Green Economy Journal Issue 41

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R29.00 incl VAT 9 772410 645003

REFORMS Is the green economy the bridge to recovery?

REPORT Building it back better 11025

ENERGY The need for the implementation of IRP 2019 WATER Wash for human protection

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Issue 41 | 2020

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NEWS & SNIPPETS

Green hydrogen, renewable energy, IRP 2019 and the economy

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SPECIAL REPORT

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Green Economy Journal speaks to industry leaders about building it back better after the pandemic

INFRASTRUCTURE

GBCSA provides insight into the benefits of a Green Recovery

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EVENTS

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CTICC is green at heart

GROWTH REFORMS

Outcomes of the inaugural Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of South Africa 2020

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ENERGY

Karen de Bruyn, the co-founder of #WEConnect, shares her observations about women and the energy sector

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PROFILE

Veolia South Africa is fully mobilised to safeguard the continuity of services

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WATER

The provision of safe water, sanitation, and hygienic (WASH) conditions are imperative for human health protection during all infectious disease outbreaks, including Covid-19

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ENERGY

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SAWEA is pushing for a Green Recovery

MINING

SRK Consulting shares the lessons learned in creating an environment that is conducive to self-sustainable community development during the life of a mine

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Packaging requires collaborative responsibility, says Fibre Circle

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National Metrology Institute of SA supports the automotive sector

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Green Economy Journal speaks to Nivesh Govender, COO of SAPVIA, about the need for the IRP 2019 to be implemented

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REFORMS Is the green economy the bridge to recovery?

Green Economy Journal is audited by ABC

REPORT Building it back better 11025

Associate Editor

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Alexis Knipe

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Songo Didiza

Issue 41 | 2020

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy of South Africa cannot be overstated. It represents a significant decline not just to the South African economy but to the global economy as a whole. In the midst of all the negative economic outlooks there is good reason to be optimistic about the future in paraphrasing Winston Churchill’s, never waste a good crisis sentiment.

There is an opportunity afforded by the present crisis, to catalyse the transition towards a resilient sustainable future, and to build things back better than before. And through this time, we can’t forget that the environmental and socio-economic crisis is much larger than the health pandemic we are facing now.

In view of these crises generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, numerous voices are emerging from all areas of society suggesting we use this moment of recovery as an opportunity to drive the transition to a new socio-economic model that is climate-friendly, resilient, sustainable and inclusive. This is what is known as the Green Recovery.

In this edition we have gathered insights from sustainability experts on what this green recovery opportunity looks like for South Africa. Our expert contributors provide insights on key green economic recovery opportunities that are taking shape as the local and global economy rushes to get back to its feet in the Building it back better special report.

During the next decade, green buildings represent a significant low-carbon investment opportunity in emerging markets such as South Africa – currently estimated at $24.7 trillion by 2030 by the World Bank. Lisa Reynolds, the new CEO of the Green Building Council South Africa, unpacks these opportunities for our readers. Reynolds is no stranger to kick-starting what would be initially deemed as an impossible task having built her strong sustainability career on making the impossible seem possible!

Going into Women’s Month, I am also encouraged that my fellow sustainability colleagues are actively taking up space in positions of leadership in driving the sustainability agenda in society and in the renewable sector. Karen de Bruyn, Head of Development, G7 Renewable Energies, and co-founder of #WEConnect, tells us how their networking platform acts as a lever for women working in the renewable energy across South Africa.

Given the strong editorial contributions by the women leaders in this edition it can be said it is the women that are taking us to a green recovery with great urgency!

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Songo Didiza

ENERGY The need for the implementation of IRP 2019 WATER Wash for human protection

Cover image: Pexels

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 organisations or products. Please address any concerns in this regard to the Publisher.

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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YOU SEE USED BOTTLES. COLLECTORS SEE VALUE.

Plastic bottles are not trash.

