Meet the members, in conversation with Caren Botha

Caren Botha is the general manager for Propelair in South Africa, and she is passionate about saving water. She answered our questions to give us insight into her work, the environment and what inspires her.

1. Where do you go for inspiration?

My inspiration comes from my daughter, she is a vibrant, positive, happy girl, despite the difficulties she had to endure growing up. Seeing that nothing can get her down, and that she is a go getter, drives me to be better. It inspires me to be the best version of me.

2. What is the best part of your workday?

The best part of my workday is meeting clients face to face, building relationships, and walking out of a meeting energised, being able to assist our clients in saving money, water, and saving the earth at the same time. With the limited contact during COVID, it was difficult building relationships online, and if you are an extrovert like me, where we get our energy from people, this is for sure the best time of a workday.

3. What is the most exciting aspect of your work currently?

Being the only person representing Propelair in SA for almost a year, without having met any of my colleagues in the UK personally, and managing to onboard new clients, set up a new entity and finding channel partners all during a global pandemic.

4. What achievement are you most proud of?

In my personal life, the biggest achievement that I am proud of is raising a wonderful, confident young girl with a positive outlook on life. Professionally, I am proud of having raised Propelair’s profile and footprint in South Africa, and then Africa.

5. What do you think is the most urgent global environmental challenge facing us?

I don’t think we can single out any one of the many global environmental challenges we are facing. Propelair specifically focuses on water reduction because it’s absolutely essential to our wellbeing and life. Being conscious of the declining water resources, and understanding the urgency to use water efficiently – and understanding what will happen if we run out of clean drinking water – drives me to try and educate as many people as possible as part of my job. I am not just selling a toilet. I’m genuinely trying to provide a better way to use water efficiently. If only one person changes his/her daily awareness of not wasting water, we can all make a huge difference in the world. So imagine this on a big scale, such as in a mall or an office, where you have loads of toilets, and just by making this one upgrade, organisations and individuals can make a positive difference.

6. What do you feel is the biggest issue in the green building industry that we have to overcome, and any ideas on where to start in tackling it?

I personally think that the GBCSA has been excellent in addressing energy efficiency especially in new buildings. I would like to see more focus on water savings on a bigger scale, not only in new buildings, but also existing buildings. Some of the old buildings are the areas where the most water is being wasted.

For many organisations, there needs to be a cost incentive to use products like ours, which tend to be more expensive than the less efficient standard products they have already. So I think organisations like Propelair and the GBCSA need to find ways to educate decision makers on the financial savings they can achieve with eco-friendly products and likewise, the buyers need to plan for the future and not settle for quick fixes.