#MeettheWomeninEnergySeries: Tackling climate change through promoting low carbon infrastructure, energy efficient buildings and clean energy, meet Lesley Sibanda
Lesley Sibanda is the Senior Professional Officer: Net Zero Carbon Built Environment for the City of Cape Town under the Sustainable Energy Markets department. Between 2018 and 2020 she was the Technical Officer for the C40 South African Buildings Programme, seconded to the City of Cape Town by Sustainable Energy Africa. Prior to this Lesley has worked for the Green Building Council South Africa and African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town. Her work has focused on promoting natural resource management, climate change and sustainable development.
Hi Lesley, thank you so much for agreeing to speak to me and sharing your journey in the energy sector.
You were the Technical Officer for the C40 South African New Buildings Programme, seconded to the City of Cape Town by Sustainable Energy Africa. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your journey that led you to join the C40 South Africa Buildings Programme?
I’ve always been interested in science; I think it’s my parents’ influence — my mom was a science teacher and my dad is a metallurgist. My dad convinced me (more like strong-armed) to follow his footsteps and so I applied to study chemical engineering at the University of Cape Town. It was during my undergraduate, that my interest in environmental sustainability was kindled which in turn influenced my decision to pursue a postgraduate degree that focused on sustainable engineering practices and another which looked at alternative waste management practices for the South African gold mine sector. My career started at the Green Building Council of South Africa where I gained experience in green building and my interest in sustainable urban development was born. Since then I have been worked with academic institutions, civil society and local governments on issues of natural resource management, climate change and sustainable development. I then joined the C40 South Africa Buildings Programme which is a very ambitious and forward-thinking programme. As the C40 Technical Officer, I was tasked with developing energy efficiency policies and programmes towards net zero carbon performance for new buildings. My other major duty was to promote green infrastructure and advocate for a transition to a low carbon urban development trajectory so a lot of my work involved engaging different built sector stakeholders on low carbon and climate resilient urban development.
For the benefits of readers, can you tell them more about net zero carbon and why all buildings need to be net zero carbon?
The C40 South Africa Buildings Programme defines a net zero carbon as “a building that is highly energy-efficient, and the remaining energy use is from renewable energy, preferably on-site but also off-site where absolutely necessary, so that there are zero net carbon emissions on an annual basis”. The focus is on first maximising energy efficiency through integrated passive design, higher performance building envelopes, energy efficient lighting and HVAC, building management systems and appliance specifications, with remaining energy demand increasingly met by small scale embedded generation and then off-site renewables where necessary.
All new buildings must be constructed to the highest levels of energy performance, given the urgency of the climate threat. Buildings offer a significant opportunity for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and resource use. For example, globally buildings consume 40% of total energy usage and generate one third of all carbon emissions. That is quite massive and so buildings should be at the forefront of addressing resource scarcity and climate change. It is therefore important that buildings are designed and constructed to be highly energy efficient to prevent the lock-in of inefficient building investments and to negate the need for expensive retrofitting in the future. Growing urban populations will result in increased demand for housing, commercial buildings, office space, schools, hospitals and other buildings so it’s important to get buildings as efficient as possible.
You were part of the programme for almost 3 years, what have you learnt to be an important building block for cities to have net zero carbon building policy?
The transition to net zero carbon buildings requires cities to actively engage, collaborate and build strong partnerships with various stakeholders including other spheres of government, businesses, unions, civil society, communities and academia. All stakeholders must have a common understanding of what net zero carbon buildings are and how they can achieve them. Communication is also critical, and cities must be more transparent and communicate the scientific, economic and social case for the higher building performance regulations.
What can the private sector do to help bring net zero carbon buildings to scale and how can they collaborate more with cities?
