The greatest strength I see in being part of a team as pro-active as Solid Green’s is the ability to act consistently regardless of what challenges are faced. As a relatively small team, we’re encouraged to have an extensive knowledge base, develop actionable skills and prioritize mutual trust. This is immensely beneficial when it comes to working remotely as there’s constant discussion about how productivity can be increased, and we all are aware of what role we have to play in the creative freedom we’re given.

The dynamic relationship we have across all levels of professional experience and academia fosters a solutions-centered environment, which I think is at the core of sustainability practice. Everyone has a voice and is encouraged to use it. As a Junior Green Building Consultant, I am motivated in learning through the shared understanding and passion this company has for its industry.

In all honesty, I had no idea what I wanted to pursue even after being accepted for Construction Studies at Wits. Our modules ranged from statistics and economics to project management and construction technology – it just felt a bit all over the place, which didn’t really help me figure out what I’d actually be doing as a professional.

Being at home during the final two years (lockdown, remember that one, eish!), we all developed a lot more awareness of what our planet is capable of when we take a step back and let it thrive. For the most part, it shaped the way we work in the world today. I saw sustainability at the forefront of industry and growing into a key driver of the 4-IR throughout the world. It was something I felt interested in and investigated it.

During my postgraduate in Construction Management, the lesson I took is that people have the greatest impact in the world, when we really shouldn’t. In the same way a university carries on once we graduate, the world goes on without us and we need to really contemplate what role we have in its function. It’s a multi-generational system and we’re just a part of it.

In my final year research, our topic centered around repurposing the abandoned buildings in the Johannesburg CBD into student accommodation. Through the grace of The Almighty, I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to present this at the 2021 GBCSA convention. It was then that I became aware of the impact that industry professionals have and knew a career in this field was realistic and purposeful. Before joining Solid Green at the end of 2022, I learnt more than I could have imagined as a Site Foreman in Linbro Park.

The most important thing to me in sustainability is to keep asking questions. Always challenge when things don’t make sense. Sustainability is so much greater than any one discipline and being open to challenging concepts is part of its fabric. Solid Green is cultivating its own legacy by nurturing a positive transformation in the built environment and I’m grateful to make its journey a part of my own.