“This contest is a great platform for students to present their research to a jury of experts and get their names out there in the industry,” says Marloes, who was one of the judges in the Property category.

It was a great experience to be part of the judging team and to see the students present such innovative ideas. Topics ranged from ‘How Facilities Managers deal with Post Occupancy Data’ to ‘Incorporating Cow Dung in Modern Acoustics’. All students put in 100% effort and presented with great enthusiasm. It always excites me that students are passionate about the green building industry, and I hope these students will take this passion forward into their careers.

For the first time last year, the Awards expanded to include an Engineering stream, and Chilufya mentored one of the engineering students who won second price in this stream – North West University’s (NWU) Eben Schutte, with the submission ‘Investigating the Suitability of Electromagnetic Water Flow Meters in a Residential Context’.

Of particular interest to the Solid Green team was the entry titled ‘User Satisfaction of Performance of a Green Star SA Rated Literary Museum in South Africa’, which investigated the National English Literary Museum in Grahamstown – for which Solid Green successfully handled the 5-Star Green Star PEB (Public & Education Building) Design and As-Built certifications – with positive results.

The Greenovate Awards, launched in 2015, encourages students to learn about green building and sustainability early in their careers so that, as tomorrow’s leaders, they will enter the market as advocates for the green building movement. As Dorah Modise, CEO of the GBCSA, said:

Greenovate has, over the years, provided a platform for students to deal with real-life green building research projects and solutions. The amazing energy these students display is inspiring and encourages us all to do more. The green building movement is in desperate need of vibrant young minds to take us to greater heights, and this is where it all begins.

Eight universities competed in 2018, and the winners were announced at a gala dinner in Sandton Central.

Greenovate Property Awards 2018:

Winners: Michael Inskip, Samantha Johnson and Morgan Knowles of the University of Cape Town (UCT) with the submission ‘Assessing the Relationship between Green Buildings and their Occupants’ Green Citizenship’.

Greenovate Property Award First Prize – Michael Inskip, Samantha Johnson, Morgan Knowles (UCT)

Second place: Rashid Bulbulia, Onneile Mfetane and Hitekani Mongwe from the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) with the submission ‘Incorporating Cow Dung in Modern Acoustics’.

Greenovate Property Award Second Prize – Rashid Bulbulia, Onneile Mfetane, Hitekani Mongwe (Wits)

Third place: Kimera Ramruthan, Ziev Shani and Justin Watkins from WITS with the submission ‘Investigating the Possibility of making Rental Housing in the Gap Market more affordable through Green Building Technology’.

Greenovate Property Award Third Prize – Kimera Ramruthan, Ziev Shani, Justin Watkins (Wits)

Greenovate Engineering Awards 2018:

Winner: Chloe Bolton from UCT with the submission ‘Greywater Treatment and Reuse: Wetland Microbial Fuel Cell and Sand Filtration System for the On-Site Treatment and Recycling of Handwashing Greywater’.

Greenovate Engineering Award First Prize – Chloe Bolton (UCT)

Second place: Eben Schutte from North West University (NWU) with the submission ‘Investigating the Suitability of Electromagnetic Water Flow Meters in a Residential Context’.

Greenovate Engineering Award Second Prize – Eben Schutte (NWU)

Third place: Marchant van den Heever and Frederick Albrecht Bester from Stellenbosch University (SUN) with the submission ‘3D Printed Concrete’.

Greenovate Engineering Award Third Prize – Marchant van den Heever and Frederick Bester (SUN)

The judging panel for the Greenovate Property Awards comprised:

• Dorah Modise, CEO of Green Building Council South Africa.
• Brian Wilkinson, Chairman of HouseME.
• Mitesh Bhawan, Head of Sustainability and Utilities, Growthpoint Properties.
• Marloes Reinink, Director at Solid Green Consulting.
• Martin Smith, Technical Director – Buildings, Aurecon.
• Nkuli Bogopa, CEO, Broll Property Group.

The judging panel for the Greenovate Engineering Awards comprised:

• Mauritz Kruger, Architect – Principal Specialist, Royal Haskoning DHV.
• Manfred Braune, Executive Director, GBCSA.
• Werner van Antwerpen, Corporate Finance, Growthpoint Properties.
• Mike Aldous, Associate – Green Building & Sustainability Services, Mott MacDonald.
• Yogesh Gooljar, Building Performance Engineer, PJ Carew Consulting.

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4th SAWIPA National Awards: Marloes Reinink named Business Woman of the Year: Entrepreneur.

The national event is a culmination of the regional awards which took place in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg in August. The regional winners in each category then went on to become finalists at the national awards.

