The Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) in partnership with the International Finance Corporation has launched the 2025 Women in Green Building Competition.

Now in its fourth year, the initiative continues to open doors for women in the property, construction, and sustainability sectors by offering career-boosting training, certifications, and recognition.

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.

Final winners will receive:

• A full pass to attend the GBCSA Green Building Convention in Cape Town (11th – 13th 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)

An info webinar will be held on Wednesday, 15 May at 11:00am. All interested applicants are encouraged to attend to learn more and ask questions.

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

More information on the competition can be found here.

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

A first round of 10 finalists will benefit from training and exams offered by GBCSA 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 (11th – 13th November 2025).
• Special recognition certificates awarded at the Convention.
• A R10 000 Incredible Connection voucher each.