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CITY PLANNING

Diversity and inclusivity

TOURISM

The great plan

TRANSPORT

Cities in forward motion

Issue 25

R29.00 incl VAT

ENERGY

9 772410 645003

Reinventing the IRP

WATER

The drought’s tough lessons 11025

STRAPLINE

ENVIRONMENTAL

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STRAPLINE

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EDITOR: GUEST EDITOR: LAYOUT AND DESIGN: CLIENT LIAISON OFFICER: PROOFREADER PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: DIRECTORS: PROJECT MANAGER: SALES: PRINTING: DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: PUBLISHER: PHYSICAL ADDRESS:

TEL: FAX: WEBSITES: DISTRIBUTION AND COPY SALES ENQUIRIES: ENQUIRIES: ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES: EDITORIAL PROPOSALS: Company Registration Number: Vat Number: ISSN No.: Published:

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Melissa Baird, Greg Penfold Shannon Manuel Linda Tom Monique Jacobs Shannon Manuel Lloyd Macfarlane Gordon Brown Vania Reyneke Jessica Lamoral, Glenda Kulp, Louna Rae FA Print Edward MacDonald Alive2Green Cape Media House 28 Main Road Rondebosch 7700 Cape Town 021 447 4733 086 694 7443 www.alive2green.com/publications/ green-economy-journal/ distribution@alive2green.com info@alive2green.com vania.reyneke@alive2green.com melissa.baird@alive2green.com 2006/206388/23 4130252432 2410-6453 August 2016

The cover of GEJ 25 is inspired by the image of the Lynwood Bridge precinct, but features the Menyln Maine precinct instead.

Menlyn Maine, unlike Lynwood Bridge, is a GreenStarSA rated precinct and, being the first in SA is a landmark green building development in Tshwane, and is also the subject of a case study lecture at the Green Building Conference at Sustainabiloty Week 2017..

CITY PLANNING

Diversity and inclusivity

TOURISM

The great plan

TRANSPORT

Cities in forward motion

Issue 25

R29.00 incl VAT

alive2green p r o j e c t s

ENERGY

9 772410 645003

Reinventing the IRP

WATER

The drought’s tough lessons 11025

Green Economy Journal is audited

by ABC All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any way or in any form without the prior written permission of the Publisher. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Publisher or the Editor. All editorial and advertising contributions are accepted on the understanding that the contributor either owns or has obtained all necessary copyrights and permissions. The Publisher does not endorse any claims made in the publication by or on behalf of any organizations or products. Please address any concerns in this regard to the Editor.

The Green Economy Journal is printed on Hi-Q Titan plus paper, manufactured by Evergreen Hansol a leading afforestation member acknowledged by FOA. Hi-Q has Chain of Custody certification, is totally chlorine free, and is PEFC, ISO 14001, ISO 9001 accredited. This paper is FSC certified.

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My editorial column in GEJ 24 reflected on a world gone mad and as I write this one out I no longer wonder if it is just me, it is clear to everyone I have been speaking to—politically, climatically and socially—things are not looking good, are considerably out of balance and there is very little good news that is being reported.

I have been so upset by the continuing sagas that I had to make a choice about whether to remain vaguely sane or well informed. This action of shutting out the noise reminded me of my father and his approach to life. Before I arrived on the planet he was studying architecture at UCT and was introduced to the American architect, systems theorist, designer, inventor and author Buckminster Fuller. “Bucky” Fuller had original thoughts; a lot of them and he was a staunch proponent of not fighting to win. “You never change things by fighting the existing reality.

To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” My father also believed that fighting was pointless and he preferred to create his way out of a bind. By dying young he solved many of the problems he would have faced in age and in a country that is being bled by corruption and nepotism. For those of us who want to create a future worth living for it is imperative to focus on what can be done not on what is being destroyed and I find the men and women who are driving sustainability across the world, in every sector possible the beacons of hope that promise environmental, economic and social change for the better. These mavericks, thinkers, doers and change agents are re-defining systems and creating news operating systems for people to thrive in.

Imagine cities that will grow like a healthy, living organism and support all its residents in an equitable way? Imagine renewable energy that creates an economy of energy access for all and jobs for many? Imagine transport systems that enable millions of people to be mobile in reliable, safe and efficient ways? Imagine water resources that are well managed and ensure supply? Sustainability does matter, regenerative systems are the way of the future and the green economy is the key to unlocking the potential for change. These concepts and many more will be under discussion at Sustainability Week in June, in Tshwane, which promises to be another great gathering of emerging leaders and people who are capable of activating and envisioning a brighter future. I hope you can join us there.

A note of thanks to Greg Penfold for his contribution as acting editor for GEJ 25.

Sincerely,

Melissa Baird 3

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Contents ISSUE 25, MAY 2017

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TRANSPORT Cape Town’s Integrated Rapid Transport System

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GREEN BUILDING Interview—Mrs Dorah Modise, CEO of the Green Building Council on the importance of being green

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SUSTAINABILITY WEEK Exploring the cities of the future

TRANSPORT Interview—Mr Solly Tshepiso Msimanga, Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane on getting things moving

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NEWS AND UPDATES SA junk status, water scarcity and sanitation, Eskom standoff, sugar tax, recycling goals

CARBON TAX The time to report on emissions is nigh

WASTE MANAGEMENT Navigating the mess of a city’s inequalities

ENERGY Outmoded IRP legislation needs to be addressed

TOURISM Setting a “responsible” benchmark for the future of the sector WATER AND FOOD SECURITY Learning the hard way about resource management

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NEWS AND UPDATES

HISTORICALLY PROTECTED AREAS TRUMP MINERAL RIGHTS A recent judgment in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) and Mountainlands Owners Association (MOA) / Barberton Mines (Pty) Ltd (Barberton Mine), the Director-General of the Department of Mineral Resources and others, provides a caution to mineral rights applicants to ensure that properties included in their applications have not been declared a protected area under historical provincial legislation. If so, they would be prohibited from conducting operations on the properties under the National Environment Management: Protected Areas Act, No 57 of 2003 (NEMPAA), despite being granted a mineral right. NEMPAA provides that no person may conduct prospecting or mining activities in special nature reserves or protected areas without the prior consent of the Ministers of Mineral Resources and Environmental Affairs. This prohibition extends to a protected area that was immediately before NEMPAA’s enactment, reserved or protected in terms of provincial legislation for any purpose for which an area could be declared as a nature reserve or protected environment. NEMPAA binds all state organs and trumps other legislation, including the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act, No 28 of 2002 (MPRDA), in the event of a conflict concerning the development of protected areas. Source: Sandra Gore and Neo Tshikalange, CDH COMMUNICATION CDHMedia@cdhlegal.com

SOUTH AFRICA’S FORESTRY SECTOR EXPLAINED The United Nations International Day of Forests on 21 March 2017 was marked

by Forestry South Africa with the launch of an information and illustrationrich website, called ‘Forestry. The new portal offers itself as ‘a beginner’s guide to forestry in South Africa’ and caters for users of all ages. It covers the basics of forestry and forest products, and everything from water-use to recreation, pest control, ownership and end-uses. Forestry touches people—through the products they use every day without even knowing it—and communities, through education and skills development.

Forestry also has a positive influence on climate change mitigation, provides a sustainable alternative to the deforestation of natural forests, and is a renewable source of energy and construction materials. This one-stop website offers in-depth but easy-to-read content, supported by well-illustrated infographics and additional links for those who want to explore the industry further. It is ideal for learners and teachers.

Source: Forestry SA (FSA); http://forestryexplained.co.za/

PETCO EXCEEDS RECYCLING TARGET PETCO, the organisation responsible for fulfilling the South African PET plastic industry’s role of Extended Producer Responsibility, is proud to announce their 2016 recycling figures which indicate an increase in their annual PET recycling rate from 52% of post-consumer bottle PET in 2015 to 55% in 2016, exceeding their expected target for the second consecutive year. CEO Cheri Scholtz says: “Through the remarkable network of people, companies and organisations we work with, 2 billion PET bottles were collected for recycling across South Africa during the course of 2016, creating some 62 000 income opportunities for small and micro-collectors, and changing their lives and those of their families in immeasurable ways.” Since the inception of PETCO in 2004, the collection of PET bottles for recycling has resulted in almost 800 000 tonnes of carbon and over 3 million m3 of landfill space saved to date. Source: Petco

ESKOM STANDOFF: CRISIS AVERTED?

Eskom’s announcement in July 2016 that it would not sign any independent power producers onto the South African power grid threw a booming renewables sector into disarray. The cost of cancelling or delaying infrastructure projects is considerable. The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) attracted R196 billion in investments from 2011 to 2016 and aimed to attract another R550 billion by 2020. Subject to the same multiplier observed in the UK, these investments until 2020 would return around £715 billion in South Africa, however this will be significantly reduced if progress is delayed. However, the tide seems to have turned against the energy provider, with President Jacob Zuma reconfirming the government’s support for the REIPPPP in his State of the Nation speech in January. The Department of Energy has announced that on April 11, Eskom will begin signing off on REIPPPP round four - affecting up to 27 stalled projects. Source: JCRA

SUGAR TAX LEAVES A BITTERSWEET TASTE During the budget speech, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan stated that a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages will come into effect in 2017. The proposed tax of 2.1 cents per gram of sugar will be included where sugar content exceeds 4 grams per 100ml of a beverage. This means a 330ml can of Coca-Cola, containing just over eight teaspoons of sugar, will cost an extra 46c. The initial proposal amounted to a 20% tax on sugary drinks, but the revised proposal takes the rate closer to 10%. A 20% tax would prevent a quarter of a million people from becoming obese, a condition linked to the rising epidemic of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The healthcare spend on diabetes was estimated at between R11 billion and R20.5-billion in 2010. Although the tax will raise revenue for the taxman, it is designed to curb wider costs to South Africa’s healthcare system. Source: Mail & Guardian

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NEWS AND UPDATES

SA’S LOCAL AND FOREIGN CURRENCY RATINGS DOWNGRADED TO JUNK The first week of April saw S&P’s downgrade of South Africa’s foreign currency ratings to junk status. This follows the cabinet reshuffle and the ratings agency’s concerns of potential change in policy. Fellow ratings agency Moody’s announced that it also intends to put SA on review for a downgrade, but deferred its review meeting to 11 August 2017. On Friday 7th April, Fitch Ratings became the second of the three major rating agencies to downgrade South Africa’s foreign currency rating to non-investment grade. However, in addition to downgrading South Africa’s foreign currency rating, Fitch became the first major rating agency to downgrade South Africa’s local currency debt to non-investment grade. Should Moody’s and S&P follow in coming months by downgrading South Africa’s local currency rating to non-investment grade, capital outflow is likely to accelerate. While this is not imminent, it may well become a reality in the next 12 to 18 months if growth continues to disappoint. Source: Standard Bank Research

WORRIES OVER CHILDREN’S HEALTH AS PLASTIC TOYS FOUND TO CONTAIN FLAME RETARDANTS Flame retardants used in plastics in a wide range of electronic products is putting the health of children exposed to them at risk, according to a new report by the campaign group CHEM Trust. Brominated flame-retarding chemicals have been associated with lower mental, psychomotor and IQ development, poorer attention spans and decreases in memory and processing speed, according to the peer-reviewed study. One 2015 study found significant traces of two potentially hormone-altering brominated flame retardants in 43% of 21 children’s toys surveyed. The issue poses questions about recycled products that have been imported from countries with less robust recycling rules, such as China. Concerns about the country’s waste treatment standards were heightened by the discovery of some of the highest concentrations of PBDE chemicals (a group of brominated flame retardants) ever recorded in the food chain near the country’s e-waste recycling plants in the same year. Source: TheGuardian.com

SHOCK CABINET RESHUFFLE PAVES THE WAY FOR NUCLEAR DEAL President Zuma removed Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas, as well as six other government ministers, in a shock cabinet reshuffle announced at midnight on Thursday 30th March. Gordhan and Jonas were accused of undermining the country and the economy while overseas on a foreign investment roadshow. The three ministries with the most critical impact on the energy sector have all been affected, significantly increasing the chances of the country opting for a highly controversial nuclear energy programme. Former finance minister Gordhan was viewed as a stumbling block by those who stood to benefit from megaprojects, the biggest of which is the R1 trillion nuclear new build.

The cabinet reshuffle can, therefore, be viewed as a desperate bid by the Zuma faction, and associated beneficiaries such as the Gupta family, to drive the pro-nuclear agenda. The nuclear procurement plan will now most likely be given the go-ahead from Treasury. Source: TheConversation.com; Financial Mail

WASTEWATER: A KEY STRATEGY TO TACKLE GROWING WATER SCARCITY IN AFRICA On 22 March, annually, the world celebrates World Water Day, which is coordinated by UN-Water in collaboration with governments and partners globally.