The private sector can participate in the transition to a low carbon economy by setting ambitious targets to reduce its carbon emissions, improve the resilience of its operations and climate-proof its assets, products and service offering. In terms of buildings, the private sector can commit to ensuring their buildings are net zero carbon in operation, are healthy and comfortable environments for those that occupy them, fit for purpose and future-proofed against climate impacts. To foster collaboration, the private sector can publicly share best practice examples and solutions to reduce emissions build climate resilience.
Women suffer the most from the impacts of climate change. How do you think architecture and design can help address this? And what other measures or initiatives could be introduced?
Globally women are disproportionately vulnerable to the devastating effects of climate change impacts such as floods, droughts and natural disasters. Other factors such as gender inequality, having less socioeconomic power than men, marginalisation and inequitable access to economic and social opportunities makes it more difficult for women to recover from climate change related disasters especially if it affects their jobs, housing and infrastructure. I think architecture and design are not only about aesthetics but can be used to solve some of the challenges we face and to provide shelter, access to clean water and clean energy. Architecture can help create better places and more liveable communities through sustainable design by reducing and/or eliminating negative environmental impacts on the built environment and also through connecting people to nature. Through good architecture and design, we can improve the well-being of communities and uplift communities in a dignified, practical and aesthetically pleasing manner. Architecture can support urban development that is inclusive, pro-poor and equitable.
To address this, we need to develop gender sensitive responses to the impacts of climate change, and we need to provide more opportunities for women especially where decisions with respect to responding to climate change are made. We need to address socio-economic marginalisation, tackle gender disparities, create equal opportunities for all and ensure equal representation on discussion panels, in board rooms, in the workspace and on climate change related projects and programmes are critical. Men and women should contribute to and benefit equally from climate change initiatives, financing and implementation.
What trends do you foresee for the future of the built environment and energy sector?
In the built environment, I think the focus will be on improving resilience, reducing vulnerability to future disasters and adapting to the changing global climate. Buildings will be climate resilient and designed with flexibility in mind to allow for multiple adaptations of use. Building design will likely also emphasise the wellbeing of occupants and support healthy lifestyles.
We are likely to see a lot of technological disruptions in the built environment and so more renewable energy generation, electric vehicles, smart grids and buildings that can autonomously manage internal climate and efficiently adjust themselves to suit the required light levels, temperature and air quality.
What key lessons have you learnt during your journey that you like other women entering the field to know? Share a professional challenge that others can learn from and how you overcame the difficulty and the outcome?
The one thing I have learnt is the importance of having a mentor and a strong professional support network. I am lucky that I’ve had a couple of mentors who I look up to and they have helped guide my career, provided objective advice and much needed constructive criticism. It has helped to mentors keep me accountable and are great sounding boards for all my ideas.
My mentors have been instrumental in broadening my professional networks and have become my biggest cheerleaders especially at times when I have been plagued with doubt and uncertainty.
As of August 2020, you are now the Senior Professional Officer: Net Zero Carbon Built Environment for City of Cape Town under the Sustainable Energy Markets department. What does this role entail and why did you decide to continue working in the city?
I was quite excited to join the City of Cape Town — it’s one of the leading cities in South Africa and is actively working to address climate change and so it’s a great opportunity to further the work I was doing under the SA Buildings Programme. My role is to support the development of a net zero carbon built environment by driving change in urban planning, precinct development and individual building development. So, it’s an extension of what I was doing before on the C40 SA Buildings Programme, the major difference being the role focuses on both new build and existing buildings.
It’s a little overwhelming and I have a daunting task ahead but I’m excited to be at the forefront of tackling issues related to climate change through promoting low carbon infrastructure provision, energy efficient building design and clean energy supply to achieve a more resource efficient and resilient urban environment.
The Meet the Women in Energy Series features women in the energy sector who are committed to transforming the energy space. This series seeks to inspire other women and to showcase the many talented women working in the sector ranging from entrepreneurs, experts, senior executives, middle managers to young professionals’ and new graduates.
Follow Lesley Sibanda on LinkedIn and Twitter to keep up with her work.
