Abi Godsell caught up with Jenni Lombard – Certifications & Technical Manager to talk ratings and running shoes:
Abi: “So, we’re talking about green building certification. I’ve learned from you that certification is more about people than about green projects or buildings. The certification space really is a community of people who prepare, assess, and moderate submissions!
What is your favourite challenge about working with, and within, the certification community?”
Jenni: “It probably is the interactions with people. That’s not necessarily the challenge, that’s what I really enjoy! I love seeing the different angles to certification, the project-perspective, the council perspective that must balance it. I like the people, and the relationships. That’s almost the easier part.
The challenge comes in trying to find the right outcome for all of the parties, including the project. I always have to ask myself, with each request on the tools that I look after, would I be giving an advantage to this project that other, similar projects haven’t had? I’m looking at the whole tool, the whole process. Sometimes I have to say no.”
Abi: “Something that people may not know about you is that you are dedicated runner. You lead a running group here in Cape Town, setting routes and planning trails. What is your favourite challenge in your running leadership space?”
Jenni: “When I plan a route, I don’t store it on a smart-phone or another device, I memorise it. It keeps my brain active, and it keeps my running group active. Sometimes I’ll tell people that need to run ahead, “Go to the end of Parish Road, we’re going to regroup there, we’re going to go right.” It enables us to adapt, but it also enables the group to start to learn where we’re going. It means I don’t own the route alone. Other people start to learn road names and start to engage with the route.
When I prepare for a run, I definitely like to have a plan, but if that plan needs to change, I can adapt it. If someone in the group gets injured, or can’t run as far that day, I can give them a shortcut. It allows for more adventure! Recently, we stopped to watch the dolphins from Sea Point. In the suburbs, we might stop to look at the berries changing colour for autumn. All of that interaction, with the space you’re running in, with the people you’re running with, you don’t get that if only stick to the route you planned.”