18.2 BILLION PET plastic bottles collected for recycling

R7.7 BILLION injected into South Africa’s economy

65 900

income opportunities created** ** 2019 specifically

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Recycling PET plastic bottles creates over 60 000 income opportunities every year in South Africa. Many of these are reclaimers, who helped divert upwards of 95 000 tonnes of PET plastic bottles from landfill in 2019. The used bottles they collect are recycled, ensuring that they become bottles yet again. This creates yet more jobs in the process, contributing positively to our country’s GDP while eliminating the chance that they end up harming the environment.

Recycling ensures that a circular economy is established where the value of plastic bottles continues indefinitely.

News & Snippets

POWER OPTIONS COUPLES WIND AND HYDROGEN WITH POTENTIAL TO DRIVE EXPORTS MARKET Green hydrogen can be produced from wind energy and is a clean-burning fuel that can be used for long-term energy storage and to help decarbonise transport, heating and industrial processes such as steel and cement making or it can even be combined with captured CO2 to produce carbon-neutral aviation fuel.

Energy agencies around the world are looking to developments in green hydrogen and wind power to boost clean energy supply.

Sector experts believe that the case for hydrogen is strong and demand is likely to grow exponentially in a world increasingly seeking green energy and lower carbon emissions.

Currently, the price of green hydrogen (where renewable energy is used in the electrolysis process to produce hydrogen) is more than the cost of grey hydrogen. However, with advances in technology, falling renewable energy

technology costs, increased efficiencies, and the benefit of scale through more user uptake, the price will likely become competitive in the medium term.

“The production of carbon-free electro-fuels such as hydrogen from renewable electricity can play a significant role in the context of decarbonisation of the energy sector, beyond electricity. Additionally, the production of hydrogen offers significant flexibility for a power system, as well as seasonal storage of renewable electricity by blending hydrogen into natural gas grids,” explained Ntombifuthi Ntuli, CEO of SAWEA (pictured).

The idea is to create a hydrogen economy and an export product, in the same vein as the way that the South African government’s Operation Phakisa looks to create an oceans economy by beneficiating a resource – in their

NATURE MATTERS A report Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy shows that $44-trillion of economic value generation – over half the world’s total GDP – is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services, and therefore exposed to risks from nature loss. www.weforum.org

RENEWABLE HOPES FOR ENERGY Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, held a virtual meeting with renewableenergy stakeholders in mid-July to open communication on the roll-out of renewable energy in South Africa. Mantashe urged stakeholders to offer solutions to the current limitations facing the electricity supply industry.

The event was addressed by Eskom, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), Business Unity South Africa, Black Business Council, Association of Municipal Electricity Distributors of South Africa (AMEU) and the Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG). Energy expert, Chris Yelland, facilitated the meeting.

SAWEA CEO, Ntombifuthi Ntuli, proposed that the forum meet quarterly and that its initial agenda be set to resolve obstacles to the implementation of the IRP 2019, as well as to engage on tariff issues. All the energy associations that participated in the event welcomed the establishment of a prescribed engagement forum.

Mantashe said he hoped the event would set the tone for regular engagements on resolving the country’s energy issues.

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case, the ocean. It aims to grow the Ocean Economy’s contribution to the country’s GDP to R129-177 billion by 2033. This could be bolstered by integrating hydrogen production into Operation Phakisa and contributing to the National Development Plan through the implementation of a hydrogen strategy.

SOLAR INDUSTRY BODY SAPVIA ELECTS NEW BOARD The 2020 SAPVIA board members are Frank Spencer of Mettle Solar Investments, Maloba Tshehla of ED Platform, Norman Moyo of DPA Africa, and Wido Schnabel of Canadian Solar Inc. elected as Chairperson.

The new board will serve a two-year term of office.

RESETTING THE ENVIRONMENT A recent policy paper to which the World Economic Forum contributed estimates that building a nature-positive economy could represent more than $10 trillion per year by 2030 – in terms of new economic opportunities as well as avoided economic costs.

