a former champion of the cause, refused to do so and instead turned its back on such efforts. To that end, a contest is underway. We will not always be able to predict its course. There will be victories and losses, progress and setbacks, joy and anger, suffered by all sides for a significant period to come. It’s a time of great hope for the sustainability agenda as nations (China, for example), which had been laggards on sustainability issues, finally pledge to change. Yet it is filled with danger as previous champions like the USA now turn away from this agenda.

What do you see as the most critical political factor influencing climate policy over the next decade?

Ethical leadership will be key in the unfolding period. Leaders who can take nations and the world along the path of sustainability with moral clarity and a firm commitment to the welfare of future generations will determine whether the world continues on the path of selfishness and egotism or faces up to the climate changes we have to confront. Without such morally clear leadership the world will continue its slide towards disaster. We must choose better political leaders. The second factor is misinformation and disinformation. Social media platforms and irresponsible leaders have brought about a spectacular rise in attacks on scientific evidence in medicine, in climate change, and in institutions we entrust with ensuring that there is rigorous scientific inquiry on key matters before we make policy. Sadly, we are now entering a period where politicians are tearing up the scientific reports and are making false, emotive assertions based on ideology, rather than science. With messages like these zinged across the globe on social media in seconds, humanity will find itself increasingly faced with not just a problem of climate change, but the much bigger problem of deeply harmful misinformation and disinformation around it.

How can countries in the Global South play a bigger role in driving the sustainability conversation?

Democracy belongs not just to the people of the United Kingdom, Norway, the United States, but to the people of Chad and Angola too. By the same token, the sustainability conversation belongs to Africans and the entire Global South. The stakes are perhaps even higher for the Global South than they are for the rich North. To that extent, the collaborative efforts that are already underway between many countries – as we saw at the UN General Assembly in September, when countries of the Global South came together to stand up for climate change – are the only way to go. No one can walk this road alone. Now, more than ever, Global South countries will need deeper collaboration at scientific, economic and geopolitical level to make their voices heard at the big global tables.

How do you see residential development evolving to meet both climate goals and social equity demands?

Access to affordable, high quality and sustainable housing is a right for every global citizen, but delivering it is a challenge in virtually every market. The specific mix of challenges vary – from financial viability, regulation and urban planning to supply chains, infrastructure gaps and construction capacity. Fundamentally, the demand is real and evident as populations grow and urban centres continue to expand and densify. Investment appetite for “living” asset classes, such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, has grown enormously, particularly among institutional investors – but they require clarity of policy environment, relative certainty of delivery and risk-adjusted returns that meet specific thresholds, and none of this comes together quickly! In a competitive environment for global capital, residential can often be interesting but a little too granular and complex for investors, who can achieve faster and higher returns in more traditional real estate asset classes, such as logistics.
The significant shift in recent years that has attracted that institutional capital into the living sector is the increased focus on ESG, and impact investing, which recognises the value that quality affordable housing brings to places and communities for the long term. In the UK alone, we’ve seen a 20% increase in the past five years in local government pension fund investment into affordable housing, and I expect that to grow. Long-term investment into affordable housing creates both social value and strong returns but takes patient capital and determined partnership to deliver.

Any advice for the next generation of leaders looking to shape the future of sustainable real estate?

Real estate is a fantastic sector, but fundamentally one that is quite risk-averse. We create very illiquid assets and often build and deliver in very traditional ways, so while there are many areas ripe for innovation, it is a sector that is more analogue than digital! The additional layer of challenge around prioritising sustainability is the obsolescence risk of many of the technological innovations – heat pumps, energy networks, customer apps and fibre broadband are all evolving so incredibly fast that a developer can be a pioneer specifying the latest kit that is suddenly out of date by the time the first phase completes. There’s no easy solution to this, as we are in a time of change, but I would encourage everyone to be bold – the key is to build in as much flexibility and adaptability to your schemes as possible. It can be as simple as leaving a bit of extra cabling space around your heat pumps to ensure future retrofits are more easily made – and more cost-effective. Consumers are more and more aware of the importance of sustainability and energy efficiency, for climate health and cost of living reasons, so we need to be pushing for the best products and solutions that can stand the test of time.

How can fund managers and developers integrate ESG while maintaining strong returns?

Before Covid, ESG tended to be in an appendix at the back of a fund managers’ pitch deck, with some pleasant images of “green” or community projects throughout. The pandemic really highlighted the critical links between our buildings, wider real estate, and health and productivity, so there was a genuine backlash against perceived “greenwashing”, alongside a proliferation of benchmarks and indices to measure and evidence various elements of ESG and social impact. Many funds now have ESG criteria that are core to their investment strategies and embedded in their compliance and reporting – a significant shift. In the UK and Europe, the major financial regulators have set out specific requirements for funds that wish to label themselves as sustainable or impact investing-led, which has led to some helpful consolidation and consistency in reporting – so I would encourage investors, developers and fund managers in South Africa to look at the UK FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) sustainable investment labels as a starting point to benchmark against when setting a new investment strategy.

What key insight did the Sahara Forest Project give you about restoring arid land?

