Five internationally acclaimed leaders on sustainability will headline this year’s trailblazing Green Building Conference in Sandton, Johannesburg, 26 -28^th July.

The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) hosts the event and CEO Brian Wilkinson says the keynote speakers – Dr Ian McCallum, John Elkington, Paul Clements-Hunt, Mario Molina, Jeff Speck, Terri Wills and Evan Rice – will share their unique expertise to guide Africa and the world towards a thriving future for all.

Wilkinson says: “We know time is not on our side. Climate scientists have told us this is the decade to take decisive action. Small steps won’t get us where we need to go.

“Now is the time for bold leadership focused on purpose and on collaborative communities and cities, and it’s time for innovative and disruptive technology. We have to unite with one common purpose – to build a better world now, so we have chosen this as the theme for the 2016 convention.”

Meet the speakers

• John Elkington is a writer of over 30 ground-breaking books, including The Zeronauts: Breaking the Sustainability Barrier.
• Dr Ian McCallum is a medical doctor, analytical psychologist, psychiatrist and former Springbok. McCallum is a specialist wilderness guide, an author and poet as well as a director of the Wilderness Foundation.
• Paul Clements-Hunt is former head of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative and a founding board member of the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment, an initiative supported by more than 1,000 of the world’s largest institutional investors.
• Jeff Speck is an urban designer and author who advocates internationally for smart growth and sustainable design, Speck was the former director of design at the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Mario Molina is responsible for the design, strategic goals and engagement programmes for the Climate Reality Leadership Corps in the USA and abroad.
• Evan Rice is Business Development Manager for Tesla Energy, South Africa. Over the past decade he has been active in energy across both the public and private sectors.
• Terri Wills is CEO of the World Green Building Council, an organisation uniting 100 Green Building Councils.

SA to lead green building in the future

These keynote speakers, and others on the compelling programme of the country’s top green gathering, will tackle topics that South Africans have proven they care deeply about. South African green building is driven by an acknowledgement that green building is ‘the right thing to do’, rather than by regulations, according to new research published in World Green Building Trends 2016.

The report also predicts that South Africa could be a leader in the global green market in the next three years.

“It’s a clear sign that green building practices are gaining significant momentum in South Africa, along with an acknowledgment that Green Star-certified projects are not only world-class and innovative, but benefit people, the planet and profits,” says Wilkinson.

For all the information on the Green Building Convention 2016 click here.