Archives for October 14, 2025

Greenovate Awards of student innovation in Sustainability

October 14, 2025 by Denise

Greenovate Awards celebrate 10 years of student innovation in Sustainability

The Greenovate Awards are back for 2025 with more prizes, new categories and an important milestone to celebrate – ten years of inspiring young people to design practical sustainability solutions for South Africa’s built environment.

Entries are open for the prestigious competition, founded in 2015 by Growthpoint Properties in partnership with the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA). Since its launch, Greenovate has grown into the country’s leading platform for student sustainability innovation, giving honours and final year students the chance to see their ideas tested against real industry challenges.

A decade of positive impact

Greenovate was created to bridge the gap between academia and industry. At the time, students were graduating with strong technical skills but little exposure to sustainability in practice. Growthpoint and the GBCSA set out to change that, giving students access to mentorship, real projects and the opportunity to present their research to senior leaders in the property and engineering sectors.

Over the past ten years, Greenovate has done more than launch careers. It has become a recognised talent pipeline for the industry, introducing new thinking and fresh energy into the conversation about sustainability. More than R1 million in prize money has been awarded to students from over nine universities nationwide, across property, engineering and proptech streams.

Winning ideas have gone on to influence the market, with Growthpoint piloting projects such as a smart energy management system developed by student winner Julian Banks. Alumni including Wardah Peters have returned to the programme as mentors, showing how Greenovate has built a community of sustainability professionals and thought leaders.

Mentors and judges say the standard and quality of work has grown steadily. Students are bolder, more practical and increasingly fluent in ESG principles and real-world implementation. For many participants, Greenovate has been a turning point in their careers, giving them confidence to pursue roles in sustainability and the built environment.

What’s new for 2025

To celebrate its tenth anniversary, Greenovate has added two new awards, each worth R10,000 and sponsored by Growthpoint.

The Sustainability in Action Award will go to the engineering project with the best potential to be implemented within Growthpoint’s portfolio or systems. Judges will be looking for relevance to Growthpoint’s sustainability objectives, ease of implementation and measurable impact on resource efficiency, emissions reduction or operational cost savings.

The Transformative Impact Award will recognise the property, quantity surveying or construction project that demonstrates the strongest alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and overall ESG performance. Criteria include clear links to SDG targets, contribution to ESG indicators and measurable impact on global sustainability priorities.

These new prizes add to an already significant prize pool. The top three projects in both property and engineering will receive R40,000, R20,500 and R14,000 respectively. The competition also offers the coveted IFC prize linked to EDGE Expert Accreditation, and top students benefit from GBCSA Accredited Professional candidate courses.

Platform for a more sustainable future

Finalists present their projects to an expert panel of judges, and winners are announced at the Greenovate Awards gala dinner. Top teams are also invited to participate at the Innovation Stage at the annual GBCSA Convention – a career-defining opportunity to showcase their work to business leaders and influencers.

“Reaching the ten-year mark with Greenovate is a proud moment for Growthpoint. This initiative has grown into a genuine talent pipeline for the property industry, bringing fresh thinking into how we manage and develop sustainable buildings. What excites us most is seeing student ideas translate into solutions that can be implemented in our world today. By investing in young innovators, we are investing in the future of the built environment and the resilience of our sector,” says Engelbert Binedell, Chief Operating Officer of Growthpoint Properties.

“Greenovate was created to give students a voice in the sustainability conversation, and ten years later it has become a powerful platform for the next generation of leaders. Every year we see young people tackling complex challenges with creativity and rigour, and that gives us real confidence in the future of green building. The competition has not only shifted student perspectives, it has also influenced the industry by embedding sustainability into education, research and professional practice,” says Lisa Reynolds, Chief Executive Officer of the Green Building Council South Africa.

Greenovate has always been about more than prize money. It is about giving students the confidence and tools to see themselves as future leaders in the built environment, and about creating a platform where students, mentors and senior industry figures engage as equals in shaping a more sustainable future.

Entries for the 2025 Greenovate Awards close on 10 November 2025. The competition’s mentoring day is 26 November, and the judging and gala dinner take place on 27 November. The competition is open to honours and final year students in property studies, construction, quantity surveying and engineering.

This year, as Greenovate celebrates its tenth anniversary, the call is not only to participate but to be part of the next decade of ideas, innovation and impact.

Students can register and find more information at www.greenovatecompetition.co.za/register.

Emira champions biodiversity with eco pest control initiative

October 14, 2025 by Denise

Emira champions biodiversity with non-toxic eco pest control initiative

At night, the city hums with unseen life. Thriving as they always have in spaces created by humans, rodents dart between buildings, feed on scraps and nest in walls. To fight them, people often reach for poisons: small black boxes baited with enticing blocks of chemical death. For decades, anticoagulant rodenticides, poisons that stop blood from clotting, have been the standard weapon against rodents. But the dangerous reach of poisons extends far beyond their targets. When natural predators consume poisoned rodents, they too can suffer internal bleeding, immune failure and death. These poisons have become progressively more harmful as rodents are increasingly genetically resistant to rodenticides. Each new generation of poison is crueller and more inhumane than the last. These toxins persist in ecosystems, reducing local predator populations and threatening biodiversity. Despite their dangers to non-target animals and humans such poisons remain widely available and poorly regulated in many countries.

Recognising this, the South African Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has banned certain rodenticides classified under Toxicity Categories 1A and 1B of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS). These substances, linked to cancer, genetic mutations and reproductive harm, endanger human health, non-target wildlife such as owls, and the wider environment.

JSE-listed Emira Property Fund has responded with a nature-based alternative. In addition to making sure that pest management service providers comply fully with the new regulations at all its properties, it has ventured beyond compliance with an owl and bat box initiative, which provides a sustainable pest control solution that safeguards wildlife and human health. Boxes were installed across seven of Emira properties during September 2025, providing safe habitats for natural pest controllers and a powerful alternative to toxic pest management.