In the short term, deploying around $250 billion of stimulus funding could generate up to 37-million naturepositive jobs in a highly cost-effective manner. Resetting the environment should not be seen as a cost, but rather an investment that will generate economic activity and employment opportunities. www.weforum.org

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News & Snippets

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS GLOBAL START-UP COMPETITION Led by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the UN agency responsible for promoting sustainable, accessible and inclusive tourism, this competition aims to encourage the global innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem to embrace sustainability and to deliver impact during the United Nations Decade of Action starting this year.

Start-ups from all walks of life, from all over the world and all economic sectors are invited to participate if they meet with the criteria.

All ways of innovation are welcome: new methods, processes, governance models, social impact initiatives, and technologies.

The competition features 17 categories, each one representing a Sustainable Development Goal. Each participating start-up should select the SDG in which can generate the greatest impact.

Deadline for entries: 20 September 2020 www.unwto.org

B4SA RELEASE ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN Business For South Africa (B4SA), the organisation which represents a majority of South African businesses partnering in their response to Covid-19, released a 12-point plan that it says will accelerate the country’s economic recovery. B4SA says the plan, in conjunction with policy interventions, could increase GDP by R1 trillion, create up to 1.5-million jobs and increase tax revenues by R100 billion per annum.

Some of the interventions include securing affordable electricity supply, fast-tracking the green economy, expanding ports, and accelerating e-commerce.

B4SA estimates its economic recovery plan will require R3.4 trillion in funds over the next three years. This would push public

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sector debt from R4 trillion to R6.4 trillion.

The estimate does not consider the potential rescue funds for corporates or unforeseen bailout for state-owned enterprises.

B4SA said that about $10 trillion of capital is available from international markets, including Sovereign Wealth Funds and Development Finance Institutions, among others. South Africa could successfully compete for this funding by securing investor confidence, for example by improving ease of doing business.

“In the absence of growth-enhancing structural reforms, budget deficits are expected to remain high and government debt is expected to exceed 100% of GDP in 2023,” B4SA said in a statement.

SAWEA ADDRESSES WIND INDUSTRY’S ROLE IN POSTCOVID-19 ECONOMY The first of a series of webinars, under SAWEA’s Windaba banner was launched in June. The topic was the Role of Wind Power in SA’s Economic Recovery, post-Covid-19. The key take-out from panellists was that the South African government needs to accelerate the implementation of its Integrated Resource Plan 2019 (IRP 2019) as part of the country’s postCovid-19 economic recovery package.

Meridian Economics MD Dr Grové Steyn, who is currently modelling the economic impact of such acceleration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), argues that a large renewables-led green stimulus was one of the few substantial recovery opportunities available that did not require any fiscal resources.

Steyn calls for political will and policy certainty, to push for an accelerated renewable roll-out to deliver material economic and social benefits, while also bolstering much-needed energy security. This will create immediate economic and employment opportunities while opening prospects for the domestic manufacturing of renewables components. Additionally, this rollout will increase capital expenditure over the period to 2030 and lead to thousands of muchneeded jobs, which will become even more crucial post-Covid-19.

Dr Tobias Bishof-Niemz estimates that the wind sector alone would invest between R300and R400-billion and create 25 000 construction and operations jobs in South Africa by 2030 should the 1 600-MW allocation be sustained.

There is an opportunity to increase this green stimulus plan to a yearly allocation of 3 000MW, which would translate the investment value to between R600- and R800-billion, while almost 50 000 construction and operations jobs would be created.

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SPECIAL REPORT

Building it back Better

BY Mary Anne Constable

Green Economy Journal interviews various stakeholders across the built environment public and private sectors, questioning what a post-Covid-19 world might look like, and asking, how can we build it back better?

There is an opportunity afforded by the present crisis, to catalyse the transition to a resilient sustainable future, and to build things back better than before. We asked several stakeholders how Covid-19 might inform some of the decision-making along the value chain of design, construction and operation of buildings and infrastructure in South Africa.

