Construction entrepreneur Elizabeth Chege has hit another career milestone following her appointment as the vice chair of the World Green Building Council (WGBC).
Chege is co-founder and immediate former chairperson of the Kenya Green Building Society (KGBS).
WGBC led by its CEO Cristina Gamboa made the announcement on Wednesday.
WGBC is a global network of Green Building Councils leading the transformation of the built environment to make it healthier and more sustainable for residents.
“We are proud to announce that the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) recently appointed Elizabeth Wangeci Chege, CEO and co-founder of WEB Limited Group, immediate past chairperson and co-founder of Kenya Green Building Society (KGBS) as Vice Chair of the WorldGBC.
She was also appointed the Regional Chair of the Africa Regional Network (AfRN),” said Ms Gamboa.
Ms Gamboa also announced the newly elected members and officers of the Board of Directors and Regional Chairs, in addition to the new Chair and Vice Chairs of its Corporate Advisory Board who will hold office for a maximum term of between 2 and 6 years.
Ms Chege (above) is also the founder of the WEB Limited Group.
For two decades, Ms Chege has dedicated herself to providing eco-friendly construction solutions that promote sustainable lifestyles.
Her mantra is “What we build today will form the Africa of tomorrow.’’
She is also the immediate past chairperson of the KGBS.
Working with members and partners from her volunteer role at KGBS, she has contributed to the transformation of the built environment in Kenya.
Ms Chege and colleagues have worked towards the green agenda by integrating green building practices and policies into the construction and financial industry.
By doing this, the society hopes to decrease greenhouse gas emission, contribute to better human health and create jobs through the green building sub-sector.
In addition to implementing environmental, corporate and social governance (ESG) values in strategic and technical leadership, Ms Chege believes the wider human community has a noble responsibility to enhance the environment in its economic pursuits.
She has previously consulted for PWC and Canadian High Commission in Tanzania for green buildings.
She was the NDC Partnership technical consultant for Kenya towards the Climate Action Summit 2019.
Ms Chege also contributed to Conference of the Parties -COP 21 in Paris, France.
She spoke and moderated at COP23 in Bonn, Germany as well as COP25 in Madrid, Spain.
In 2018, she spoke at the East Africa Property Investment forum in Nairobi.
She was also a speaker during the SPACE Conference in Nairobi, the Africa Regional Network Summit in Mauritius, in 2019, the Global Alliance for Building and Construction Green Buildings Roadmap in Nairobi.
She also featured in the IEA Africa Green Buildings Roadmap in South Africa amongst various international, regional and local climate events and actions.
At Web Limited, Ms Chege is a sustainable development consultant as well as a public and commercial sector trainer on ESG across the continent.
Ms Chege still argues the case for Kenya and Africa as a whole on the international arena.
Her intention is to ensure that the fast growing economic zone that is the African continent does not lag behind in mitigation, adaptation and resilience to climate change in sustainable development.
“I believes that Kenya and ultimately Africa can make the big transformation from crowded, pollution-ridden cities to smart carbon positive cities as we need to re-think cities for the African context,” says Ms Chege.
In her address, Cristina lauded the new appointees for having consistently promoted the need to embrace green architecture and construction in their operations.
“These Directors and Chairs have earned their place as champions of sustainability in the building and construction industry. Their expertise will continue to transform the built environment and help the world to deliver on the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development,” she said.
In her maiden address, Ms Chege admitted that her appointment had created a good opportunity to focus on the African cities and infrastructure that is yet to be built.
“We need to start at zero. This means we must act now by prioritising people-centred, low carbon, resilient and healthy developments while winding the carbon clock back on the existing built environment,” said Ms Chege.
She vowed to press on with her vision that includes carrying out environmentally friendly projects that can last for posterity.
“I continue to live by the motto – ‘What we build today will form the Africa of tomorrow’ and with the intentional collaboration we can achieve Sustainable Buildings for Everyone Everywhere,” said Ms Chege.
Previously, the construction entrepreneur has been recognized for her efforts to promote green centred construction.
During her tenure as KGBS chair, she won the National Diversity and Inclusion Environmental Conservation Champion award.
Ms Chege also won the DIAR Awards in 2019, the World Green Building Council Chair’s Award 2019-2020, and Women in Real Estate, as well as the Legends & Leaders award in 2021 and the Leader in Leadership Award 2021.
She was a major player in the effort to include green building standards in the decree by the State Department of Housing of Kenya which made it mandatory for all affordable housing to meet, as a minimum, green building standards by IFC EDGE amongst others.