Romilly Madew named an Australian ‘woman of influence’

The Green Building Council of Australia’s (GBCA) Chief Executive, Romilly Madew, has been named one of ‘100 Women of Influence’.

The 100 Women of Influence Awards, sponsored by Westpac and the Australian Financial Review, recognise the outstanding and inspirational achievements of Australian women across diverse industries and backgrounds.

Madew was selected as one of 10 finalists in the ‘global’ category for her work driving the rapid uptake of sustainable building practices, green building rating systems and the transformation of the built environment around the world.

“It is a great honour to receive this award, which is acknowledgement of the work the Green Building Council of Australia is undertaking to support one of the world’s fastest-growing industries,” Madew said.

“I am proud of Australia’s position as a global leader in the green building movement, and of the commitment Australia’s property and construction industry has made to sustainability. Our skills and experience are now helping many other countries to capitalise on the benefits of sustainable built environments.”

Since 2006, Madew has worked closely with industry and government in a variety of nations to encourage the development of national green building councils. She has led delegations and information-exchange programs, encouraged collaboration on green building research, skills development and business partnerships, and presented at international conferences and participated in trade expos.

Madew is currently a board member of the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), an international umbrella organisation of more than 90 green building councils, Chair of the WorldGBC International Rating Tools Task Group, the former Chair of the Council Development committee and a former member of the International Policy Task Group. She was instrumental in establishing the WorldGBC’s Asia Pacific Green Building Network, and supported the establishment of green building councils in New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong and Indonesia.

CEO of the WorldGBC Jane Henley said, “Romilly has been one of the WorldGBC’s most vocal advocates for many years. She has been a passionate champion of the green building council model and of the power of building rating tools to transform the built environment.

“Romilly was appointed to the WorldGBC Board in March 2012 in recognition of this work, so we could leverage her expertise and experience to support the further growth of the green building movement. On behalf of the WorldGBC, I congratulate her on this outstanding achievement.”

The winners from the 10 categories and the overall 2012 Woman of Influence were announced at a ceremony at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney last Friday.