DR. KGOSIENTSO RAMOKGOPA Head of Investment and Infrastructure Office, South African Presidency www.thepresidency.gov.za

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT INVESTS IN INFRASTRUCTURE The significance of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy of South Africa cannot be overstated. It represents a significant decline not just to the South African economy but to the world economy. It is also unique in that it is both a supply-side and demand-side shock. South Africa entered this challenging period in a weakened position with limited fiscal headspace due to the technical recession at the end of 2019 and the downgrade of our sovereign debt by Moody’s to sub-investment grade.

As such a supply-side stimulus is required by government to get supply chains moving while encouraging localisation and job creation.

Given South Africa’s limited fiscal headspace, the funding of the post-Covid recovery needs to crowd-in sources of funding from outside of government. This has led to engagements with the multilateral development banks, the development finance institutions, commercial banks, and infrastructure facing business organisations. They have indicated the need for an updated country infrastructure pipeline and have committed resources to the evaluation of said pipeline. This process will culminate in the Sustainable Infrastructure Development

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Alignment of the SIDSSA to the SDGs and the National Development Plan allows for South Africa to access a greater pool of liquidity and at preferential rates for the funding of the project pipeline.

Symposium of South Africa (SIDSSA) on 23 June 2020. The ‘Sustainable’ in SIDSSA refers to the need for the project pipeline to align with South Africa’s commitments in terms of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Alignment of the SIDSSA to the SDGs and the National Development Plan allows for South Africa to access a greater pool of liquidity and at preferential rates for the funding of the project pipeline.

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Photo by Ihsaan Haffejee

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lthough the Covid-19 pandemic has temporarily crowded out the global climate agenda from the news, while also incidentally contributing to a decrease in global pollution, our need to create a low-carbon economy continues in full force. The built environment and property sectors have a huge role to play in driving this agenda forward.

SPECIAL REPORT

Georgina Smit Head of Sector Development and Market Transformation, Green Building Council of South Africa www.gbcsa.org.za

GREEN BUILDINGS PLAY A VITAL ROLE The reference to ‘building it back better’ developed in response to natural disaster relief efforts, such as fires or hurricanes. Within the context of Covid-19, which is a more longstanding health and financial disaster, I believe it means how we will shape our fiscal stimulus policies, long-term infrastructure planning and detailed design thinking to plan for a future in which sustainability is prioritised and incentivised. It is about using the opportunity to rebuild our systems, cities and communities in a way that learns from our mistakes in the past and corrects them with in-built resilience and good design. What this means to me as a representative of the GBCSA, is that we believe that green buildings play a vital role in our future’s green recovery.

Post Covid-19, I think we are going to see an increased focus on healthy buildings – in terms of providing improved air quality, appropriate surface design and selection (to mitigate against viral and bacterial contamination and spread) and enhanced workspace efficiency.

Decision-making will be informed by selecting options that improve a building’s ability to continue operating in the time of health crises.

The government should consider policies and stimulus packages that promote sustainability options that deliver on green economy dual benefits such as job creation and improved quality of living standards.

We need to have a local understanding and pool of talent to drive green economy solutions in South Africa. Enablers for this include incentives for going green to developers and project owners.

Lesley Sibanda C40 Technical Officer, Energy Efficiency in New Buildings (SA Buildings Programme), Sustainable Energy Africa www.c40.org

RESILIENT CITIES PAVE THE WAY FORWARD Post Covid-19, more emphasis will be given to occupant health and comfort and strategies aimed at improving health through improved ventilation, access to natural light, less toxic material use, indoor plants, open green spaces for exercise and relaxation. The concept of adaptive reuse of buildings is likely to become more prominent as buildings are repurposed for new functions. Also, reduced commuting needs, as more people work from home, will result in transformed mobility patterns, and reimagining digital infrastructure across the cities.

The urban planning and sustainable design of a city’s agenda in the post-Covid-19 world will need to focus on building resilience to pandemics such as disease, climate change, natural hazards, and unrest.

Urban planning will need to make cities more inclusive, resilient, safe, and sustainable. Mixed-use precinct development will likely be on the rise with a renewed focus on promoting local lifestyles as well as healthier and safer spaces for all.

