Speaker

Jutta Berns

Head of Sustainability
IPP & Karingani

With many accolades, green building certifications, projects, and years of on-the-ground experience under her belt, Jutta is a highly experienced strategist who understands the complexities and challenges that compa-nies face when embedding impactful sustainability strategies into the core of their business processes. In 2007, she established Ecocentric, an acclaimed, multidisciplinary green building consultancy renowned for its expertise in delivering sustainable solutions and strategies for the built environment, with a focus on minimizing environmental impacts throughout the building lifecycle and achieving net-zero goals. By March 2023, she took on a new role as the Head of Sustainability at Karingani Game Reserve and Impact Preservation Partners (IPP), organizations at the forefront of conservation, biodiversity valuation, commu-nity partnerships, and sustainable development in luxury hospitality. In this capacity, she has broadened her focus, applying and enhancing natural and social capital models to support high-impact conservation efforts in some of Africa's most at-risk wilderness areas. Jutta brings a rich blend of academic and professional expertise to her work, with a background in politi-cal science, environmental economics, and ecosystem valuations from the Universities of Bonn in Ger-many and Cambridge in the United Kingdom. She holds a number of professional accreditations, including LEED AP, Green Star AP+, and EcoDistricts AP. As a member of the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) Academy and a Green Star Assessor, Jutta has contributed significantly to the field, including her role on the GBCSA’s Technical Advisory Group. There, she played a pivotal role in developing the new ver-sion of the Green Star New Buildings tool, particularly leading the Resilience Category. Her expertise is also recognized through her regular involvement in the program committee for the annual Green Building Convention. She sits on the Editorial Advisory Boards of the GBCSA’s Positive Impact Magazine and Earthworks Maga-zine and was the Chair of the Gauteng Chapter of the Women’s Property Network (WPN), where she also headed up the Sustainability and ESG portfolio for the WPN. She is a mother of three and an active ultra road and trail runner.