Dr Rethabile Melamu

Dr Rethabile Melamu is a sustainability professional who is trained in Chemical and Environmental Engineering. She has 15 years’ experience in the areas of clean energy, green economy, environmental sustainability, enterprise development, life cycle assessments and climate change. Her experience spans several sectors including renewable energy, waste management, water and sanitation.

She is a seasoned professional with a depth of understanding on adoption of innovative climate smart technologies in society. This is backed by experience of running a technology innovation-based incubation programme for almost 6 years. She has solid experience in developing public sector policies and have led the development of sub-national energy and green economy strategies and facilitated their implementation.

Dr Rethabile Melamu sits on several boards and advisory committees of private, academia and the public sectors organisations. She is a thought leader in the energy and green economy sectors, having published reports, thought leadership pieces and academic articles on several platforms in her areas of expertise.

She has featured extensively as a speaker on various national and international platforms and has received recognition for her contribution in the energy sector, notably as a 2017 finalist under the Outstanding Woman in Power and Energy in Africa category at a Africa Utility Week.

In 2017, she lead-authored a paper for the prestigious UNDP supported OR Tambo Series of Lectures on Chapter 5 (‘Transition to a low-carbon economy’) of the South African National Development Plan (2030). In 2019, she was recognised by the national Mail & Guardian newspaper as one of Women Who Are Changing South Africa in the Public Sector.