The government needs to develop economic stimulus packages that have climate action and resilience to future shocks as the core principles.

These recovery stimulus packages to build the economy must prioritise the transition to a low-carbon future while simultaneously reducing exposure to future crises and reducing health threats to the most vulnerable people in our society.

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Stimulus packages must facilitate investments in low carbon urban infrastructure, and local renewable energy production to avoid a rebound of greenhouse gas emissions. These stimulus packages include supportive structures and mechanisms for local government to actively engage in decentralised renewable energy production, stimulate local economic development and localisation of products through financial incentives and building strong partnerships between the spheres of government, business, unions, civil society, communities and academics.

The government needs to develop economic stimulus packages that have climate action and resilience to future shocks as the core principles.

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SPECIAL REPORT

Rudolf Pienaar Chief Development and Investment Officer, Growthpoint www.growthpoint.co.za

ADAPTING TO CHANGE IN COMMERCIAL PROPERTY The socio-economic impacts of Covid-19 have given rise to the opportunity, and the necessity, to take stock and adjust the course towards a better future. For a commercial property development to be sustainable, it must be relevant post-Covid-19 and for a long time into the future. Developers need to be able to adapt to constant change.

The role that workspaces play in protecting people’s health and safety has rapidly become a critical factor for the commercial property industry.

Fortunately, many considerations for the health and wellness of building occupants are aligned closely with the considerations already in place for green building and the WELL certification.

‘Building it back better’ allows us to imagine what we would like the future to be, and to play an active part in creating the quality and sustainable spaces that will be the building blocks of this better future.

For Growthpoint, our drive continues to provide quality, green, healthy spaces that work best for our clients, our communities, and our world.

The recent move towards densifying office space is likely to be reversed for apparent reasons. Also, the lockdown has highlighted our deep human need for collaboration and connection, with so many people saying they miss tapping into the energy that they feel in their workspaces. While this trend was already observable before Covid-19 arrived, the workplaces of the future will be designed and developed with more collaborative spaces to embrace interaction and facilitate formal and informal meeting. This is as true for office space as it is for retail space, where people also seek to meet their social needs.

With many workers and employers having experienced some of the benefits of working from home and invested significantly in making this possible, working is likely to become a more agile activity in future.

Workspaces will become more flexible platforms that include everything from remote working solutions to spaces that accommodate more traditional home activities, such as interactions with family and pets.

Relevant, sustainable buildings will need flexibility built in. To some extent, the office is now competing with the home. We expect that this will also be incorporated in workspace design.

Being able to live, work, shop, exercise and more in our communities became a necessity during various Covid-19 lockdown levels. Those residing in mixed-use environments were able to appreciate the benefit of their environment to the fullest and were better able to comply with the regulations. To this point, when commercial, retail, and residential activity co-exists, it offers enormous health, wellness and lifestyle benefits, not to mention lower transport costs and carbon emissions.

Mixed-use environments can embrace different economic groupings in thoughtful and inclusive ways. Access to open space has been highlighted, and ‘green lungs’ and other public areas are a sacrosanct component of mixed-use development.

‘Building it back better’ allows us to imagine what we would like the future to be, and to play an active part in creating the quality and sustainable spaces that will be the building blocks of this better future.

Photo by Ihsaan Haffejee

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SPECIAL REPORT

Yovka Raytcheva-Schaap Associate, ESD Consulting and Project Management, Aurecon www.aurecongroup.com

SHIFTING TRENDS IN DESIGN Working in the South African built environment, I have observed important shifts driven by Covid-19 in designing spaces within the buildings; provision of fresh air, increased monitoring of internal conditions, maintenance and cleaning activities, and different procedures for entering the buildings and using facilities. All measures are taken to ensure the health and wellbeing of occupants and visitors of buildings and communities at large.

South African’s geographic location is such that a much higher proportion of the national energy mix could be attributed to renewable sources, however, the legal and the regulatory framework as well as the government procurement policies need to change to enable this shift.

