Our GCEO, Malose Kekana, spoke at this year’s GBCSA convention. His focus was on the recent riots and destruction of property in KZN and Gauteng, which left South Africa reeling and wondering what we were witnessing. Areas in KZN looked like scenes from a dystopian motion picture – except they weren’t – they were all very real.
Could something remotely positive emerge from these events? Where we are rebuilding, we have the perfect opportunity to “Build Back Better”. Mr Kekana challenged corporate South Africa to use this opportunity to leverage the built environments by involving more and more small entities and communities.
The preoccupation of corporate South Africa with profits and the bottom line often prevents engagement with communities and small companies, which in turn limits innovation that would likely come from such small entities. Malose cited examples of Facebook, Twitter and Amazon – companies that all started as small ideas but went on to become sustainable household brands.
An inclusive environment that involves and benefits all will not only leave a legacy of future-proofed sustainable buildings, sustainable suburbs and sustainable precincts, but a sustainable economy too.