This year, the theme was ‘Wastewater’, recognising that safely managed wastewater provides an affordable and sustainable source of water, and in some cases, energy. Wastewater, often referred to as greywater, refers to all water which quality has been compromised as a result of human influence. Wastewater can be generated in the home, during industrial or commercial processes or through agricultural activities. Although South Africa has nearly 1 000 municipal wastewater treatment facilities in operation, only about 26% of sewage is adequately treated before being discharged into rivers.

Managing Director of Talbot & Talbot, Mr Carl Haycock, notes: “Treated wastewater may be a key strategy to meet the water needs on the African continent and can also help to address parallel challenges of food production and industrial development.” Source: Talbot & Talbot

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WATER AND SANITATION FOR CHILDREN: TROUBLING DISPARITIES PERSIST South Africa has already attained high coverage of the use of improved drinking water sources, with well over 90 percent of the population having access to water piped into their premises or other improved sources. Despite this accomplishment, troubling disparities persist by wealth and between provinces. In 2015, 22% of ordinary operational schools across South Africa did not have a reliable water supply. Almost one in five of the poorest children live in households that still rely on rivers, streams and other unimproved sources for their drinking water. The poorest children are one-third less likely to have access to an improved sanitation facility than children in the wealthiest households. In 13 municipalities, more than a quarter of children live in households still practising open defecation.

Meanwhile, 29% of schools in the country, and 55% of schools in the Eastern Cape only have an unimproved pit or no sanitation facilities at all. Source: SAHRC & UNICEF

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SUSTAINABLE CITIES

Sustainability Week 2017 —Investing in vision Sustainable cities hold the key to jobs, service delivery and growth

By Gordon Brown, Director, Alive2Green

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dvancing towards more sustainable cities is the primary overarching t h e m e o f Su s t a i n a b i l i t y We e k 2017, but what does this actually mean in practical terms?

We currently think in terms of the developmental city in which driving economic growth and job creating are primary objectives, and with infrastructure developed reactively, just-in-time —with the city virtually laying down the railway tracks a few metres ahead of the train as it rolls forward to enable development and progress, and service delivery always playing catch up What if service delivery became an integral driver of growth and job creation instead? That’s the promise of the sustainable city.

Sustainable cities are also developmental, they seek to drive economic growth and job creation, but the sustainable city is aspirational, with planning driven by a vision of what the city should look like in the future, and using this future vision to develop a road map of how to get there.

As a starting point, therefore, city leaders (and citizens through public engagement) have the opportunity to visualise the city they want to live in, or perhaps, more importantly, the city they want the next generation to have the privilege of living in, and then set about making that happen.

Cities are, of course, not static phenomena, they evolve and change, so it’s not about overtly building the city we want to see, but creating the artist’s impression, the templates and the regulatory frameworks to enable this vision of the city to emerge over time, then having the discipline to see it through in face of resistance from short-term interests. As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it was founded on a vision —and African cities can do better than Rome.

City sustainability is also an interconnected notion: the city’s ability to minimise its own impacts and those of its businesses and citizens is heavily influenced by national policy, and is constrained by the election cycle, which can have

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the effect of derailing even the best laid plans, as new leaders and administrations take office.

In its simplest form, however, the sustainable city is about the proactive migration of service delivery to accord with a vision for a sustainable future: using urban planning and building approvals to fast track aligned green buildings; enabling infrastructure development and maintenance; provision of public transport and safe places to walk, cycle, and interact; facilitation of mobility and the efficient transport of goods; supply of clean electricity, water from decentralised sources, best practice circular approaches to sanitation and waste services; all grounded in a single set of objectives and considerations, which slowly mould the city into a healthy, clean, safe, and green place, attracting talent and investment, and growing into the future in a virtuous cycle of resilient, selfsufficient communities and businesses, feeding ultra-competitive green industries and creating ever more desirable careers and lifestyles.

The requirements for this to happen are investment and partnerships. The cities of

Tshwane, Johannesburg and Cape Town have begun to reap the benefits of their respective public rapid transpor t systems, which encountered so much scepticism at the time.

Even more so, the Gautrain was dismissed as an impossible expensive prestige project, a white elephant in the making—yet, now, more trains are required to meet demand and property investment is following the Gautrain route, as it turns out to be a key enabler of Gauteng’s economic potential, purely by virtue of connecting more people more quickly than before. In that case, investment followed vision.

Should investment and vision be coupled from the start and poured into all aspects of service delivery, imagine how our cities would flourish.

Sustainability Week 2017, incorporating the African Capital Cities Sustainability Forum, takes place 13-15 June at the CSIR International Convention Centre.

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South Africa’s First Custom Industrial 6 Green Star Rating

Belgotex Floors is now recognised as a world leader in sustainable carpet manufacture, after receiving a prestigious 6 Green Star Rating from the Green Building Council of South Africa.

www.belgotexfloors.co.za

Belgotex Awarded SA’s First Custom Industrial Green Star Rating Belgotex Floors has been awarded 6 Stars in South Africa’s first custom Green Star SA – Existing Building Performance (EBP) rating for an industrial facility from the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).

The outstanding 6 Star certification recognises “World Leadership” at its Pietermaritzburgbased factory for its sustainability practices in all aspects of their plant and carpet manufacturing operations.

The Green Star SA -Existing Building Performance (EBP) rating tool is the foremost programme focusing on whole building operational performance over 12 months measured against eight key criteria for human and environmental health. These criteria include Building Management, Indoor Environment Quality, Energy, Transport, Water, Materials, Land Use, and Ecology and Emissions.

For the first time ever, this EBP tool was customised to cater for the certification of an industrial facility in order to evaluate Belgotex’s factory. Their cleaner production and resource efficiency strategy – affectionately called the “Green Journey” - seeks out more cost-effective, ecologically sustainable manufacturing processes to enhance existing products or develop new ones.

Extra credits were earned for Innovations which saw the company adopt several new eco-innovative production processes and product development strategies. Innovative raw material input strategies were implemented to reduce energy and raw material consumption, minimise waste, and allow the company to develop products with higher recycled content.

Production Processes The adoption of a water-less yarn dyeing process saw the complete switch in production and product development to solution-dyed ranges which resulted in 100% reduction in water consumption, as well as reductions in chemical and energy inputs in this process. Replacing wet space-dyed processes and products with solutiondyed ranges not only reduced water consumption and chemical waste output, but also improved the stain-proof characteristics of their carpets, offering

superior colourfastness and fade resistance to its customers.

Waste Reduction & Recycling The acquisition of a R5-million recycling machine enables Belgotex to recycle waste fibre and yarn back into production, effectively reducing their waste rates from their carpet production processes to close to zero. It also offers up to 20% energy savings, resulting in lower production costs and reduced CO2 emissions.

Product Innovations The raw materials for several eco-products are derived from post-industrial and post-consumer waste, such as Green underlay and the new EOSBac backing system, as well as various

carpet ranges. Their bestselling Berber Point 920 commercial carpet and other needlepunch carpet products are made with a blend of polypropylene and recycled Eco Fibre. This Eco-fibre is manufactured using post production waste, which is re-pelletized (utilising the cutting edge Erema recycling machinery). The input of this recycled content in their production process considerably lowers the embodied energy associated with virgin raw material use.

Energy Management Numerous energy optimisation initiatives were implemented to reduce non-renewable energy consumption. These include the installation of a R17-million photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant, energy-efficient LED lights and automatic motion sensors and extensive plant upgrades to more energy-efficient equipment.

“GBCSA congratulates Belgotex on their 6 Star rating and on embracing green building practices, leading the way in creating more sustainable industrial facilities in the country, and for having this independently verified through the country’s leading authority on green buildings,” says Manfred Braune, chief technical officer of the GBCSA.

For further information please contact: Belgotex Floors on (033) 897-7500 (Head Office) (011) 380-9300 (Johannesburg) or (201) 763-6900 (Cape Town) or visit www.belgotexfloors.co.za Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) Gillian Gernetzky, Communications Manager, GBCSA Tel: +27 86 104 2272 www.gbcsa.org.za

TRANSPORT AND MOBILITY

“We’re looking at introducing what we would call ‘no mobile transport areas’” 12

STRAPLINE TRANSPORT AND MOBILITY

Heading in the right direction GEJ speaks to Mr Solly Tshepiso Msimanga, Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane, about the Transport Sector and plans to improve it.

By Shannon Manuel

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ne of the cornerstones of Executive Mayor Msimanga’s vision for his tenure in office is to prioritise the creation of opportunities for all, especially the poor, and to provide them with sufficient access to basic services. Adequate transport is key amongst those services and there are a number of initiatives in motion to strengthen the public transport sector.

“What we need to recognise is that the majority of employed people in our city are spending quite a lot of their salaries on being transported from their homes to their places of work. One of our aims has been to prioritise the issue of public transport, ensuring that it is reliable, affordable and accessible to anyone who needs it. Our major goal is to make public transport a primary means of transport. It should be that everyone sees public transport as a viable option, as it can have many associated benefits,” says Msimanga.

He explains that the objectives are to have an integrated public transport system through which one will be able to use a taxi, bus, train and —eventually—even hire a bicycle, all using only a single ticket.

“We’ve already started looking into the matter and we have a company that is doing presentations for us. They will also do affordability studies, with the purpose of developing answers to questions such as , ‘How do we introduce a multi-card that will be accessible to all our people and throughout the whole public transport system?’ In the medium term, we’re looking at introducing what we would call ‘no mobile transport areas’ where we close off and designate certain areas exclusively for bicycles and pedestrians in the CBD, and not allowing any kind of motorised vehicles in those areas. Essentially, the aim is to have an integrated system where one could perhaps rent a bicycle for an hour or two to take you to a certain point and then jump into a bus or taxi and move on from there. That’s what we’re looking at achieving,” he adds.

In addition to establishing this type of system, Msimanga explains that his office is in the process of re-evaluating the use of environmentally cleaner vehicles. Charging panels have been introduced within the city and these are used from time to time by the Nissan Leaf, an electric vehicle.

However, the only problem at the moment is that, even when fully charged, the range at which you can travel is not that great.

“In the near future, we do wish to establish an improvised version, but the private sector can help by incorporating charging docking stations when building malls or public spaces. Having them at more locations and within every public space will generate more interest than it currently gets because, at the moment, it’s still a little bit inconvenient as one is limited to driving around areas where there is a charging dock,” says Msimanga. “If we are able to make that more accessible then I believe it will open up a new market that people can get into.”

The Mayor tells us that part of what is exciting is that there is a company under the CSIR which is looking into having a fully solar-powered bus that will run in the capital city. If it works, it will not only be a game-changer and put the city on the map, but it will also create more employment opportunities for people because it would become feasible to establish a whole plant in the capital city where these vehicles can be assembled. The initiative is still in its early development stage and further announcements will be made once the arrangements have been consolidated with the company.

“One of our medium-term goals is to expand the BRT lane so that it doesn’t just go around the suburbs but also reaches people in the farflung areas of our city. The BRT system has been a positive move in effective public transport; however, our intention is to expand it so that it goes all the way to our township areas. The reason being is that it becomes a viable operation because, as things currently stand, it’s not really viable and is actually costing more than the revenue it generates,” says Msimanga. “We need to make sure that it becomes effective, but that it also has a decreasing impact on the reliance on

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private vehicles and an increase towards a reliance on public transport provided by the municipality.

“It will be no easy task as there are many factors to consider when going into the implementation of any new system. You can’t just roll it out all at once— rather, you need to do it in phases and then you realise, when doing so, the expense that comes with it. Thus, it has a financial impact but it also has an impact on your road infrastructure because, in order to accommodate the buses we would have to create extra lanes or, alternatively, cut lanes, which people have become reliant on using. It’s something that is a pain to get right but if, and when, we do get it right, it will become a pleasure for everybody,” Msimanga says.

Relating to the aforementioned idea of taking cars out of certain areas, Msimanga adds that he wants to integrate more bicycles and pathways where people can walk across the city in a cleaner, safer environment.

“We are already starting to introduce this idea by closing Paul Kruger Street and turning the whole street into a no-car zone. People will be able to have walking spaces and there will be sidewalk restaurants, water features and a little bit of gardening and trees there, which is something that we want to increase throughout the city. We are starting at Paul Kruger and we are hoping that it will be able to spread out. Having more bicycles and an efficient, integrated public transport system will go a long way to eliminating congestion into the CBD but, over and above that, we want to make and encourage an alternative, safer and healthier lifestyle. It would an amazing feat if, one day, in the hopefully not-too-distant future, we could have a car-free day in the city. While it may sound like a figment of fiction, it certainly is something worth working towards,” he concludes.

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NCPC

Interns save SA industry millions in expenses and resource wastage

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he South African industry has saved R8 million in resources, including 500 000 kℓ of water, after 16 manufacturing facilities nationwide each hosted a Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) funded intern to conduct onsite resource efficiency assessments over a 12month period. Water savings accounted for 48% of overall savings, with energy savings accounting for 43%.