In terms of infrastructure, many leading global cities are changing the way public transport works by making a concerted effort to increase alternative mobility, i.e. non-motorised transport, including cycling lanes and bicycles, e-scooters, and pedestrianising the inner cities.

In returning to a ‘normal’ post-Covid19 world, our efforts towards a more sustainable future must be renewed and intensified – as we are rebuilding parts of the economy that have been negatively affected or introducing new industries. It is our responsibility to shape a more sustainable future.

It is the government’s responsibility to lead the shift towards a decarbonised economy and inclusive communities, and as such, the first step would be to remove the impediments to produce energy from sources other than fossil fuel.

South African’s geographic location is such that a much higher proportion of the national energy mix could be attributed to renewable sources, however, the legal and the regulatory framework as well as the government procurement policies need to change to enable this shift.

The government should incentivise local capacity in the sustainable environment to create a leading industry that facilitates the decarbonising of the economy while creating jobs and uplifting the communities.

Dhesigen Naidoo CEO, Water Research Commission www.wrc.org.za

A TURNING POINT FOR THE WATER SECTOR According to psychologist Rucksana Christian, the first responses to this pandemic have been very classical flight, fight or freeze responses. And this has been illustrated in the reactions to the pandemic – first the global and local lockdowns, which were reasonably successful in the initial phase of viral containment, have already exacted severe economic and social costs. An economic stagnation followed that has pushed the water sector toward a financial crisis with the conventional wisdom predicting a 4.5% decrease in African GDP. This has put an unwieldy strain on resources for aspirations such as universal access to clean water and safe sanitation as envisaged by SDG 6.

But there is always opportunity in crisis. The global ‘Great Pause’ caused by Covid-19, has shown many benefits, perhaps in ways that we did not expect. The halting of industrial processes, smaller numbers of vehicles on the road and a diminishing of human activity have given the earth a chance to breathe. We have been given a brief glimpse of a lower carbon world. Secondly, in our quest to keep the wheels of the world’s

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socio-economy functional, Covid-19 has been the big disruptor and the real catalyst for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We have had a taste of the virtual way-of-work and made the gig economy a reality.

As we begin to return to ‘normal’ post-Covid-19, we would be wise to engage these recent learnings and express some ambition. This could

This could be the turning point the African water sector has been hoping for; an opportunity to redirect and prioritise funding to water and sanitation projects as a major safeguard against the spread of infection and wellbeing.

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SPECIAL REPORT be the turning point the African water sector has been hoping for; an opportunity to redirect and prioritise funding to water and sanitation projects as a major safeguard against the spread of infection and wellbeing – which means further attainment of water security deals.

According to the Global Risk Register of the World Economic Forum, water has been in the top five risks to the global economy over the past nine consecutive years.

Finally, we can advance more rapidly to a greener lower carbon future on the back of groundbreaking scientific and engineering developments like low-energy wastewater treatment and no-sewered-sanitation. With the right choices, in the direction of better water infrastructure and new sanitation, the recovery and stimulus packages being considered by governments worldwide could usher in a greener, more inclusive, healthier world.

Jason F. McLennan Architect and Founder of the Living Building Challenge www.mclennan-design.com

REFLECTING ON ARCHITECTURE FROM A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE When it comes to Covid-19, it is our policies that need to change more so than architecture. Yet, the mission related to creating living buildings and communities and reducing environmental impact has not changed at all.

This year is turning into a ‘pause’ year and we still must get back to the same mission with renewed vigour.

About 2020 being forecast as the year of twenty-twenty ‘perfect’ vision, I have been saying that life imitates art sometimes. This is turning out to be an incredible year of reflection where it has become obvious to so many, how society needs to change – and now social justice issues in addition to the issues of health and inequities tied to resources are evident. Hopefully with all of this introspection – plus here in the United States, it’s a pretty important election year – it is a ‘shaking up’ moment: “Do we truly see clearly, or not?” It’s as if the glasses that were fogged have been taken off and we have to rub our eyes and see the world as it truly is – one that needs to change radically if humanity is to persist.

