Go Green Business Trends by Elske Jourbert

BY ELSKE JOUBERT

AS AWARENESS OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF OUR ACTIONS ON THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT − AND THE ROLE IT PLAYS IN OUR DAILY LIVES − INCREASES, THE ENVIRONMENTAL SECTOR IS RECEIVING ALL THE MORE ATTENTION IN SOUTH AFRICA.

This is the view of Karen King, Senior Associate, WSP, Environment and Energy, Africa. “I must note that there are still large parts of the country where this is not apparent, thus ongoing environmental education is essential.”

WHAT’S TRENDING

Commenting on some trends to look out for in the next three to five years, King notes that innovative ideas will continue to surface in the green buildings space and will focus on water use, power efficiency, use of natural light and ventilation. She adds that as technology advances, numerical modelling will become more detailed, efficient and accurate.

As a result, it will be able to account for data at a wider range of scales and work on different platforms. This, in turn, will enable more multidisciplinary approaches and drawing a better picture of how changes in the environment – including built projects – affect a range of environmental changes.

Most excitingly from a research perspective, King predicts that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones will change the way in which we undertake studies and collect data. Imagery will improve, and more cost-effective, accurate data will be available, she says.

Echoing King’s sentiments around green buildings and cities, Didiza says there will be big talk around Industry 4.0 and how the entire world will be data-driven. She believes that human interactions will shape these developments, particularly the youth population. Didiza highlights that we are already seeing these needs being addressed through innovation. Think, for example, of internetbased education tools, e-hailing transportation applications, drone-

“The green economy is finally becoming an answer to many of the societal challenges”

based health technology and sharedliving urban spaces. According to Didiza, these new trends could be advanced further with technology and the smarter educated youth population that is increasingly becoming environmentally conscious. This will increase the pressure on governments to keep pace with the rising needs of citizens; education, healthcare, transportation, housing and most importantly, jobs, will be in focus.

“The green economy is finally becoming an answer to many of the societal challenges”