| African Regional Network |
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The first steps toward a WorldGBC Africa Regional Network happened at the UN-HABITAT Conference to Promote Green Building Rating in Nairobi (4 – 6 May 2010) and the Network will be officially launched at the GBC South Africa Convention on 21 September 2010. This page has been created to provide updates and progress reports on the development of the Africa Regional Network. As information becomes available, this page will list event dates and times, contact information for Network members, updates from Network members, and resources such as relevant studies and reports.
Africa GBC Day - September 23 2010 The first Africa GBC Day will be held on 23 September in Cape Town, South Africa. The program consists of in-depth discussions and workshops aimed at people interested in starting a GBC or who have already started the process. The focus will be on the practicalities of building a GBC, including governance, funding, operations, education and training, and green building rating tool options. Sessions will be led by Jane Henley, CEO of the WorldGBC, Bruce Kerswill and Nicola Douglas of the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA), and several others with GBC leadership experience. Africa GBC Day will be held immediately after the GBCSA Convention and Exhibition on 21 and 22 September. The GBCSA is offering people involved in GBC initiatives in other African countries the discounted GBCSA member rate for the Convention, and there is no charge for attending Africa GBC Day. The GBCSA will also be holding the 'Green Star SA Accredited Professional' course the day before the Convention (Monday 20 September) and is also offering that at the discounted member rate for those working on GBC initiatives. Please note that if there are at least 20 attendees at the Convention from Francophone countries, the GBCSA will be able to provide French-speaking interpreters. If you would like to participate in the Convention and/or the Green Star SA Accredited Professional course, please contact GBCSA Marketing Manager, Lisa Parkes at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or at +27 21 659 5990.
UN-HABITAT Green Building Rating Tool conference - May 4-6, 2010 Building professionals from some 20 countries across Africa concluded a three-day conference in Nairobi with a declaration of commitment to promote and foster green building practices in Africa, and a call to form an African Network of Green Building Councils. The Conference on Promoting Green Building Rating Systems in Africa was held 4-6 May, and hosted by the UN-HABITAT at its Nairobi headquarters. Click here to download the Background Paper for the conference. The “Nairobi Declaration on Green Building in Africa” noted the tremendous environmental and social challenges that rapid urbanization poses for Africa, and participants committed themselves to, among other things, promote green practices, from planning, design, construction and operation of the built environment, as well as to the use of appropriate building materials, technologies, services and processes that minimize green house gas emissions in Africa. The builders also stressed the importance of exploring traditional building practices that have proven to be environmentally beneficial, while at the same time addressing the continent’s critical need for mass housing constructions. Participants further called for the formation of national Green Building Councils in African countries. Under the auspices of the World Green Building Council, these Councils would advocate for green building practices, develop tools that rate the environmental performance of buildings, and strengthen the capacity of building professionals. At present only South Africa boasts an established Green Building Council on the continent, while Mauritius, Morocco, and Egypt have fledgling Councils. Another is in the works in Ghana. Inspired by an address by theWorld Green Building Council CEO, Ms Jane Henley, and encouraged by representatives of several Green Building Councils from Africa and beyond, a number of participants declared their intentions to go home to form their own Green Building Councils. Further they called for the creation of a Network of African Green Building Councils that would, under the guidance of the World Green Building Council, support the establishment of these forward-looking Councils in African countries. Ms Henley saluted UN-HABITAT’s initiative. “While we grapple with many challenges today, sustainable building is one tangible step that individuals, companies and governments all over the world can take to build communities that face these challenges head on. It is great to be part of so many African nations coming together to find solutions and create opportunities for sustainable building in Africa”. For more information on the African Regional Network or to share your ideas, suggestions, or comments please send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . It was great meeting you at the UN Habitat Green Building Rating Tool conference last month, and also great to see the high level of interest in green building and in starting GBC's in Africa. Well done to Bob Kehew and UN Habitat on putting together a well organised event ! At the Conference we agreed, as GBC South Africa, to act as "point man" for an African Network of GBC's, and to set up a point of contact for the exchange of information. We are making some progress on this, and I report as follows: 1. World GBC Africa Network GBCSA agreed to set up an 'Africa Network' section on our website to act as a point of contact. However, in discussion with World GBC they asked us to use the World GBC website, so that everything is focused in one place, and accordingly World GBC now has a page for the Africa Regional Network - please see www.worldgbc.org The page is currently under development and we are assisting World GBC with content (in fact, Michelle Malanca, who organised the Nairobi conference for UN Habitat, is working on it for us). The whole point of the site is to provide information that will be useful to Africa GBC initiatives, so please let us know what kind of information and functions you would like to see there. So far the WGBC is planning to include:
Please let us know your ideas and suggestions. The site should start taking shape in the next two weeks.
We are working on creating a database of potential Africa Network members to facilitate communication and exchange, and are working on the format of this in conjunction with the World GBC. In the interim we have set up an e-mail address
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
for any queries or suggestions.
2. Africa GBC Day Quite a number of people at the Nairobi Conference expressed interest in attending GBCSA's Convention and Exhibition to be held in Cape Town from 21 - 22 September. After further discussions we have undertaken to have an 'Africa GBC Day' following the conference (on Thursday 23 September). The Africa GBC Day programme will be aimed at people interested in starting a GBC or who have already started the process. It will build on the outcomes from the Nairobi conference and the lessons learned since then, go into depth on the practicalities of building a GBC, and continue to develop the World GBC Africa Regional Network. We will send further details as the programme firms up, but if you have ideas on topics you'd like to see included, please let us know. We would like to invite you to attend the Convention and the Africa GBC Day. We have a top-level programme for the Convention and some excellent exhibitors at the Exhibition (details are on our website www.gbcsa -convention.org.za). We are offering people involved in GBC initiatives in other African countries our discounted GBCSA member rate for the Convention, and there will be no charge for attending Africa GBC Day. We will also be holding the 'Green Star SA Accredited Professional' course the day before the Convention (on Monday 20 September), and we can also offer that at the discounted member rate for those who are interested. We have invited World GBC CEO Jane Henley to participate in the event, and while we don't have confirmation at this stage, we hope to have her there. Please note that if there are at least 20 attendees at the Convention from Francophone countries, we will be able to provide French-speaking interpreters (and we are already well on the way to achieving this number). If you would like to participate in the Convention and / or the Green Star SA Accredited Professional course, please contact our Marketing Manager, Lisa Parkes, on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or telephonically on +27 21 659 5990. If you would like to attend Africa GBC Day, please register here: http://www.gbcsa.org.za/events/events_book.php?eve_id=55 We look forward to hearing back from you regarding ideas or suggestions on the World GBC Africa Network, how best we can keep communication flowing between all of us, and your interest in attending the Convention / Africa GBC Day. |