The biggest insight was the realisation that, if you can create the right conditions, nature has an amazing capacity to regenerate. At the start there were negligible levels of biodiversity on site. Birds and insects started appearing as soon as the first plants were established. Butterflies appeared after a month and dragonflies were spotted within three days of the algae ponds being filled, even though the project was a long way from the nearest dragonfly habitat. In just eight months, with a bare patch of desert, we went from barely any species to a wide range of plants, birds, insects and mammals. This was the effect witnessed in just nine months. Over a longer time period, the regenerative design effect would be even more pronounced.

Architects Declare a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency has gained global traction. What are the movement’s next steps?

Architects Declare was deliberately set up in a decentralised way so that each country has freedom to chart its own course within the framework of the declaration. We have regular international meet-ups to share ideas and knowledge. Our theory of change was inspired by the systems thinker Donella Meadows, who said that the best way to change a system is to intervene at the level of the paradigm or mindset. This is why all our work has been based on the need to shift from conventional sustainability towards regenerative design. In the UK, we recently launched the Regenerative Architecture Index, which aims to recognise and celebrate those practices that are pushing the regenerative agenda.

What’s one nature-inspired solution you think architects often overlook?

Many of us overlook the miracles that happen under our feet. Within the soils of mature forests there is a huge diversity of microorganisms, fungi, beetles, worms and millipedes. These are the great dismantlers that break down dead material and make it available for new life. In my latest book Biomimicry in Architecture (3rd ed.), I describe the benefits of mimicking the interdependent, cyclical and zero waste characteristics of ecosystems. There have been a number of human-made systems (often referred to as Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs)) that have been based on similar ideas, but the equivalents to the dismantlers in nature are very under-represented. This would be the reclaimers, repairers and recyclers that could form a more significant part of our economies.

In terms of coffee, how do you connect the dots between grassroots entrepreneurship and big picture sustainability?

Grassroots entrepreneurship represents the organic growth of ideas and enterprises rooted in community initiative. For such growth to be resilient, sustainability must remain a fundamental pillar, ensuring reliable and ethical sources of production. Coffee, as one of the world’s most loved commodities, offers a unique lens to connect entrepreneurship with broader sustainability goals. By adopting regenerative practices, we not only safeguard ecosystems but also strengthen the long-term viability of local economies. The cycle, from seed to tree, to fruit, to coffee, and back to seed becomes a model of renewal, demonstrating how small-scale entrepreneurship can align with the global vision of regenerative cities and sustainable development.

What success story stands out for you within your Barista School Academy?

The one that stands out most for me is that of a colleague of mine – now my business partner – who had arrived in this country with no degree, no formal skills, only the determination to learn and work hard. He embraced my training, studied not only the craft of coffee, but also the art of service and leadership within the industry. Over time, he grew from a novice barista into a teacher, sharing his knowledge with others, eventually becoming the owner of his own coffee business. Watching him thrive fills me with pride, because it shows that passing on skills creates a ripple effect, empowering others, shaping futures and keeping the torch of coffee alive.

How would you redesign the way cities support informal entrepreneurs?

I would begin with access to skills training, affordable working spaces and simplified regulatory pathways. Too often, informal entrepreneurs possess creativity and drive, but face barriers in formalising their businesses. Cities should provide mentorship hubs, micro-financing opportunities, and safe, inclusive spaces where small enterprises can grow organically. Beyond economics, these entrepreneurs are cultural anchors, shaping the character of neighbourhoods and contributing to social cohesion. By integrating them into city planning through marketplaces, community cafés and cooperative networks, we create a foundation where informal businesses can transition into sustainable enterprises. Supporting them means investing not just in livelihoods, but in the regenerative heartbeat of the city itself.

How does comedy contribute to conversations around sustainability and environmental justice?

Someone once described humour as a lubricant for discourse – specifically satire. Funny is a love language for complex social dialogue. If we can approach the conscience wearing clown shoes, we seem to get closer to its vulnerable nerves, and thereby increase the chance of a helpful reaction. Let’s take a classic joke structure: if the set-up is skilful, we connect strangers in an audience, creating an instant community. The pause is the risk that leads them to the edge of the cliff together. This brings them even closer. The punchline is the new information that creates a spontaneous expression of relief, often resulting in laughter. Comedy connects, raises receptivity and provides a safety within which to process.

In what ways might equity and inclusion shape the future of green building and climate resilience

What’s emerging in the green arena is that social contracts build sustainable futures. We need to develop better platforms where “citizenry” is encouraged. Fairness and representation could settle the volatility of identities currently unfolding on the world stage. Based on new and rigorous research, stable social contracts seem to be built on equity and inclusion principles. It’s not the vilification of corporate greed that will build tomorrow, but better practices among all community members to invest in welfare. Pointing our fingers only works if it’s at ourselves. Reflection is critical. Including everyone in reflection enriches it.

Using satire to inspire action – how can comedians do this without alienating audiences or trivialising urgent issues?

I don’t believe there’s an obligation for any artist to be responsible, nor prioritise issues, nor babysit an audience. Some comics may even exploit the current low-hanging fruit, and good for them – I have done that a lot. Artism is not a social conscription – it’s a loose cannon. That said, I’m trying these days to steer towards research as the first stop, not laughter. It’s personal, not prescribed. Seeing comedy as a language, rather than a sacred purpose, has helped shape a new path. It’s uncertain and imperfect, but interesting. I try to remember that the jester is only valid when he whispers the truth to the king. If he ever starts to believe he is the king, he loses the magical paradox that makes his weak position powerful.