An additional R36 million in resource savings has also been identified at the plants located in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. At a cost of just R4 million to implement, the economic and environmental benefits of the recently revamped Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) Internship Programme are immense. This programme forms part of the DTI’s National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa (NCPC-SA) skills development activities of the DTI. Science and engineering graduates were appointed as interns for 12 months in late 2015, and were equipped with RECP skills through the NCPC-SA training programme in early 2016, then placed in host plants under the guidance of expert mentors appointed by the NCPC-SA. The interns were taught ISO 50 0001 energy management plans, how to conduct an RECP assessment, and how to identify water-saving opportunities—all while working full-time at the host plant on a daily basis.

“The programme is designed to not only teach interns the skills to do a plant assessment and identify savings opportunities at their host plants, but to also assist the company with implementation to realise actual resource and financial savings,” says Wynand van der Merwe, NCPC-SA Skills Development Manager.

This is the only RECP learning programme of its kind in Africa. “These graduates represent a fairly new career path, but one that has already proven invaluable to the South African industry,” said Ndivhuho Raphulu, NCPC-SA Director.

“We’ve seen, again and again, that resource management cuts millions in operating costs, making South African factories more productive, and ultimately more competitive.”

The interns graduated from the RECP Internship Programme on 5 December 2016. Three have been offered permanent positions within the programme, and another has been employed by a host company. The 2017 NCPC-SA Internship Programme will kick off early in the New Year and interns have already been recruited countrywide.

The NCPC-SA is a programme of the DTI hosted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. The NCPC-SA assists industry to implement RECP through various programmes, including the internship, and is also the implementer of the South African Industrial Energy Efficiency Project, which has saved industry R1.7-billion in energy costs in five years. This was also largely achieved through a skills development approach, as industrial energy efficiency experts were trained through practical implementation in industry plants.

The internship programme was run in three previous years as a six-month programme, but the new 12-month model has allowed for a more in-depth training and greater host plant implementation. Whilst the interns and host plants for 2017 have been secured, companies interested in participating as hosts for RECP

experts, or in future internship programmes can contact the NCPC-SA on ncpc@csir.co.za.

Graduates should register their interest on the NCPC-SA website.

Intern conducting RECP assessment

Back row: Resource Efficient Cleaner Production Internship Programme Graduates 2016 Front Row: NCPC-SA Skills Development Team

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TRANSPORT

Teamwork gets Cape Town moving

Stakeholder buy-in is vital to the sustainability of any infrastructure project. Louise Worsley examines its application to the City of Cape Town’s Integrated Rapid Transport (IRT) system.

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s part of the build up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup the City of Cape Town embarked on the development of an ambitious new IRT system, which would provide bus transport into and across the city. In phase one, the aim was to provide transport links from the airport (addressing the needs of the increased number of international and national passengers) and from selected northern and central areas where roads were increasingly overloaded (addressing citizen’s needs for improved town transport). The IRT project was a critical infrastructure project and 2010 FIFA gave the city the energy, and publicly recognised urgency needed to get it happening.

The City of Cape Town, like most of the major cities in SA, already had a variety of private taxi

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and bus services. Anyone who has visited Cape Town will be familiar with the sound and slightly alarming driving of the private taxi cabs, which compete to cram passengers into mini-buses while careering through the city streets. They provide a cheap and frequent service but there are drawbacks in terms of price, comfort and safety. The private taxis’ services are numerous and it is increasingly difficult and costly to control their number and conformance to the legal and safety standards set by the city.

The IRT was undoubtedly a complex technical challenge, which would involve the redevelopment of some of the busiest streets to allow for dedicated bus lanes. But this was not the biggest worry for the city. MyCiTi buses, where they were implemented, would compete directly with existing taxi and bus services and this raised social and public order issues, which

could result in a very real threat to the success of the programme.

Private taxis are a source of income to large groups of local citizens. A private taxi typically provides a living for at least three families; the driver; the taxi owner and the franchiser who owns the licence to operate in a particular area.

Each of these families would be impacted by a change in the competitive environment. Given eight taxi associations, 950 taxis plus two bus companies with two hundred buses on the routes —that would be a lot of families.

The taxi associations are managed by powerful community members who are not averse to aggressive, and sometimes violent, defence of their business interests. These groups continuously fight the battle against their perception of government over-regulation and

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STRAPLINE TRANSPORT

there was, at the time, little grounds for a trusted relationship between the groups.

It was clear to the City of Cape Town team that if they were to be successful in the IRT implementation then the local business integration into the new service would be crucial and that would mean formalising an informal industry which had resisted regularisation for many years.

To address this, a separate project stream was set up, specifically targetting the engagement of the taxi and bus service stakeholders. Its outcome was to find a solution to the problem—how to do we make this service not only acceptable but positively supported by the impacted business communities. The project was led by the head of the City of Cape Town industry transition and reported to the IRT programme providing advice and input into the implementation plans.

In talking with the manager of this stream, one message comes through clearly: If you don’t understand your stakeholder business or understand your stakeholder agendas, how can you possibly find a successful approach to engagement? Getting to know the players and creating the appropriate relationships, public and personal, was a major component of this project streams’ activities.

At times, the team were able to surprise the stakeholders with just how much they knew about the stakeholders’ business. They gathered information on the profit and cost drivers for the business. What made these businesses profitable and what could make a real difference to their bottom line? They hunted down the evidence and made sure it was from sources that even their most vehement of opponents would not question. This meant that, sometimes, the team was able to anticipate objections and be ready in advance with solutions and alternatives.

For example, in the existing model (pre the introduction of the new IRT) the income earned by the taxis groups was directly related to the number of passengers. The project team investigated how passenger numbers were impacted by the rising number of taxis and how this was likely to change with the introduction of the IRT. The data they compiled and the performance indicators they derived were better than anything else the taxi companies could access! They were surprised by how well the City Council project team understood their business.

This understanding prompted one of the proposals that fundamentally changed the way the taxis would operate. With the introduction of the IRT, the number of passengers available to the taxi operating companies would inevitably go down. In a radical move, the project proposed a new income scheme based upon the number of kilometres travelled by the taxi rather than the number of passengers. The City Council agreed to financially back the scheme.

To achieve this within budget constraints meant reducing the number of taxis on the road

and that meant laying off taxi drivers. Another scheme was set up to provide pension packages for those taxi drivers of-or-near pensionable age, thus reducing the numbers of drivers and taxis.

These two schemes, well researched and thought through from both the Taxi Associations and the City Council positions, addressed two major concerns; reducing incomes caused by too many groups competing for too few passengers; and the threat of loss of passengers to the IRT system.

Learning from success This project is just one stream within a government programme, which is critically reliant on support and commitment from a large group of powerful stakeholders in the community. The business integration stream was run as its own project with a project manager and team. It was a massive undertaking in its own right, specifically focused on ensuring that the overall programme would be sustainable in the aggressive transport market-place, which exists on the streets of the city. The project was a success—other cities in South Africa have struggled because of repeated renegade activity and undermining of IRT (Integrated Rapid Transport) efforts by transport communities. Why was the City of Cape Town phase 1 implementation a success?

There seems to be a number of factors: • Stakeholder engagement was a genuine consultation process based upon the kind of principles discussed more fully in the final chapter of this book. “If you consult, then you should use the input provided” and “Impacted stakeholders have a right to have a say in changes that will impact by them”. This was believed whole-heartedly by the team.

• I nput from stakeholder was always acknowledged and how this input benefited the project was shared.

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• Consultation was based not on knowing what the solution was, but on facilitating stakeholders to identify the solution that could work for them • The manager and other members of the team had extensive local knowledge, which allowed them to understand and empathise with the issues raised by the stakeholders.

• Deep analysis of the taxi business and agendas of the groups allowed the team to suggest options for stakeholders to consider. These were expressed in the language of the taxi groups and were clearly aligned with their agendas.

• Thinking-out-of-the-box. The team came up with ideas that would not normally be considered by a city council; ideas which were often nothing like the things they ‘normally do around here’.

• Detailed analysis of impacts. It was not enough to propose new ideas; the team had to also consider how any proposed change would impact upon the new Vehicle Operating Companies formed by the taxi associations as well as the financial position of the City of Cape Town. These impacts were analysed, tested and validated with internal stakeholders (the Council Authorities) before being presented as possible solutions.

• A f u n d a m e n t a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g, we l l communicated to all, of the risks associated with not getting buy-in from these stakeholder groups and a willingness by the city council to invest in solutions, which addressed these risks.

Louise Worsley is a P3 consultant and a visiting lecturer at the University of Cape Town. Her book, Stakeholder-led project management: Changing the way we manage projects, was released in October 2016

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GREEN BUILDING

Foundations of green

Guest Editor, Greg Penfold interviews Ms Dorah Modise (previously Nteo), CEO of the Green Building Council, on the green turn in design and construction

What defines a green building?

A green building is defined by its reduced impacts on the natural environment; and that is from the selected site, design, construction processes and material to its fittings, operations and maintenance.

What are the elements of a building’s carbon footprint?

Buildings are one of the main contributors to climate change and significantly impact on a broad range of other environmental, social and economic issues through their design, construction and operation.

Building green is an opportunity to use resources more efficiently, to address environmental issues including climate change, while creating healthier and more productive environments for people and communities. Key elements of a building’s carbon footprint include: Materials (mainly the embedded energy of materials); energy—source and usage; water use; connectivity (proximity to facilities that enable mass transportation and non-motorised transportation); percentage of indigenous vegetation that can serve as carbon sinks.

According to Dodge Data & Analytics and United Technologies’ World Green Building Trends last year, South Africa could be a leader in the green building sector in the next three years. Why the dramatic uptake in this country?

In fact, the World Green Building Trends 2016 report, compiled by Dodge Data & Analytics, indicates that South Africa has emerged as a leader in green building. The country has the highest green building share, trumping countries such as the UK and the US, China, Singapore, Germany and the historical green building market leader Australia. One can attribute this to a number of factors, but the most notable ones are the glaring resource constraints and escalating utility prices.

The imminent electricity shortages and, most recently, the drought that’s been with us the past two to three years, have increased the level of awareness across the board and the property sector is one such sector that is beginning to show leadership in sustainability thinking. Evidence from the South African market indicates that the local market is following international trends with buildings on the ground already showing significant savings, higher value compared to their

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competitors and are shown to be more desirable to tenants and multinational corporates especially.

Is the private or public sector leading in this regard?

In September 2016, we celebrated the major milestone of 200 certifications in the South African commercial property sector, 45 of which were existing buildings. From just one certification in 2009, we reached 100 certifications in May 2015 —six years later—and it took us just 17 months to certify the next 100. This means one thing: that green building is growing exponentially in South Africa. While the private (commercial sector) is in the lead on green star certified buildings, in recent years, we have seen an exponential growth in the public sector take-up.

What technologies are driving green building?

Green Technology is evolving at an accelerated rate and one wouldn’t want to single out a specific technology type but rather approach it in general terms. Technology that enhances the use and re-use of black water, waste and materials; air conditioning technology that uses more natural sources than conventional electricity; innovative façade designs that allow for natural ventilation and lighting , carbon absorption etc. Energy and water efficiency installations that aim for maximum efficiency savings; building materials with less embedded energy.

How do Green Star SA and EDGE accredited professionals help manage the demand for green building in the country?

We would obviously love to see more APs out there working on building certifications as well as advocacy. APs are central to managing the demand for green building as they are the ones out there on the ground, doing the work. They are in a position to provide green building advice from the project conceptualisation stage. The GBCSA exists for an on behalf of its members and APs are a critical component of our membership base and, therefore, play a major role in ensuring maximum take up.

What are some of the most outstanding green building projects across the country?

We have certified a significant number of amazing projects, all our 6-star certified buildings are out of

this world—each with their own unique attributes.

Therefore, as the GBCSA, we are in no position to single out one or two out of the rest but can go on in pointing out the key features of each of our green star and to a certain extent EDGE rated buildings. A number of large property owners and developers have taken a decision to ensure that all their new buildings are green and certified, we commend such a move and encourage all to do likewise. We are also starting to see the emergence of green precinct developments, the latest examples are Menlyn Maine in Pretoria, Waterfall Estate in Midrand as well as V&A Waterfront and Century City in Cape Town (to mention a few).

What is GBCSA’s role in developing Green Star SA and EDGE accredited professionals?

The GBCSA leads the transformation of the South African property industry to ensure that new and existing buildings are designed, built and operated in an environmentally-sustainable way. The GBCSA trains all Green Star SA and EDGE accredited professionals. In the case of Green Star SA, the GBCSA also administers the examinations and offers the qualification.

The EDGE examination, on the other hand, is still administered by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) who issues the certification for our EDGE APs. To be in line with current trends, most of our AP training courses are a carefullycrafted combination of on-line and face-to-face offerings, therefore, reducing physical contact while maximising on quality content.