Reinink is founder of Solid Green Consulting, the largest dedicated green building consulting firm in South Africa. Under her leadership, Solid Green has achieved over 55 green building certifications and has begun to create a footprint in countries like Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Botswana and Namibia. As director, Reinink has been responsible for the growth of the business over the last 8 years, from the initial three partners to fourteen Green Star Accredited Professionals.

Solid Green Consultings’ Marloes Reinink.

“It is crucial that cities grow in a sustainable manner,” Reinink says. “Cities today face numerous challenges, but at the same time they are nodes of opportunity to move green design beyond the building scale into the public realm.

It is a great privilege to be acknowledged as SAWIPA’s Business Woman of the Year: Entrepreneur against such high-calibre professionals. The South African Women in Property Awards offers a platform for celebrating not only gender equity in our property industry, but also the important advances that the sector is taking to align itself with best practice worldwide.

An architect by training, Reinink holds two Master degrees for her work in developing the Sustainable School Design Tool for the design of schools in rural areas in South Africa, and Energy Efficiency Labelling Programmes for South Africa. After completing these studies, she joined the CSIR where she worked on the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT) and the Green Building Programme for Africa.

In 2007, Reinink went into consulting at Green by Design, which in 2008 became part of WSP, a leading multi-national engineering consultancy. She was the sustainability consultant and Green Star expert on the ground-breaking Nedbank Phase II in Sandton, which received the first Green Star SA Office v1 Design and As-Built rating; as well as Villa Mall Pretoria, which received the first Green Star SA Retail v1 Design rating.

A proven pioneer in her field, Reinink founded Solid Green in 2010. Her unwavering focus on reversing the effects of climate change through better buildings and her passion for sustainability have won over the entire construction industry, and she is now easily the most recognizable face in green building consulting.

The Solid Green team.

She has also ensured that the business invests in its staff by providing a healthy work environment and a healthy work culture. Solid Green’s own office, the first project in Africa to be featured on the Biophilic Map, was awarded a prestigious LEED Platinum certification for Commercial Interiors and the first 6-Star Green Star SA Interiors v1 certification in 2016.

Says Chilufya Lombe, Reinink’s business partner and director at Solid Green:

The company is continuously evolving and has never been allowed to become complacent in any way. Under her leadership, new service offerings such as green building education, policy work for African countries, and the development of energy building regulations have set the firm apart. She also has a keen interest in advancing the skills of others to continue the fight against climate change, and her advocacy work includes mentoring Masters students with an interest in sustainability.

Marloes and Chilufya Lombe.

Reinink reached the pinnacle of local Green Building success in 2013 when she won the Green Star SA Leadership Awards’ Established Green Star. Since then, she has taken on new challenges and is currently the only ambassador in Africa for the Living Building Challenge, possibly the most rigorous green building certification programme and sustainable design framework in the world. She says:

This work keeps me motivated and realistic that there is still a long way to go in terms of greening the built environment. Solid Green is very excited to be working on two residential projects in Cape Town that are registered to be Full Living Buildings under the Challenge.

Reinink has also been proactive in addressing the lack of knowledge on green building matters by co-founding GreenED in 2017, an online platform that provides affordable online courses on sustainability in the built environment. The aim is not only to reach professionals in the building industry but also students in universities, effectively creating a grass roots programme for the green economy.

The Solid Green team.

The SAWIPA Awards not only recognise the achievements of individuals but also their contribution to the broader industry, to encourage transformation and women’s participation in the sector. The full list of winners is below.

NATIONAL WINNERS:

YOUNG ACHIEVER
Tshepiso Kobile – Commercial Executive Infrastructure, Tongaat Hulett Developments

BUSINESS WOMAN OF THE YEAR – ENTREPRENEUR
Marloes Reinink – Owner, Solid Green Consulting

PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR – PRIVATE SECTOR
Charmaine Schwenn – Founding Partner, Schwenn Inc Attorneys & Conveyancers

PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR – PUBLIC SECTOR
Gisela Kaiser – Executive Director, Informal Settlements, Water & Waste, City of Cape Town

LISA BLANE AWARD
Dr Thandi Ndlovu – Executive Chair, Motheo Construction Group

NATIONAL JUDGES:
Peter Levett, Managing Director, Old Mutual Property
Amelia Beattie, Chief Executive Officer, Liberty Two Degrees
Jackie van Niekerk, Chief Operating Officer, Attacq
David Green, Director and Founding Shareholder, ProAfrica Property Services

The post Marloes Reinink : Property Business Woman of the Year 2018 appeared first on Solid Green Consulting.