A Transformative opportunity for women in the built environment returns in 2025

By Editorial

May 16, 2025

Partner Content

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.

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“This competition is more than a learning opportunity it’s an accelerator for women driving sustainable change in the built environment,” says Lisa Reynolds, CEO of GBCSA. “We’re thrilled to see it grow year after year, and the positive impact it’s having on the careers of many women.”

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Why It Matters

The Women in Green Building Competition is a powerful platform for upskilling, networking, and visibility in an industry that still has a long way to go to achieving gender equality. The Council for the Built Environment (CBE), a regulatory body in South Africa, reported that in 2021 only 13% of registered built environment professionals (such as in architecture, engineering, and construction management) were women.

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“We’re proud to continue our partnership with GBCSA to deliver a programme that tangibly empowers women and accelerates the green transition in Africa. It has been inspiring to see how women who participated in previous years have grown their careers as green building specialists through the knowledge they gained from this competition,” says Lenore Cairncross, Green Building Lead for Africa at IFC.

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Empowering Green Careers

The competition offers participants access to internationally recognised green building credentials, helping them deepen their technical skills and expand their career opportunities. For the first time, applicants can choose between EDGE Expert or EDGE Auditor training, depending on where they are in their professional journey.

This year, in addition to EDGE Expert training offered in previous years, the competition also offers EDGE Auditor training. EDGE Auditor accreditation can empower those women already experienced as EDGE Experts to take their skills up a level and meet the needs of a maturing market.

Final winners will receive:

A full pass to attend the GBCSA Green Building Convention in Cape Town (11 - 13 November 2025)
A R10 000 Incredible Connection voucher each
Special recognition and certificates awarded at the Convention

Programme Timeline

The competition runs from April to November 2025 and is structured in three key phases:

Phase 1: Entry (May)
Phase 2: Training and Exams (May - September)
Phase 3: Awards and Recognition (November)

Entries for Phase 1 close at midnight on Friday, 30 May 2025.

More information on the competition can be found at https://www.gbcsa.org.za/women-in-green-building-competition/

Who Can Enter?

The competition is open to women professionals working in the built environment based in South Africa or its directly neighbouring countries.

Prizes and Opportunities

A first round of 10 finalists will benefit from training and exams offered by GBCSA Academy (https://www.gbcsa.org.za/academy/) and IFC:

EDGE Expert or EDGE Auditor training, based on their selected track
EDGE Exam access (for EDGE Expert participants)
Design for Greater Efficiencies (DfGE) Training - optional for all

From these finalists, two overall winners will be selected for:

A pass to the GBCSA Green Building Convention in Cape Town (11 - 13 November 2025)
Special recognition certificates awarded at the Convention.
A R10 000 Incredible Connection voucher each

“The entire experience has sparked my curiosity in developing tools for the AEC industry that monitor environmental conditions. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to participate in such an insightful initiative.” 2024 Participant

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