Chrisna du Plessis

Chrisna du Plessis – University of Pretoria, South Africa

Chrisna du Plessis is a Professor in the School for the Built Environment, University of Pretoria, South Africa. She was formerly Principal Researcher at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Built Environment in Pretoria, South Africa. Her work focuses on sustainable human settlement and the application of sustainability science in the built environment.

Chrisna du Plessis is known for her work on the evaluation of policy and research strategy for sustainable building and construction in developing countries, and is currently concentrating on urban sustainability science at both theoretical and technical levels. Her main expertise is the development of trans-disciplinary research and development programs that follow a complex systems approach to the development of human settlements as sustainable social-ecological systems.

She studied architecture at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, obtained a PhD in Urban Sustainability from the University of Salford, UK, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in technology from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg.

Chrisna du Plessis represented South Africa in the Earth Charter drafting and consultation process and contributed to several national and international policy and strategy initiatives on sustainable settlements. She was lead author of the United Nations Environment Program’s  Agenda 21 for Sustainable Construction in Developing Countries and is Theme Coordinator: Sustainable Construction for the International Council on Research and Innovation in Building and Construction.