MINING

Sustaining Transformation Competitivity and community work hand in hand

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pen-cast mining is an indispensable economic activity that, historically, has also added greatly to environmental stress. For that reason, sustainability has become an indispensable element in opencast mining operations planning.

According to Collin Ramukhubathi, General Manager: Sustainability at Afrimat, open cast mining operations essentially consist of stripping of the overburden to get access to the ore body or mineral required, followed by the drilling, blasting, loading and hauling and processing of the mineral. Selling and despatching of the final processed product is the final step.

The reason that open-cast mining has such a perceived impact on the environment is that visually, a scar or a large hole is left behind. “This can have a negative impact to the biodiversity of the area,” says Ramukhubathi.

“If operated well, the negative impact can be minimised. The positive impact is job creation and an increase in economy activity. Community skills development and local infrastructure development.”

As an operator committed to sustainability principles, Afrimat mines according to the standard set of environmental management plans, water use licence conditions and any other conditions required by environmental legislation. However, it’s much more than paying lip service to sustainability. The fact is that developing the capacity to comply with legislation also brings about improvements in operational and managerial efficiency. As Ramukhubathi comments, “Complying with legislation assists us to be more sustainable.

For example, better management and recycling of water and reducing energy consumption helps us to reduce the cost of production. Good mine planning that includes complying with legislation makes for a better mining process and greater management control.”

Examples of how Afrimat interprets sustainability include minimizing energy consumption and shifting production times to non-peak electricity consumption periods.

By monitoring electricity usage, Ramukhubathi says, “We can identify the

cheapest times to use electricity and we move our production to those times.

Another cost saving tip is to start electric motors up sequentially. “Large consumers of electricity get charged heavily for peak power consumption; to get around that, we avoid starting our big motors at the same time.”

Used oil from the engines is collected by the accredited recycling companies.

Mining is an intensely competitive industry— one in which Afrimat is determined to stay ahead of the game. “We benchmark our operations against world standards and industry best practices; so implementing sustainability helps to give us a competitive edge,” says Ramukhubathi.

“Water consumption and carbon footprint continue to be aspects we need to monitor closely and reduce. Our relations with the communities we operate on and plans for mine closures are also important.”

To really get to grips with its carbon footprint, Afrimat is in the process of carrying out formal carbon footprint assessments at its various sites.

“Afrimat has over 100 sites to assess the carbon footprint,” says Ramukhubathi. “We started in

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2016, and we are continually adding sites to determine our footprint. We should have the value of all our sites by the end of the 2019 financial year.”

The social side of sustainability also receives its fair share of attention, with specially developed social and labour plans designed to give back to the communities where Afrimat operates.

“More employees are getting ABET, bursaries and learnerships than ever before; we have also employed many interns. The communities we operate in have benefited from our Local Economic Development projects we have done.

Some of the highlights of these projects include the construction of schools, recreational halls, homes for disabled children, all aspects of driver licence training, computer literacy, and more.”

At Afrimat, sustainability and transformation are two sides of the same coin. “Transformation will help Afrimat to be sustainable in the next 100 years,” says Ramukhubathi. “It helps to make sure that we have the right required skills from the community we operate in for the future. It helps include the majority of the population in the formal economy.”

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®

BUILDING on Africa’s strength Afrimat Limited is a leading black empowered open pit mining company providing an integrated product offering ranging from aggregates, industrial minerals, commodities (iron ore), concrete products (bricks and pavers) to readymix concrete.

Afrimat has established a strong foothold in contracting services comprising mobile crushing, screening, drilling and blasting. Backed by more than 45 years’ experience, Afrimat listed on the JSE Limited in 2006.

As part of its continued diversification strategy, the group is expanding its footprint into Africa. The group’s capabilities enable Afrimat to service projects of any scale from major infrastructure and construction projects for state-owned enterprises and parastatals through to small private sector contracts.

Our environmental footprint.

The group manages its environmental footprint through formal

Environmental Management Programmes (“EMPs”) in line with local and international regulations and best practice.

The EMPs focus on responsible mining, reducing emissions through upgrades to diesel-driven equipment, decreasing noise pollution, recycling products where viable and maintaining all plants at optimum working levels and efficiency.

Active programmes to reduce the group’s carbon footprint have also recently been introduced.

Our commitment. With Afrimat committed to continually upgrading and improving its EMPs, it has today become well-renowned and respected in the industry in this regard. Further, third-party audits by ASPASA, SARMA and external consultants support our environmental conservation and protection efforts and provide added opportunity for refinement of its EMPs.

Our responsibility. Environmental progress reports are submitted annually to the Department of Mineral Resources in terms of mining rights requirements. In addition, mine rehabilitation assessments are conducted by external consultants and provisions are raised to meet these future obligations.

“

“

Sustainability at Afrimat, open cast mining operations essentially consist of stripping of the overburden to get

“

Complying with legislation automatically helps us to be more sustainable. For example, better management

access to the ore body or mineral required, followed by

and recycling of water and reducing energy consumption

the drilling, blasting, loading and hauling and processing

helps us to reduce the cost of doing business. Good

of the mineral. Selling and despatching of the final

mine planning that includes complying with legislation

processed product is the final step.”

assists us to be more sustainable.”

This can have a negative impact to the biodiversity of the area. If operated well, the negative impact can be

“

Water consumption and carbon footprint continue to be aspects we need to monitor closely and reduce.

minimised. The positive impact is job creation and

Our relations with the communities we operate in and

increase

plans for mine closures are also important.”

in

economic

activity,

community

skills

development and local infrastructure development.”

Collin Ramukhubathi, General Manager: Sustainability at Afrimat

www.afrimat.co.za Tel +27 21 917 8840 Fax +27 21 914 1174 info@afrimat.co.za

MINING

Tailings and failings The South African mining sector is finding it a considerable challenge to go green, although the potential advantages are considerable. We chatted to Tshego Motsoenyane, COO at Ncamiso Mining, to find out more.

What are the most significant sustainability challenges faced by the mining sector in Africa today?

On a global front, mining operations face severe economic and financial challenges, including escalating costs, reduction in resources, labour availability, and effective labour utilisation. The gold mining industry, particularly in South Africa, is facing challenges with gold price volatility, where rising costs, decreasing commodity prices, lower ore grades and labour issues are squeezing profit margins and, ultimately, affecting competitiveness in the industry. This represents a catch-22 in terms of the growth of the South African industry as it makes strategic planning very difficult.

Environmentally, the impact is now not only the use and upheaval of land but also, because the grades are lower, they require more energy, more labour and greater consumption of reagents and water, and result in a significant increase in solid wastes, such as tailings and wasterock. These are effectively dumped and form part of state land liability, making the land unusable for further

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activities to support communities or economic growth. A further challenge faced by South Africa in particular is our reliance on old equipment that has limited efficiency and capacity and a sector that is cyclic and non-continuous, where there is also poor planning for post-mine closure land rehabilitation.

The sustainability of mining in South Africa is heavily affected by the social implications of widespread labour unrest, which imply a lack of trust and transparency between the mining companies and the employees. The company and employee goal alignment issues affect productivity and profit yield, resulting in further wage issues. If these issues are not addressed, the sustainability of the industry is seriously compromised.

Is the mining sector getting better at cleaning up its own mess?

In terms of mining companies cleaning up their own mess, many promises are made in terms of clean-up and rehabilitation initiatives, but in practice, there has been very little, if any, followthrough and delivery on the commitments.

Stricter governance is being set in place to ensure that mining companies incorporate full strategic plans for environmental impact and social and economic wellbeing, especially around post impact mine closure practices. Ncamiso Mining have established their business on assisting mining companies and the state in rehabilitating land and contributing to community wellbeing and economic development.

What is the good news from the mining sector with regard to sustainability?

With efficient planning and an openness to the advancements in mining methods, productivity could be improved in the short to medium term. Effective planning, design and implementation of sustainable practices, which are less labour intensive and more energy savvy are a good starting point. The global focus on sustainability practices in mining is also uniting resources, which will hopefully result in ground-breaking advancements in energy usage, labour optimisation and environmental impact.

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CARBON TAX

Headed for a fall?

Carbon Tax dominos are lining up

By Garyn Rapson, Partner at Webber Wenzel

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n 3 April 2017, the Minister of Environmental Affairs issued a notice under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act implementing the National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Reporting Regulations (GHG Reporting Regulations).

The GHG Reporting Regulations aim to introduce a single national reporting system for the transparent reporting of GHG emissions, which will be used predominantly to update and maintain a National Greenhouse Gas Inventory and will assist South Africa in meeting its international obligations in relation to climate change mitigation.

An integrated GHG reporting system The rationale for an integrated GHG reporting system is based on the imminent imposition of the carbon tax for identified, affected sectors in South Africa. These sectors will be identified based on their GHG emission concentrations.

The GHG Reporting Regulations are one of the implementation tools, which will be used to regulate the reporting of data and information from identified point, non-point and mobile sources of atmospheric emissions to the National Air Emission Inventory System (NAEIS) with a view to compiling atmospheric emission inventories to inform the proposed carbon tax.

Although still in draft form, the declaration of GHGs as priority air pollutants (which will require persons conducting an activity within a designated GHG emission threshold to prepare a pollution prevention plan in accordance with the proposed National Pollution Prevention Plans Regulations) will, once finalised, and when combined with the GHG Reporting Regulations, complete the regulatory regime for the mandatory reporting of air emissions to the NAEIS housed on the South African Air Quality Information System.

This all means that the dominos are slowly being lined up for the carbon tax to be formalised.

How will the GHG Reporting Regulations work in practice?

The GHG Regulations differentiate between Category A data providers (which include

persons controlling or conducting activities which emit GHGs) and Category B data providers (which include public bodies and academic/ research institutions, which hold GHG emission data for the purposes of calculating GHG emissions). These data providers are required to report on GHG emissions activities at their facilities in line with the identified categories of emissions sources set out in Annexure 1 to the GHG Reporting Regulations.

The reporting obligations imposed on Category A data providers are more stringent and comprehensive than for those in Category B, as they are based on operational control and must cover all process, fugitive and combustion emissions from all GHG emission sources and source streams belonging to listed activities. The methods for reporting GHG emissions data are set out in the "Technical Guidelines for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Industry" for each tier specifying the relevant emission sources.

Category A data providers must submit the GHG emissions and activity data for all of their facilities and in accordance with the data and

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format requirements specified in Annexure 3 for each preceding calendar year, to the competent authority by 31 March of each year (or the next working day). The competent authority has 60 days, following a submission, to approve a Category A data provider's data or to request that such data be validated and verified. Category B data providers, on the other hand, must submit emissions and activity data collected only when requested to do so by the competent authority.

What does this mean for you?

At this stage, all designated data providers, whether Category A or Category B, will be required to register their facilities on the NAEIS or with the competent authority where activities at their facilities exceed the thresholds listed in Annexure 1 by 7 May 2017 or within 30 days after commencing such an activity if at a later stage.

It is a criminal offence for a data provider to provide false or misleading information to the competent authority or to fail to comply with its registration, reporting and recordkeeping obligations as set out in the GHG Reporting Regulations.

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WASTE MANAGEMENT

Diversity in planning

Transforming urban environments inclusively

By Rashiq Fataar

B

arely 5 degrees Celsius, it’s dark, rainy and windy. This is just another winter’s morning in Cape Town for Troubles and the crew, surviving off re-usable wastes disposed of by wealthier, more privileged consumers residing in the area” (Van Heerden, 2015: 45) While, at first glance, this might seem like the opening line to a fictitious story, it is, in fact, very real—an excerpt taken from recent graduate Adam van Heerden’s dissertation, ‘Valuing Waste and Wasting Value: Rethinking planning with informality by learning from skarrelers in Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs’, completed as part of his Masters in City and Regional Planning at the University of Cape Town (UCT). His research ability is what won him the Royal Town Planning Institute’s (RTPI) Award for Research Excellence in 2016.

“Transforming urban environments in ways that they are truly inclusive of all communities inhabiting them requires genuine engagement with all urbanites, and the desire to support diversity” (Van Heerden, 2015).

Inspired by his interest in finding innovative ways to include diverse communities in public planning processes, the main aims of the study were to investigate research participants’ desires for inclusion in the City of Cape Town’s strategies for waste management, as well as what this inclusion might look like.

Van Heerden adopted a participatory research model, which involved genuine engagement with a highly-marginalised subset—namely a group of homeless ‘waste pickers’/’skarrelers’ in Cape Town. These people eke out a living on the margins of urban spaces by either selling or re-using discarded waste material. Van Heerden

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focused on learning from research participants and planning ‘with’ informality rather than ‘for’ it, while simultaneously exploring the complex ways in which skarrelers’ actions and movements are circumscribed, consequently impacting their abilities to transcend current living conditions.