“The owl and bat box initiative forms part of our eco-pest management programme, a biodiversity priority for this financial year and a deliberate move towards safer, sustainable solutions for our properties and their surroundings,” says Ulana van Biljon, Chief Operating Officer at Emira.

Van Biljon emphasises the urgency of the initiative. “These poisons threaten not only human health, but also owls, other wildlife and the environment at large. For Emira, the message is simple: our commitment to the environment means investing in nature-based solutions that work to promote biodiversity.”

Nature as pest control: how the initiative works

In partnership with EcoSolutions, Emira’s owl boxes offer nesting sites for Spotted Eagle Owls and Barn Owls. Each box type mimics natural nesting conditions, ensuring the birds’ safety and breeding success. These nocturnal hunters are formidable allies in rodent control. A single Barn Owl family can consume hundreds of rats and mice in a breeding season. On top of this, owls control rodents not only through predation but also through behavioural trait mediation, meaning their presence deters rodents and changes their behaviours.

Similarly, bats are highly effective at controlling flying insects. A single bat can consume up to its body weight in insects each night, including mosquitoes, midges and crop pests. What is more, echolocation is another way bats reduce insect populations in a specific area. Their echolocation becomes a predator warning signal to tympanic insects such as some moths and flying beetles, and many respond by avoiding the area. Bat boxes provide safe roosts that compensate for habitat loss and enhance natural insect control. Emira’s installations use purpose-designed boxes, each housing between 100 and 800 bats depending on the design.

“Owl boxes provide effective rodent control and aid conservation while bat boxes promote natural insect control and deterrence and both support conservation and are sustainable solutions,” adds van Biljon.

The project also promotes ethical, humane bat exclusions in line with the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, as authorised by the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Broader biodiversity commitment

Emira’s new Owl and Bat Box Initiative forms part of the property group’s larger, well-established environmental strategy, which ranges from energy efficiencies to water savings and renewable solar energy. Importantly, the initiative supports Emira’s passionate biodiversity leadership, including greening projects, pollination promotion and indigenous planting, reinforcing Emira’s commitment to environmental stewardship and responsible property management.

In recent years it has planted Senecio Barbertonicus, also known as bush senecio, at its Gauteng properties. These drought-resistant plants are valued for their air-purifying qualities and oxygen-boosting benefits and feeding pollinators during the winter months. Emira also installed beehives at select properties in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, providing safe havens for these valuable little pollinators. It has also added carbon-offsetting spekboom plants to sites across South Africa. Emira also partners with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Trees for Africa to plant fruit trees and shade trees.

“These initiatives matter because they protect ecosystems, support our communities and strengthen our positive environmental impacts. Each small step on our biodiversity journey makes a difference an takes us all towards greater sustainability,” van Biljon concludes.

Redefine embarks on R70 million Park Meadows upgrade

October 14, 2025 by Denise

Redefine Properties embarks on R70 million Park Meadows Shopping Centre upgrade to elevate shopper experience

Redefine Properties is investing R70 million into the redevelopment of Park Meadows Shopping Centre in the East Rand, which will add more choice and make visits easier for the community. New retailers are joining the line-up and access improvements are under way, reinforcing Park Meadows as a convenient, everyday destination.

By enhancing convenience, refreshing facilities, and strengthening the tenant mix with the introduction of new anchor tenants, Redefine is ensuring that Park Meadows remains attractive to shoppers and tenants alike. This measured reinvestment forms part of Redefine’s broader strategy to actively manage and future-proof its convenience-led retail assets.

Expanding the retail mix

At the heart of the upgrades is the arrival of Woolworths Food, expanding the centre’s grocery offer with premium products and everyday essentials. This will be complemented by WCafé, Woolworths’ coffee and light meals concept, and WCellar, its dedicated wine and liquor format. Food Lover’s Market is also expanding to include a liquor section, giving customers more choice under one roof. Collectively, these additions bring fresh energy to the tenant mix and broaden the reasons to visit Park Meadows.

Facilities upgrade for easier visits

Alongside the retail changes, Park Meadows is investing in improvements that support access, flow and the overall shopping environment. Works include a new entrance to ease movement in and out of the centre, speciality parking bays to better accommodate larger vehicles and a refreshed building façade that creates a more modern, welcoming look.

The upgrades are being delivered in carefully managed phases to minimise disruption so shoppers can continue to enjoy a seamless experience throughout.

“Park Meadows has been a cornerstone shopping destination for the East Rand community for many years,” says Leon Kok, Chief Operating Officer at Redefine. “This investment is about aligning the centre with how people want to shop today: conveniently and efficiently, with access to the right mix of retailers. By introducing anchors like Woolworths and expanding Food Lover’s Market, together with improvements to access and comfort, we are helping to keep Park Meadows relevant, resilient and a pleasure to visit.”

Strengthening Redefine’s retail portfolio

The Park Meadows upgrade supports Redefine’s strategy to actively manage and enhance convenience-led retail assets in line with evolving consumer expectations. It also reflects wider trends in the retail sector, where centres that combine everyday essentials with premium experiences are best positioned to remain relevant and competitive. By investing in accessibility, quality and a balanced tenant mix, Redefine aims to sustain footfall and trading performance while creating value for shoppers and tenants.

About Park Meadows

Situated in the heart of the East Rand, Park Meadows Shopping Centre brings together a balanced mix of national retailers and speciality stores that serve the daily needs of surrounding communities. With an accessible layout and a growing selection of food, grocery and lifestyle tenants, the centre remains a trusted choice for families and professionals.