Deputy Minister to address leading sustainability gathering
Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation David Mahlobo is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the 2026 Future of Sustainability Conference taking place in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening.
The event, hosted in Fourways, is a two-day gathering that commenced on Tuesday, 24 March 2026. It has drawn together a diverse assembly of sustainability pioneers, government policymakers, corporate chief executive officers, academics and industry specialists from across the country and beyond.
Delegates at the conference are focused on confronting urgent sustainability challenges while identifying creative approaches to weave sustainable practices into the fabric of business strategies.
"The conference brings together sustainability leaders, policymakers, chief executive officers, academics and industry specialists to tackle pressing challenges and explore innovative ways of embedding sustainability into business strategies."
A legacy rooted in global climate action
The Future of Sustainability Conference has a distinguished pedigree, having been founded in 2011. It was born out of a collaboration between Topco Media and the United Nations, initially created to produce the official publication for COP17 – the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Since its inception, the conference has grown into one of the key platforms for dialogue on how South African businesses and institutions can align their operations with global sustainability objectives.
Mahlobo's participation underscores the government's commitment to positioning water security and sanitation infrastructure as central pillars of the nation's broader sustainability agenda.
South Africa faces mounting water security and sanitation infrastructure challenges that directly affect millions of households and businesses nationwide. The Deputy Minister's keynote at this established sustainability conference signals growing government engagement with private sector sustainability efforts, which could accelerate investment in critical water infrastructure projects. How effectively policymakers and corporate leaders translate conference discussions into tangible partnerships and funded initiatives will determine whether meaningful progress follows for communities most vulnerable to water scarcity.