His research centred on questioning the assumed values that conventional models of participatory planning contribute to both processes and outcomes, with the findings suggesting that these values may, in fact, be less universally applicable than planners have previously considered. What stood out for van Heerden was the importance of the ‘engagement process’ itself when it came to planning interventions, as well as the importance of recognising the diversity of residents in a situated context and recognising the myriad of needs and values generated from this diversity.

“Thinking about the future of our cities, and of global sustainability more generally, requires a deep and thorough engagement with the informal”.

For van Heerden, the contemporary urban challenge in South Africa could be defined broadly as widening inequality, as migration from rural areas and neighbouring countries to South African cities continues. He noted that the population group (skarrelers) often included a disproportionate number of migrants—people who lack an adequate safety net and who are forced into doing ‘survivalist’ types of work.

Learning how to plan ‘with’ these marginalised groups (of which, the skarrelers are just one example), and how to include informal activities into formal planning processes, should be a primary aim if we are to tackle this challenge in earnest.

Recommendations: As a starting point, van Heerden recommends adopting an ethic of care and justice when approaching planning public interventions, particularly with marginalised groups. This includes adopting an appropriate method of engagement, as well as keeping planning processes diverse and flexible. Public participation processes need to recognise the differences in and between communities and make use of “alternative knowledge domains”.

A second recommendation is that planners need to create platforms for engagement that are supportive and allow for departures from conventional planning procedures/ principles.

According to van Heerden, the purpose of these engagements should be to question the epistemological roots of formal processes and understandings, from which new epistemologies can be created which foster more politically inclusive and ‘just cities’.

“Seeing ‘differently’ requires an openness to alternative epistemologies that may call into question our taken-for-granted and learned ontologies”.

Planning with informality requires building rapport with the multiplicity of diverse groups that make and re-make our cities each day.

Van Heerden suggests doing so through early fieldwork sessions, what he terms ‘preceding engagement and learning’ (PEAL) sessions, which serve to foster alliances with the people/ communities likely to be impacted. “[What we need is] a relational approach to planning that embraces principles of democracy and pluralism, and of difference and multiculturalism—one that is thoroughly flexible

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WASTE MANAGEMENT

in both form and ontology, and that is able to achieve far more nuanced conceptions of what it means to be included—with genuine intentions to plan with informality, rather than for it”.

Other recommendations include: • Recognising and promoting a variety of housing and tenure options to accommodate different income levels and needs. Having a more flexible tenure system could promote a sense of security and stability among marginalised members of the community, says van Heerden.

• Improving sanitation services, which is necessary to establish greater dignity for those who live and work in the public domain.

• Re-thinking the design of the public realm to create places that acknowledge marginal ‘others’ who live on the economic and material periphery and provide them with shelter, water, or just a decent spot to ‘hang out’.

• Creating a mobile home affairs ‘office’ that moves through different areas and tends to homeless residents’ needs for political inclusion. Most of the research participants had no formal Identity Documents and this lack of formal identity was perceived as a major hindrance to improving the socio-economic circumstances of the skarrelers.

• Establishing productive social capital and public-private partnerships: Greater collaboration between state programmes and non-profit organisations could improve the capacity to provide a wider range of higher quality services to the homeless, while enabling the state to benefit from the trust and rapport that these organisations have established over time.

• Exploring opportunities for co-operatives: Local and international labour co-operatives have been shown to increase the visibility and legitimacy of those who work informally in the waste management system. This has the effect of promoting a safe and secure working environment for those experiencing advanced marginality. But they must be careful not to speak ‘for skarrelers’ before genuinely engaging with them.

“Essentially, it comes down to political will” is the sentiment echoed by van Heerden when considering more visionary and equitable cities in South Africa. “The measure of a country’s democracy should be on how well they engage all

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of the diverse voices within their borders. Without serious adjustments to the methods in which we engage with people on planning concerns, there is unlikely to be significant change in the way that people are represented in development outcomes in their city”.

Van Heerden, A. 2015. Valuing Waste and Wasting Value: Rethinking Planning with Informality by Learning from Skarrelers in Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs. Masters. Thesis. University of Cape Town.

Van Heerden, A. n/d. About. Adam van Heerden: Social Urbanist. Available: http://adamvanheerde0.wixsite.com/socialurbanist.

[2017/01/26].

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STRAPLINE EVENT WASTE MANAGEMENT

A Marathon Clean-Up Top sporting events need world-class post-event clean-up

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he 2017 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon marked the 11th year that Plastics|SA was involved in cleaning up the litter from the streets and surrounding countryside left behind by the runners and spectators.

According to John Kieser, Sustainability Manager: Plastics|SA and the coordinator of the clean-up teams, the primary goal of their involvement in major sporting events such as the recent Cape Argus cycle race and last week’s Two Oceans marathon is to ensure that the waste generated by participants and their supporters is collected, removed and recycled as quickly as possible. “The race organizers have set certain goals that are in line with the overall goals of the environmental policy of the marathon. We use sporting events such as these to also raise the public’s awareness on the issue of littering and the need for recycling of waste,” Kieser explains.

“The Plastics|SA cleaning crew consisted of 180 workers from the Ocean View, Masipumelela and Joe Slovo settlements. They received in-depth training beforehand on the do’s and don’ts of event greening, and did an excellent job of ensuring that every piece of waste was removed for recycling,” Kieser said.

The teams were tasked with focussing their efforts on the waste that was generated at the start and finishing lines, the hospitality park at UCT, litter strewn on the course outside refreshment points and litter left behind in areas of high spectator concentration.

The teams wore highly visible bibs that proudly sported the logo’s of Plastics|SA and its various polymer associations, and were divided into three clean-up crews who began their activities on the 31 March with pre-event clean-ups, and ended on 6 April with a final, post-event clean-sweep of the route. 40 branded bins were also strategically placed at the hospitality/finish area at UCT, as well as provision of branded bibs for the workers.

The clean-up teams had to work hard and fast to ensure that the route was cleaned within the time constraints given to us by the Western Cape Traffic Department.

Once all the litter was collected, the crew was also tasked with the responsibility of sorting it into four different material streams, and ensure that bio material (kitchen waste etc.) was separated to streamline the recycling of packaging material by Waste Plan at the Kraaifontein Material Recovery

Facility. The majority of the waste (90 %) was plastic waste (mainly Low Density Polyethylene) used for the energy drink sachets, 8 % was paper (primarily cardboard), and 2 % was metal.

Concludes Kieser: “Plastics|SA is proud to be partnering with the event organisers and to be called upon to assist at some of the biggest sporting events in South Africa. These events are an ideal platform to share the sustainability message, highlighting the responsible use and recycling of plastics. The plastics industry was seen as being proactive in not just cleaning the areas of litter, but also removing the waste for recycling and communicating the message that plastics are too valuable to waste”.

This clean-up marathon followed hard on the heels of Plastics|SA’s success in commemorating their tenth year of involvement in the annual Pick n Pay Cape Argus Cycle Race that took place in Cape Town on 5 and 6 March 2016.

Under the guidance of Plastics|SA’s Sustainability Manager John Kieser, two teams of clean-up crews recruited from local townships near Ocean View ensured that Saturday’s Mountain Bike race was kept clean at all various water and spectator points, the start and the finish as well as the hospitality park, while they had to cover 100 km of the total 109 km distance on Sunday’s road race, as well as all the refreshment points.

According to Kieser, there was a dramatic drop in the amount of litter that was left behind along the routes by spectators and cyclists after this year’s races. “Our efforts were greatly bolstered by the City of Cape Town who ensured a thorough pre-event clean-up of the main route and the sides of the roads by making use of an incredible collection of various technology driven machinery.

It was, however, clear that the riders, sponsors and

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spectators were more observant than in the past not to litter,” he said.

Learning from previous years’ experience, the Plastics|SA team knew that they had to focus much of their attention on the litter hotspots located at the uphill sections along the route, namely Smitswinkel, Chapman’s Peak and Suikerbossie.

However, the use of designated “chuck zones” and friendly rivalry between members of the clean-up teams to see who could collect the most litter, made light work of the day’s efforts.

“This year’s clean-up crews included a fireman, a floor manager at a local hypermarket and a police woman. Their dedication to the job at hand and work ethic made a big difference and definitely rubbed off on the rest of the team members,” Kieser said. Six truckloads of litter were collected using PETCO’s red bins and transported away for sorting and recycling. The main culprits continue to be plastic energy sachets and decals that were handed out by one of the sponsors. “The sachets are always a burden as they stick to the road and are easily blown into the bushes. We now also have to contend with the baboons in the Cape Point area who have taken a liking to their sweet contents,” Kieser explained.

The Plastics|SA team will again be in action later this month when the Two Oceans Marathon takes place. “We are excited about being involved in these big sporting events as we see it as an ideal opportunity to educate the public and the athletes about the importance of recycling their plastic, and being able to demonstrate practically our commitment to ensuring that plastic litter does not end up in nature or our environment.

They keep on inviting us back, which means that the organisers see a benefit in the work that we do!” Kieser concluded.

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ENERGY

Let’s get it right The Draft 2016 Integrated Resource Plan is unrealistic and defective

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he Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry has described the Draft 2016 Integrated Resource Plan as unrealistic, defective and warned that using it to plan ahead would be ill advised and could lead to significant damage to the economy.

In its formal letter of objection to the Department of Energy, the Chamber’s President, Ms Janine Myburgh says ,“ There are many points of concern, but the two aspects that we are most worried about are the over-estimates of future demand for electricity and some of the assumptions on the costs of generating electricity.”

The Chamber pointed out that the 2010 IRP had over-estimated future electricity demand by 32%. One of the main reasons for this was the lack of economic growth caused, in part, by Eskom’s high tariffs.

The high tariffs also forced companies and domestic consumers to find ways to use less electricity. This was a logical and predictable response to the huge increases in Eskom tariffs.

The third factor, said the Chamber, was the increase in embedded generation of roof-top solar. It pointed out that the GreenCape Market Intelligence Report said that there were now more than 100 000 roof-top solar installations in South Africa and that the number of these installations

could be expected to increase as roof-top solar was now cheaper than the retail price of electricity.

The Chamber said it was clear that costs would continue to come down as the technology improved and solar panel production volumes increased, while Eskom tariffs would rise along with the price of coal as well as transport and labour costs.

Companies were increasingly turning to rooftop solar to save money and to protect them from future Eskom tariff increases. This trend would accelerate as batteries improved and fuel cells became available. Future demand predictions were also unrealistic. The study, for instance, predicted a steep increase in demand from the agricultural sector, but this was the sector where solar power was making the greatest inroads.

“Agriculture, essentially a daylight industry, is in a position to use solar power without expensive back-up. In the Western Cape fruit industry, cooling sheds are already being powered by rooftop solar and the system works well because the cooling is needed most in sunny weather when PV solar performs best,” says Myburgh. Other tasks like pumping water and irrigation could be done when solar power was available.

“In fact,” said Ms Myburgh, “it would be realistic to expect demand from the agricultural sector to decline rather than increase.”

The estimates of renewable energy costs in the 2006 IRP were outdated and dangerously wrong. They were much higher than actual prices of wind and solar power submitted to the Department of Energy in last round of bidding (Fourth round, expedited.)

The cost of nuclear power was understated by at least 50%. The hard evidence was the new Hinckley Point nuclear power station in the UK, which was being built and financed by the French and Chinese Governments while the UK had agreed to buy the electricity for the equivalent of R1.60 per kWh. “France, Britain and China have done their homework and they agree that R1.60 cents a kWh is a fair price for electrify from a new nuclear power station, so how is it possible to justify Eskom’s assumed price of 97 cents a kWh?” Myburgh asked.

“Our conclusion is that there is no justification for a large investment in nuclear power at this stage. We have 10 years before a decision is necessary and by 2027, we will have better information on the cost and performance of renewable energy and other technologies which may then be available,” she concluded.

Dean Le Grange, Media and Digital Co-ordinator, Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Van Staadens Wind Farm, Eastern Cape, South Africa —started exporting power to the grid in 2016

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STRAPLINE

ADVERTORIAL

Producing innovators with holistic answers to

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT The Centre for Environmental Management uses an integrated approach to develop the competencies of environmental leaders.

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he environmental manager of today should have skills and knowledge relating to a variety of fields—from engineering, town and regional planning, and mining, to conservation, tourism, natural resource management, social development, and governance. They are expected to cross social, environmental, and technological boundaries to address a range of matters relating to sustainable resource management.

The Centre for Environmental Management (CEM) has been training environmental managers for more than 22 years. It was established in the early 1990s to fill a much needed gap in the market for training environmental managers. A growing global awareness of socioecological interdependencies and the need for governments to respond to international treaties by developing environmental policies and legislation, created a need for practitioners with postgraduate knowledge and expertise in the fast-growing field of environmental management. The CEM admitted its first three students in July 1994, and has since delivered 454 Masters’ and 12 Doctoral graduates.

