The yearly Greenovate Awards programme, co-founded by South African real estate investment trust (Reit) Growthpoint Properties and the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) will include technology solutions for a sustainable built environment.

Now in its ninth year, the Greenovate Awards have focused on encouraging a passion for sustainable development in young students. Initially, the awards only included students of the built environment, then an engineering category was added.

“There is vast opportunity in the property technology space for the real estate sector – both for unlisted and listed property - innovators and entrepreneurs alike. The possibilities include disrupting a conservative and slow-moving industry, attracting investment, boosting productivity, shifting mindsets to a technology-forward understanding of property, building better future cities, and enhancing tenants’ experience,” says Growthpoint sustainability and utilities head Grahame Cruickshanks.

He adds that this year, the Greenovate Awards will both highlight green innovation and showcase what’s next in property technology and sustainability within the South African context.

GBCSA technical head Georgina Smit, meanwhile, says that, “by encouraging innovation in the property technology sector, we create the potential for improved sustainability, higher occupancy, greater value, better communication, transparency, and increased innovation in the real estate sector”.

She is confident that the Greenovate Awards’ new category is “a great way to get noticed and shape a more sustainable future” as she reiterates that “technology has a key role in green building to create better more sustainable cities, towns and neighbourhoods”.

The challenge for all three categories – property, engineering and property technology – is simple: conduct research to propose unique and sustainable solutions to real-life problems, which will then be presented to a judging panel of industry decision-makers.

This year, those entering the Greenovate Awards will have access to mentorship and collaborative opportunities available in the property industry, with expert guidance and access to crucial resources.

The top teams in each category will take to the innovation stage at the 2024 GBCSA Convention for a “career-defining opportunity” to present their ground-breaking projects to business leaders and influencers.

All winners of the Greenovate Awards will also be treated to exclusive tickets to attend this event from the GBCSA, with a travel and accommodation allowance sponsored by Growthpoint.

The winning team in each category will receive a prize of R37 000, with runner-ups receiving R18 500, and those in third place taking home R12 500, all sponsored by Growthpoint.

There is also a prestigious award from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and linked to EDGE green building certification, an innovation of the IFC, where one winner between the property and engineering stream will receive a laptop and EDGE Expert training with the GBCSA. The top three participants from each stream will also win entry to a nationally recognised GBCSA Accredited Professional (AP) Candidate Course.

Property technology category entries will be accepted from Master's and PhD university students in property studies, construction, quantity surveying or engineering. Postgraduate technikon students can also enter.

Additionally, for the first time, the competition is extending entries beyond the student community to include small businesses working on technological innovation that are still within the research and development phase.

Participating universities include the University of Cape Town, the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Pretoria, the University of Free State, the University of Johannesburg, Stellenbosch University, North West University, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

All property technology submission summaries must be entered by July 31. Ten finalists will be chosen from the entries and announced on August 31.

All finalists will be invited to present their research to an expert panel of judges on November 29 and the winners in each category will be announced at the prestigious gala dinner and prize-giving, an exclusive event with “a reputation for opening doors for young green thinkers”.

Interested parties can visit the greenovatecompetition.co.za/register to sign up.