The CEM uses an integrated approach to develop the competencies of environmental leaders. More than 50 lecturers, from various

academic disciplines and industry sectors, provide guidance in the programme.

“The centre’s graduates are ideally situated to become leaders in the field of environmental management in the public or private sector. Our approach impresses upon students the interdisciplinary nature of the field of study, and the course guides them to mastery of the scientific process.”

Even though there is a strong emphasis on corporate environmental management at the CEM, we have a flexible approach to course content. We continuously adapt course content to meet the changing needs of environmental management, practitioners.

Our students come from all over Southern Africa and have experience from a wide range of sectors.

Environmental management is a very broad field, and there is a need to produce graduates who have a healthy overview of this breadth. Our graduates are in demand from large companies, local authorities and nature conservation bodies where they serve as specialised environmental managers.

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Academic quality and relevance remain a high priority and course content is continuously assessed and updated to ensure that it meets the highest standards.

Besides the Masters of Environmental Management, the CEM also presents the following degree courses: • Honours Bachelor of Science in Limnology • Postgraduate Diploma in Integrated Water Management (from 2018) • Masters of Science in Environmental Management (Research) • PhD in Environmental Management We also present short courses on a variety of topics in the environmental and water fields, including Wetland delineation, Wetland rehabilitation, Wetland rehabilitation and introductory and intermediate GIS courses.

In addition to providing education and training, the CEM also conduct applied research and offer expert services that are intricately linked and draw on each other to promote best practices in environmental management.

Contact details: Tel. +27-514012863 - Fax.+27-514012629 E-mail: cem@ufs.ac.za Website: https://www.ufs.ac.za/cem

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TOURISM

The greater plan The best intentions lead to the best destinations

By Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism

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ourism is bandied about as being one sector that’s enjoying relative success in a stagnating market, but there’s the continued threat that this may not continue.

Sustainable tourism is not a one-pronged strategy, it’s part of a greater plan that encompasses not only the tourism industry but one that must take into account supply chains, construction feasibility and climatic factors.

It’s not merely about ensuring that the sector continues to grow, but that in doing so, job creation results in sustainable employment and that the environment is preserved at all times.

By definition, sustainable tourism relates to a concept by which, in visiting a destination, a visitor only makes a positive impact on the economy, environment and on society.

It remains largely a goal, as it includes many facets, such as transportation to the destination, local transportation within destination, accommodation, entertainment, recreation, eating and retail. A broad strategy can be broken down into smaller categories for ease of analysis and problem-solving.

Universal access in tourism A goal for all destinations is Universal access in tourism—it is of paramount importance that the tourism industry appreciates the components that contribute towards a positive experience. The

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principles of independence, equity and dignity underpin this. These can be achieved through the support of a universal access expert and require a comprehensive understanding of universal design and destination management processes.

The latter must take into account how increased traffic must not have a negative impact on the environment, eliminating barriers to excellent experiences. Social inclusion and equality are primary considerations. Providing access to more visitors ensures enhanced sustainability in terms of turnover.

As with all aspects of sustainable tourism, collaboration can aid in driving the effectiveness of initatives forward; Cape Town Tourism has committed to a three-year extended “Accessible Cape Town” campaign that promotes Universal Access as partners with City of Cape Town’s Tourism Department.

Transportation It’s a bit trickier to fit transportation into the mould of sustainable tourism, as a central element to the concept is in tourism’s reliance on fossil fuels and tourism’s effect on climate change.

According to a study on tourism travel and its impact on climate change [1], 72 percent of tourism’s CO2 emissions come from transportation, 24 percent from accommodation, and 4 percent from local

activities. It’s difficult to reduce that, however airlines (the primary culprits) are seeking ways of reducing emissions. On a more local level, visitors can be encouraged to make use of cycling and walking as a means of exploring.

Transportation as a means of access is vital—any missing links such as poor road/ air infrastructure or routes that bypass communities should be addressed, and this may take multi-stakeholder engagement between the government, business and communities. The Air Access initiative, driven

by Wesgro locally, has seen great success in opening up direct flights to Cape Town, some 400 000 additional seats were created in the first year alone. The more visitors who are able to access a destination, the more sustainability in tourism is created.

Responsible tourism Also at a local level, it’s easier to implement sustainable tourism practices in bitesized chunks. For example, the Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destination agreed in 2002 that responsible tourism is about “making better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit.” The declaration focused on “places” but did mention the local population. It’s essential that local communities not be displaced by tourism, and that their

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TOURISM

traditional cultures and practices not be negatively impacted.

In fact, local communities should benefit from tourism, and this can be seen with responsible development of tourism opportunities in ways that provide employment and a boost to local economies.

Community-based sustainable tourism can benefit from collaborative input so that the benefits are distributed wider and that local communities and their environments are not harmed. In addition, indigenous knowledge should not be exploited, but rather its use as it pertains to tourism should be agreed upon in mutually agreed terms. Let’s say a local community lives on a reserve, that local community should have a share in the benefits of tourism.

A great example of this cohesive approach is one of the recipients of the African Responsible Tourism Awards, 2017: Since 2000 Siphiwe Ngwenya has been turning township homes into exhibition spaces from Johannesburg to Cape Town, believing that the home is the epicentre of all culture. Maboneng Township Arts Experience’s objective is to turn townships into tourism towns by using the art which already exists in the townships to attract domestic and international visitors. This approach enables visitors to meet locals in their own homes, to experience the wealth of their culture, provides market access for emerging artists and additional household income for artists and the Gallery Homes, celebrates cultural diversity and provides opportunities for cultural integration for hosts and guests.

Another successful example is that of UthandoSA, whose urban community farms and two recipe books, educare centres, music and dance academies, domestic animal care, senior centres and a book that tell the stories of elders, arts and crafts hubs represent a growing list of initiatives in Cape Town’s townships.

South Africa has a wide range of cultures and communities represented, so inclusivity must be a consideration. While different forms of niche tourism exist, these can be enhanced by introducing new source tourism markets, such as the drive to increase Halaal-friendly tourism to Muslim communities and to Muslim-owned tourism businesses. These are of benefit to the endconsumer, too. This kind of “humane tourism” is part of responsible tourism, contributing to sustainability in the sector.

It’s true of destinations whose source markets are varied that cultural sensitivity must be taught and valued; so if a destination has many Chinese visitors, for example, local companies should ensure that their employees know the idiosyncrasies of

the culture so as to provide better visitor experiences. Courses in basic culture and language can aid in this.

The natural environment Welcoming more visitors means that the natural environment may be compromised unless measures are in place such as resource management (water supplies) and waste management. In a natural environment such as Table Mountain, efforts have been made to ensure that waste is removed from the reserve so that it does not become a wasteland of litter that could harm flora and fauna. Likewise, beaches and the coastal marine environment require extensive protection from littering and pollution.

A further consideration, which has come to the fore in recent years, is how experiences involving wildlife are handled. Animal encounters, including handling wild animals, have become frowned upon in certain circles, as the wellbeing of the animals, unless strictly controlled by professionals, may be harmed. In addition, visitors may be harmed, as wild animals are unpredictable.

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Rescued animals may have to live in contained spaces as they may not be rehabilitated, but tourism operators are recognising that under no circumstances should these animals be brought into further distress by the activities of tourists. Shark tour operators, for example, operate with conservation in mind, as they’re aware that Great White Sharks are endangered locally, so without their presence, there would be no shark tourism. They provide conservation messaging rather than the messaging that sharks are simply sea “monsters”, thus creating a positive impression on tourists.

An extension of this are the supply chains used by restaurants and hotels, but recent awareness around the importance of using locally-sourced supplies from suppliers whose agricultural methods are built on sustainability principles has reached a wider market—as visitors demand this, so restaurants and hotels have stepped up to the mark to provide them with what they want.

Sustainable tourism, then, is an industrywide imperative, but with many different applications. It is constantly evolving as we realise the need to broaden our focus and look wider for the protection of our resources, local communities and our visitors.

Done well, it will ensure that the sector will continue to enjoy growth, but it takes engagement from every tourism professional at every level.

References 1. Peeters, P.; Dubois, G. (2010). “Tourism travel under climate change mitigation constraints”. Journal of Transport Geography.

18 (3): 447–457. doi:10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2009.09.003.

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AFRICAN RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AWARDS

Blood and Coffee ‘Blood Lions’ and ‘Coffee Shack Backpackers’ take the top spots

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hard-hitting documentary on the plight of lions in tourism and a small backpacker lodge with ample impact were announced Joint Overall Winners this afternoon at the African Responsible Tourism Awards 2017 in Cape Town, sponsored by Wesgro.

In a special ceremony at World Travel Market Africa 2017, ‘Blood Lions’ and ‘Coffee Shack’ took the coveted position of Overall Winner from a selection of finalists gathered from around Africa.

Says Harold Goodwin, Chair of the Judging Panel. “All of those longlisted should be recognised as having made a significant contribution and be proud of what they have achieved. As in the World Responsible Tourism Awards, the judges looked for winners who might educate and inspire others, challenging the industry to achieve more by demonstrating what can be done by businesses and organisations to realise the ambition of Responsible Tourism.

That ambition is simply put: to use tourism to make better places for people to live in. This also benefits the industry: great places to live are great places to visit.

“In this International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development the industry needs to recognise that we need to be a lot more transparent about credibly reporting the positive impacts that businesses in the tourism sector have on peoples’ livelihoods and well-being—we

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need to up our game and prove the claims we make. This year’s global Responsible Tourism Awards will be announced next month—in this International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development there is a particular emphasis on the SDGs.” The judges were mindful of the Awards made in previous years in Africa and in the World Responsible Tourism Awards, of which these African Awards are a part. The Gold and Silver Award winners should be particularly proud of what they have achieved; they have been recognised as being leaders in a Responsible Tourism movement where more is expected each year.

“If, when reflecting on the winners of these and the World Responsible Tourism Awards, you know of others you feel should be recognised, please encourage them to enter, the judges can only choose from amongst those who enter and complete the extensive application process. We encourage them, and other businesses, to continue to take responsibility for increasing the positive, and reducing the negative, impacts of tourism; to communicate what they are doing to use tourism to make better places and to consider entering the Responsible Tourism Awards when there is an appropriate category for their business or organisation,” says Goodwin Speaking before a packed audience of over 100 tourism professionals, media, MECs,

and government officials, Heidi van der Watt, Managing Director of Better Tourism Africa pinpointed what makes the Award winners the leaders in responsible tourism in Africa: “Our winners have a vision that extends beyond the commercial—linking business success with the wellbeing of local communities and the longevity of their environments.

They want to make profits with principles, communicate balance sheets alongside beliefs, and won’t undermine passion in the pursuit of professionalism. They are resilient, determined, humanising advocates for their destinations.

They are the future of tourism in Africa.”

The Awards were sponsored by the Wesgro.

Tim Harris, Chief Executive Officer of Wesgro, said: “As the proud headline sponsor of the inaugural African Responsible Tourism Awards, Wesgro is delighted to pay tribute to this year’s inspirational winners. As the official Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, we continue to show our commitment to responsible tourism development both in our province and on the African continent.

"We are pleased to recognise the vision of the Award winners for providing leadership in their respective sectors throughout Africa, and effectively contributing to growing tourism in a sustainable manner. Today, we celebrate their commitment and achievements.”

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STRAPLINE NEWS AND UPDATES

It created 62 000 jobs.

And that’s after you threw it away.

Plastic bottles are made from PET. It’s 100% recyclable and too valuable to trash.

So, to say PET plastic doesn’t belong in a bin is an understatement. Recycling it is not only better for the environment, it is also better for the country.

Plastic bottles are not trash. For more information on PET recycling, visit www.Petco.co.za. Find us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram: 1isPET

PLASTIC BOTTLE RECYCLED TONNAGE —GROWN BY 822% SINCE 2005

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ETCO, the organization responsible for fulfilling the South African PET plastic industry’s role of Extended Producer Responsibility, is proud to announce their 2016 recycling figures which indicate an increase in their annual PET recycling rate from 52% of post-consumer bottle PET in 2015 to 55% in 2016.

The organisation recycled an additional 22% of post-consumer bottles in comparison to the previous year, with the total PET market growing by 14.8% to 241 269 tonnes.

“PETCO is delighted with the latest figures,” says CEO Cheri Scholtz. “Through the remarkable network of people, companies and organisations we work with, 2 billion PET bottles were collected for recycling across South Africa during the course of 2016, creating some 62 000 income opportunities for small and

micro-collectors, and changing their lives and those of their families in immeasurable ways.”

The voluntary recycling fee paid annually by PETCO members on every tonne of raw material purchased has enabled the payment of a total of R1.9 billion by our contracted recyclers to collectors for baled bottles since the inception of PETCO in 2004, ensuring the collection of PET bottles for recycling is sustained, and resulting in almost 800 000 tonnes of carbon and over 3 million m3 of landfill space saved to date.

Says Casper Durandt, Chairman of PETCO and Senior Technical Operations Manager Coca-Cola Southern and East Africa, “While this is an extremely proud accomplishment for PETCO, we could not have achieved this without the dedicated partners we work with that have made extraordinary contributions to the recycling of post-consumer PET in South Africa, thereby enabling PETCO to expand our

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collection network, build relationships with recyclers, seek new opportunities to develop and support entrepreneurs, and ultimately grow our recycling tonnages.”

South Africa’s 55% recycling rate compares well with international PET recycling rates.

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1703392_HP_E

During 2016, collectors gathered more than 90 000 tonnes of post-consumer PET. That was then recycled into loads of new products from fibre used for apparel, home textiles, automotive and industrial end use and, most importantly, into new PET bottles and packaging.

ADVERTORIAL

Agriculture Research Council: the pulse of legume research in South Africa

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he cultivation of pulses can be traced back to 8000 BC, with these crops having significant benefits particularly for developing countries. Pulses are a diverse set of crops that can ensure food security and human health. They are a critical source of plant-based proteins and amino acids for people around the globe, as well as a source of plant-based protein for animals with added benefits to contribute to increasing soil fertility.

It has been argued that the increased consumption of pulses as part of a healthy diet could help to address obesity, prevent and help manage chronic diseases and effectively contribute to food and nutrition security. Being a natural nitrogen fixator, these versatile crops also improve soil health, reducing the amount of nitrogenous chemical fertilizer application for smallholder farmers that cannot afford fertilizers, thereby promoting sustainable agriculture. The 68th UN General Assembly declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses (IYP2016) as an effort to heighten public awareness of the nutritional benefits and

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the potential role of pulses for sustainable food production towards food and nutrition security.

Pulses research in the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) The ARC conducts research on five major pulses based on popular consumption patterns in South Africa, that is: dry beans, groundnuts, soybeans, cowpeas and bambara groundnuts.

Among some of the major research activities conducted, the ARC’s groundnut seed multiplication project is the heartbeat of the groundnut industry being the only organisation that does SANSOR registered breeder seed multiplication, with 95-98% of the market share on groundnut breeder seeds in SA. The ARC’s soybean and dry bean cultivar evaluation trials are some of the most reliable in the country, evaluating the commercial cultivars available and making unbiased recommendations based on trial findings. Every one to three years, several new summer soybean and dry bean cultivars are introduced to the South African seed market, either as a replacement of older cultivars or as new entries with desirable traits.

The ARC’s cultivar evaluation programme makes it possible for farmers to access impartial information about performance in order to choose the cultivar best suited to them. These trials are the only independent source of objective cultivar-performance data available to South African farmers, making it easier for farmers to identify the best-performing cultivars for different farming areas.

#IYP2016- Beans, beans and more beans!

Pulses production competition 2016/17 To commemorate the United Nation’s International Year of Pulses (IYP2016), the ARC, together with the Department of Science and Technology(DST), will be focusing on promoting research, production and consumption of pulses in South Africa through a variety of exciting activities.

The ARC launched a Pulse Grower ’s Competition in October 2016 with the intention of stimulating production of pulses by emerging farmers to address hunger, poverty and food and

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ADVERTORIAL AGRICULTURE STRAPLINE

nutrition security. Increasing pulses production and consumption in South Africa will take a shift in the mind-set of smallholder farmers both in terms of farming practices and consumption behaviour, as such the Pulse Grower’s Competition will overlap with promoting pulses production in schools.

The inclusion of school-going children is one of the major selection criteria for the competition where each of the competing farmers is required to work hand-in-hand with a local school to create a school garden.

The ARC will provide support through information dissemination and sourcing of seeds and other inputs. This activity is of great importance for promoting production and highlighting the importance of pulses for their high plant-based protein source and thus their inclusion in school feeding schemes. This competition will span over Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Free State, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal provinces.

The ARC prides itself in translating research outputs in order to generate knowledge, facilitate decision making and contribute to the transformation of the agriculture sector. The promotion of pulses and its inclusion in the South African diet has innumerable potential benefits for society and, in particular, the poor, and this project is but a small pulse that could grow into a bigger trend going into the future.

Agricultural Research Council is committed to Excellence in Agricultural Research and Development in South Africa and beyond.

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Tel: +27 124279700 - Fax: +27 12430 814 Email: enquiry@arc.agric.za Website: www.arc.agric.za

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WATER MANAGEMENT

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he cloud of drought still hangs heavy over Cape Town, while in the rest of South Africa, full dams and a good-looking maize harvest have given cause to say, “it’s over”.

But a report released this week in Johannesburg

by Oxfam, titled A Harvest of Dysfunction: rethinking the approach to drought, its causes and impacts in South Africa, argues that there is little cause to cheer. The rains have come, and officials have praised the heavens. But the deeprooted problems of how South Africa manages its precarious water resources, and how this led to more suffering than dry skies can be blamed for, are nowhere near being fixed. The long-lasting drought exposed the many social and political faultlines that strip already vulnerable people to naked desperation, and some radical rethinking of what is meant by “drought” is needed for drought not to be synonymous with human disaster.

During the worst drought in 35 years, and in some areas in 100 years, more than half of the population (33,8 million people) had experienced insecure access to drinking water, while rising food prices ,which headed towards 20% inflation, and income insecurity made hunger a daily reality for a growing number of families.

“A Harvest of Dysfunction” argues that the devastation caused by the drought was not simply a consequence of poor rainfall and the strongest El Niño on record; it arose from a failure to address structural vulnerabilities. Lessons

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from the drought can develop more effective responses to such a crisis, and put the country on a more equitable and sustainable path.

Food-price escalations—resulting from an unregulated market and compounded by drought-induced supply constraints—had and continue to have a devastating impact on vulnerable people. Women are particularly affected; they are compelled to work ever harder to provide their families with the food and water they need to live healthy, productive and dignified lives. The country’s food staple, white maize, is at the mercy of speculative and financial dynamics that extend beyond South Africa, placing the entire region’s food security at constant risk.

References by government officials and politicians to drought as a ‘God-given’ event— and their palpable relief that rain has now fallen in parts of the country—create the illusion that South Africa has survived the crisis and can put the problems of drought behind it. This denies the reality of severe drought as a slow-onset disaster that systematically strips away layers of resilience, resulting in poverty, insecurity and hunger for growing numbers of people.

The drought exposed inequalities in income and access to land and water which exacerbated its ongoing impact. To mitigate future combinations of recurrent droughts, stronger El Niño effects and rising temperatures as a result of climate change, urgent changes are necessary.

The government’s responses to the drought were slow, sporadic and badly targeted. Despite the range and extent of impacts across society, it refused to declare a national emergency. By defining the drought in the narrowest terms— i.e. as a single event caused by low rainfall—the government response was limited, overlooked those people and groups who most need support, and missed a crucial opportunity to address the structural problems that have been laid bare by the drought. As the effects of climate change unfold, it is an opportunity that South Africa and the wider region can’t afford to miss.

While equitable redistribution of water for multiple purposes is a social and political imperative, overall national consumption of water must be reduced in the face of climate change and demographic pressures. The drought also makes clear the need to rethink key agrarian issues—and to balance water use and its conservation with efficient food production, and the availability of sufficient, nutritious, affordable food. These are policy challenges in ‘normal’ times.

As recurrent drought becomes ‘the new normal’, these challenges will escalate if they are not effectively confronted now.

The key findings of Oxfam’s research are: 1. A narrow definition of drought limits the range of necessary relief.

The official and popular definitions of drought in terms of reduced rainfall are too narrow to

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WATER MANAGEMENT

Drought lessons Our food staple, white maize, is at the mercy of speculative and financial dynamics

By Yves Vanderhaeghen

describe the spread and severity of its impacts, and perpetuate an understanding of drought as a singular event rather than as an extended, multifactor process. Most importantly, it fails to take into account the social and political dimensions of drought. The effect of such narrow definitions is to limit the range of necessary relief-related interventions.

2. Poor governance of the water resource in key respects created the crisis.

The drought exposed hazardous shortcomings in the planning and management of the country’s water resource. South Africa is a water-scarce country, already subject to recurrent droughts, and—unless this is rectified—faces the prospect that water supplies in more and more areas will run out. The challenge is that reduced water consumption and recycling need to happen at the same time as redressive redistribution to extend water services to those who have historically been deprived of them.

Drought combined with unregulated food markets resulted in food inflation that pushes ever-increasing numbers of people into acute hunger, creating a national and regional crisis.

The most extensive, national impact of the drought was and still is on food prices and the capacity of low-income households to purchase sufficient quantities of nutritious food for their families. Food inflation has drawn more families

into a crisis of hunger and low-income households were forced to substitute protein-rich foods with flavoured starches.

Rethink agriculture The drought greatly exacerbated trends in agriculture that favour large-scale producers over smaller farmers and labourers, including the concentration of landholdings and integration of large commercial producers in input and output markets. These dynamics drive social inequality.

The combined effects of recurrent droughts, water scarcity and climate change suggest that it is time to rethink agriculture and its role in South Africa’s economy and food system.

The Oxfam report therefore recommends that: 1. Drought be redefined to enable an appropriate response.

The drought is not simply an agricultural disaster; it is, more importantly, a social disaster in terms of its universal impact of food-price escalations.

Therefore: • A national emergency should (have been) declared.

• A universal disaster grant should have come into immediate effect in recognition of the impact of the drought on food prices and the costs of securing water. A universal grant would be relatively simple and cost-effective to implement, given that South Africa already

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has an extensive system of social grant administration.

• ‘Drought’ should be redefined to ensure a greater understanding of causes and its ramifications across society, ensuring a longterm, equitable response.

2. There be an equitable and sustainable redistribution of water.

State governance of the public and private sectors is critical for a sustainable water system and the fair distribution of water for human and ecological needs. This requires long-term planning, with limits set to growth based on the water resource, and careful monitoring of climate change and relevant adaptive planning.

Therefore: • Extended demand and rightful share should be met through recycling, tightened restrictions on the use of potable water, prioritisation and careful management of groundwater to supplement surface water use, domestic harvesting, and soil moisture maintenance practices.

• The state roll-out of rainwater tanks should be extended to all low-income households, with reserve back-ups in the form of community reservoirs and community-managed boreholes.

• Water management policy implementation should focus on water conservation and water demand management, including in the

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WATER MANAGEMENT

distribution system, urban and agricultural uses, and catchment management, as well as tighter restrictions on users as the norm.

• Maintenance of existing water storage, provisioning and treatment facilities must be reprioritised to address the recent maintenance neglect.

• Public investment decisions, for example in the case of mining and nuclear energy, should be based on water allocation assessments and the real and full costs of water consumption and pollution.

• Penalties should be applied for wasteful water use and pollution, and incentives given for the development of domestic, industrial and agricultural recycling practices.

• Controlled allocations of water for human life (drinking, cooking and cleaning), household food gardens, and non-profit small livestock farming systems (poultry, goats and sheep) should be free.

• Consumption-linked charges should be imposed on higher-use households.

• Full costs of water should be charged for profitmaking, in for example agriculture and industry.

• A ‘sin tax’ could be extended to certain middleclass consumption goods which use high amounts of water in production (eg. beef, coffee and chocolate).

• All South Africans be able to access affordable, nutritious food • Strategies to reduce the impact of drought on the cost of food across the country and the region involve both short- and longer-term interventions. Amongst these, food policy should prioritise the price of the white maize staple both for South Africans and the region.

Therefore provision should be made for: • An emergency universal grant, pegged at inflation on low-income household nutritional food baskets. Alternatively, together with the declaration of a national emergency , all social grants should be increased by foodinflation rates on low-income households. The availability and requirements for accessing the Social Relief for Emergency Grant should be widely publicised.

• Mechanisms for stabilising the price of white maize need to be investigated, including delinking white maize from market dynamics through input subsidies, state-provided crop insurance schemes, milling cooperatives (possibly state-owned enterprises), floor-price ceilings and state purchase guarantees.

• Indebted farms growing white maize should be redistributed to small and emerging commercial farmers, and appropriate support provided to enable productivity.

3. Farming and agricultural relief require a rethink The agrarian structure is vulnerable to crises, including drought and political and economic shocks. It is imperative that a new structure

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comes into being—one that supports a more equal society and can potentially regenerate the rural economy.

Therefore: • Immediate drought relief in the form of feed and fodder transfers should be directed at owners of small livestock (chickens and goats) rather than owners of cattle. That is, direct support should be given to a broader range of livestock owners, and aimed at livestock that require less support to keep alive (per unit) and meet the needs of a greater number of low-income consumers.

• Support to small-scale cattle farmers should be directed at restocking breeding cows once the risk of drought is over. If they have guarantees of state support to do this, farmers should be persuaded to reduce herds and focus on keeping a smaller number of breeding stock alive.

• Land should be redistributed to small-scale and emerging commercial farmers, with appropriate technological and production support, including access to credit and produce markets, subsidised insurance and climate adaptation strategies.

• The extension of irrigation to stimulate the rural economy, as proposed in the National Development Plan, should be subject to ongoing review.

• Bigger allocations of public funds should be made to develop and support climate-adapting and agro-ecologically resilient small-farming methods, which are less water-demanding and are geared to meeting multipurpose household farming systems.

This is an edited summary of the Oxfam report, “A Harvest of Dysfunction”, by Donna Hornby, Yves Vanderhaeghen, Dirk Versveld and Mnqobi Ngubane.

The full report is available at www.oxfam.org.za

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THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN GRAIN LABORATORY NPC The Southern African Grain Laboratory NPC (SAGL) is an independent non-profit laboratory, created in 1997 by the grain industry to act as a Reference Laboratory for the grain and oilseed industry. The SAGL provides an internationally competitive range of laboratory services on grain, oilseeds and products thereof including food, feed and feedstuffs. These services are driven by the needs of the broader grain industry.

The analysis scope includes milling, grading, physical, chemical, rheological, baking, mycotoxin as well as macro- and micro nutrient analyses. ISO 17025 accredited test methods are implemented within a comprehensive quality system.

Participation in several national and international proficiency schemes demonstrates technical competency, international comparability and traceability to international standards. The stakeholders serviced by the SAGL include grain and oilseed producers, the handling and storage industry, processors including the baking, milling and animal feed producing industries, traders of agricultural commodities, commercial seed breeding companies, agricultural research institutes and since 2016, also companies producing crop protection products.

The SAGL has expanded the scope of analysis by adding a Crop Protection Division in 2016 to support the broader agricultural community in Southern Africa with accurate and reliable analytical results for registration purposes, quality control analysis after manufacturing as well as the extension of shelf-life.

This Division can perform 5-batch analysis on technical material as well as the Physical, Chemical and stability testing on formulations as prescribed by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations(FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). This brand-new laboratory is equipped to perform most tests required by FAO/WHO according to the latest Collaborative International Pesticides Analytical Council (CIPAC) methods.

As an associate member of CropLife South Africa and through international involvement in the Specification Expert Group (SEG) and the English-Speaking Pesticide Analytical Committee (ESPAC), the SAGL ensures awareness of changes to International requirements.

Grain Building-Agri-Hub Office Park | 477 Witherite Rd | The Willows | Tel: +27 12 807 4019 | info@sagl.co.za | www.sagl.co.za

Certificate of Membership

BIOGAS

Light from cow dung Green energy for rural communities in South Africa

R

ising energy costs, increasing energy demand, dwindling fossil fuel reserves, security of supply and environmental concerns are some of the challenges that South African society is faced with when trying to energise rural communities. Renewable energy is increasingly gaining support as an alternative and sustainable way of providing much-needed energy in rural areas, and thereby combating climate change. There is an array of renewable energy projects that are in operation in South Africa, including solar power, wind power, hydro-power and biofuels (biodiesel, biogas, bioethanol, biochips and biochar). All of these have the potential to energise rural communities and to solve South Africa’s energy challenges.

The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), in collaboration with the Norway Research Co-operation, have initiated a project to install biodigesters in rural communities to produce biogas. The project aims to introduce biogas as an alternative source of energy in a crop-livestock-bioenergy system for rural cattle farmers in the Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality (Free State), Tulamelo and Great Giyani Municipalities (Limpopo), Ramotshere Moiloa and Moses Kotane Municipalities (North West), and the Great Kei and Mnquma Municipalities (Eastern Cape). The project sites were chosen based on the climatic conditions and the agricultural practices in these areas. The criteria used to identify suitable households and beneficiaries for the project were based on the following requirements: a reliable water supply; more than 15 cattle kraaled throughout the year; availability of labourers to feed the biodigester; and minimum temperatures above 10°C throughout the year.

The biogas, as well as a nutrient-rich digestate, are produced by anaerobic digestion of cow dung in airtight digesters. The biogas used is for cooking while the digestate is used as an organic fertiliser to enhance crop production and reduce reliance on expensive chemical fertilisers. The results of a survey showed that the energy requirement

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priorities of rural communities are for cooking, lighting and water heating, in that order. They rely mainly on firewood as a source of energy, followed by paraffin and electricity, a choice that is influenced by the cost and logistics involved in sourcing them. Hence, the ARC and DAFF saw the need to intervene in improving the livelihoods of rural farming communities in South Africa.

Based on general observations, workshops for training the local farmers on biogas technology were very successful as farmers from all municipalities in each province showed great interest in the technology and installation of the biodigesters (which was underway at some project sites). The workshops served the purpose of transferring knowledge to the farmers as well as general biogas awareness. Local farmers and community members expressed an understanding and support for the use of clean (renewable) energy.

The impact of this project extends beyond the direct beneficiaries with a number of youth being trained in the installation of biodigesters and maintenance of the biogas system. With almost 90% of the youth in rural areas being unemployed, the temporary job opportunities created are highly appreciated by the community members, and the project has become the main income generator for most youth in the selected areas.

To date, the project has created 177 temporary jobs in all four provinces during the installation and commission of the biodigesters.

Installed biogas stove with disulphurise and pressure gauge

Building of brick and mortar biodigester

Istalled biogas stove

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ADVERTORIAL

Navigating complexity Environmental litigation on the rise due to disputes over scarce natural resources

By Terry Winstanley, National Practice Head, Environmental Law at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

E

nsuring sustainability remains one of the most important tasks for companies and countries around the world. However environmental legal compliance needs to improve in the face of the rapid expansion of modern economies to achieve sustainable development. Consequently, environmental laws are becoming ever more complex in order to ensure that we don’t destroy the very resources that ensure human development.

Disputes over increasingly scarce natural resources, combined with more complex laws, have resulted in more litigation in the area of environmental law. These arise from internal administrative appeals, High Court reviews and can result in precedent-setting Constitutional challenges.

The areas of the environmental law most in the spotlight today include legal compliance, due diligence investigations, ISO 14001 implementation—increasingly, customers of our clients are demanding independently audited and accredited environmental management systems; we provide the legal expertise for those.

Clients also need advice on environmental impact assessments (EIAs), environmental litigation, administrative objections and appeals, and the drafting of environmental aspects of contracts to limit liability as far as possible. Legal advice on health and safety, land use and heritage law is also increasingly being sought.

Growth across Africa is another important theme as many businesses seek to expand outside of their home countries, often resulting in Intra-African trade. Large infrastructure projects in fast-growing African economies also require compliance with both domestic environmental laws and lender requirements. It is therefore essential that deep expertise relating to the myriad environmental laws that may apply to any cross-border initiative is retained.

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr has a multi-disciplinary legal team to facilitate all aspects of these

transactions; our environmental practice has first-hand knowledge of legal requirements in many jurisdictions, particularly in the SADC region, where our lawyers were involved in the drafting of some of that legislation.

A good example of the intersection of global commitments and local development imperatives occurred when our Pretoria High Court considered the obligation to consider the potential impacts on climate change of a proposed coal-fired power station. The matter concerned the granting of an environmental authorisation (EA) to Thabametsi Power Company (Pty) Ltd (Thabametsi) for the establishment of a 1200 megawatt coal-fired power station near Lephalale in Limpopo. Earthlife Africa appealed to the Minister of Environmental Affairs (Minister) against the decision to grant the EA on the basis that the original decision-maker had failed to consider South Africa’s obligations to mitigate and prevent climate change. The Minister dismissed the appeal but required Thabametsi to submit a climate change impact assessment (CCIA) to the Department of Environmental Affairs before the power station could be built.

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Before the court heard the matter an initial CCIA was circulated for public comment. The CCIA noted “very high” greenhouse gas emissions and “significant” climate change impacts arising primarily from limitations in the power station’s design, and the absence of any proposed carbon capture and storage as mitigation measures.

Given the practical consequence of the power station for the Paris Agreement (which regulates South Africa’s climate change requirements), the Court held that a CCIA is necessary to ensure that the operation of the power station will be consistent with South Africa’s climate change obligations and its commitment to build cleaner and more efficient power stations. The Court did not prescribe the scope or content of that CCIA, but found that the statutory EIA process is flexible enough to allow for those assessments to be conducted on a case-by-case basis.

This matter highlights how the failure to understand environmental laws and their application may result in the poor conceptualisation of projects as well as delays and consequential cost escalations.

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ADVERTORIAL

How using paper saves trees

D

igital and electronic forms of communication are very much a part of our world, as is a 2000-year old technology that we are often remiss to appreciate for its role in everyday life. While there is no doubt that digital solutions offer security, integration and immediacy, using the mantra of ‘saving trees’ to promote it needs to stop - because it is simply untrue.

The words of Greenpeace co-founder Dr Patrick Moore are a good point of departure: “We should be growing more trees and using more wood. If [those] landowners had no market for wood, they would clear the forest away and grow something else they could make money from instead. When you go into a lumber (wood) yard, you are given the impression that by buying wood you are causing the forest to be lost, when in fact what you are doing is sending a signal into the market to plant more trees.”

“In South Africa, paper is made from farmed trees, so we can replace the above-mentioned ‘wood’ with ‘paper’,” says Jane Molony, executive director of the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa.

“Paper goes beyond common A4 copy paper.

It includes packaging - from boxes that protect computer equipment during shipment to the box of teabags; from the label on the coffee jar to the bag of sugar and the milk carton. Paper includes bathroom essentials such as toilet paper, tissue and hygiene products, as well as our daily dose of news and the reading pleasure offered by books and magazines.”

In wood’s most basic form, cellulose is a binder for most medicinal and vitamin tablets as well as a stabiliser in foodstuffs such as low fat yoghurt. Then there are the countless fibrebased innovations that are set to rival fossil-based materials.

Trees farmed By choosing paper for pack aging or communication, we choose to ‘save trees’ as well as save the 150,000 jobs created by the forest products industry in South Africa.

South African wood and paper products are produced from a renewable resource in the form of wood pulp from sustainably farmed eucalyptus and pine trees (not indigenous trees). These trees absorb millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide while growing, and give us oxygen in return. They are not irrigated either but get their water from rainfall and ground water. Paper is also made

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By choosing paper for packaging or communication, we choose to support the production of a renewable and recyclable resource as well as the 150,000 people that the sector employs. Credit: Mondi SA

from recycled paper and bagasse (by-product from sugar cane processing).

Carbon captured As with most industries, paper manufacturing has an impact on the environment, but this is mitigated through the carbon sequestration by plantations; the use of biomass-based renewable energy (derived from papermaking by-products); emission reduction and water recycling initiatives; biodiversity and grassland conservation at plantation level as well as the waste reduction through paper recovery and recycling.

To make paper, wood is chipped and pulped.

The pulp—90% water and 10% fibre—is channelled onto a paper machine, which removes the water, resulting in long sheets of paper that are wound into jumbo reels. This paper will be cut or converted into a myriad of products.

Throughout this process, the carbon (from the CO2 absorbed by the trees) remains locked up in the paper. By throwing recyclable paper products away with kitchen waste, it is destined for landfill where it will degrade. Landfills release gases such as methane, 25 times more potent than CO2. By recycling paper, we can keep carbon locked up for longer and save landfill space. One tonne of recovered paper saves three cubic metres of landfill space.

Paper is very much part of everything we do.

Going paperless will never happen—and that’s a good thing. Especially for trees.

Paper for recycling. Credit: Mpact.

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It’s the box of tea bags.

It’s the carton of milk. It’s the packet of sugar.

It’s your cup of tea. IT’S PAPER.

It’s the bag of flour. It’s the box of eggs.

It’s the label on the tin of cocoa.

It’s your favourite recipe book.

It’s a piece of cake. IT’S PAPER. It’s a bestseller. It's a page-turner.

It’s your bedtime read.

It’s time to unplug. IT’S PAPER. Whether it’s a box or a label; or whether it’s your child’s first report card or a tissue for their first heartbreak, it’s made from paper – a renewable, recyclable and versatile material.

IT’S PAPER.

IT’S PART OF YOUR LIFE. www.thepaperstory.co.za www.recyclepaper.co.za @PaperRocks_SA #PaperRocks

It created 62 000 jobs.

And that’s after you threw it away.

Plastic bottles are made from PET. It’s 100% recyclable and too valuable to trash.

During 2016, collectors gathered more than 90 000 tonnes of post-consumer PET. That was then recycled into loads of new products from fibre used for apparel, home textiles, automotive and industrial end use and, most importantly, into new PET bottles and packaging.

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So, to say PET plastic doesn’t belong in a bin is an understatement.

Recycling it is not only better for the environment, it is also better for the country.

Plastic bottles are not trash. For more information on PET recycling, visit www.Petco.co.za. Find us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram: 1isPET