Post Covid-19, there will be a transition period, but I do think things will tend to go back to more ‘normal’ in terms of architectural spaces required.

Physical distances are not what we need in the long term once we have a vaccine. People need to be with people again!

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This is turning out to be an incredible year of reflection where it has become obvious to so many, how society needs to change – and now social justice issues in addition to the issues of health and inequities tied to resources are evident.

And through this time we can’t forget that the environmental crisis is much larger than the pandemic we are facing now. We have hit pause on dealing with climate, and emissions are temporarily down, but we must act with urgency to continue reducing climate impacts even when things go back to normal. This is the fundamental design assignment for us – to change design relative to environmental impact, bringing people together again in truly regenerative spaces.

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INFRASTRUCTURE

GBCSA and the

Green Recovery

BY GBSCA

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South Africa must recover economically, so why not make it a Green Recovery?

he current crisis compels humanity to reconsider how we connect and interact with each other and with the planet.

Now, more than ever, we must consider our impact on the world around us. Recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic is inevitable, so we have an unprecedented opportunity to drive a green recovery led by sustainability and green solutions,” says GBCSA CEO, Lisa Reynolds.

The impact of Covid-19 and the associated risks it poses to business is foremost in the minds of companies. However, the risks of climate change should not fall off their radars. The lack of energy and water security due to climate change will exacerbate the economic and viability of business risks resulting from Covid-19. The solution is to rebuild the economy in a way that mitigates climate change risks. A strategy of simultaneous solutions – a Green Recovery strategy!

The International Energy Agency (IEA) published a Sustainable Recovery Plan. According to the analysis conducted in co-operation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the IEA estimates that targeted policies and investment between 2021 and 2023 could boost global economic growth by an average of 1.1% a year. Its Sustainable Recovery Plan would also save or create around 9-million jobs a year and reduce energy-related greenhouse gas emissions by 4.5-billion tonnes globally.

A Green Recovery could benefit the planet, climate, human health and prosperity. But what does this mean and how comprehensive would a Green Recovery be across sectors? (Thank you to UCL’s Chair in Sustainable Global Resources, Raimund Bleischwitz for these insights).

Creation of green jobs “Governments have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reboot their economies and bring a wave of new employment opportunities while accelerating the shift to a more resilient and cleaner energy future,” says IEA executive director, Dr Fatih Birol. Energy efficiency in the manufacturing of construction materials, textiles and food industries could increase employment and minimise resource security risks.

Better buildings There is a huge job creation potential in the refurbishment of buildings to improve both energy and water efficiency. Mass retrofitting of buildings with energy efficiency interventions, water-efficient fixtures, water recovery storage and renewable energy sources can be a source of employment for many.

Why would businesses be interested in these refurbishments? Because it results in assets that have lower running costs, are resource-efficient, are healthier for its occupants and thus more attractive to potential tenants.

The improved “health” of green buildings was always an intangible benefit to going green. At the time where the health and wellness of our spaces are paramount, this benefit becomes very tangible.

Another reason for doing these refurbishments is that they reduce resource security risks. Projects where rainwater and/or greywater

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harvesting storage systems could be shared between buildings, precincts or neighbourhoods will be able to assist water-poor areas in mitigating future water shortage risks. This plays a role in minimising the health risk for communities where there is no easy access to clean, running water.

Green cities and neighbourhoods Planning and installing green spaces within cities and neighbourhoods assists with employment, the health and wellbeing of communities, as well as mitigating the impacts of climate. Less hard surfaces within these areas add to the “sponge city” effect. When it rains or when it storms, these areas absorb the rain and there is less stormwater flooding along the streets, pavements and highways.

Low carbon transport, e-mobility and infrastructure Once again South Africa is feeling the effect of the exchange rate and our dependence on oil! Throughout the world, oil prices have dropped to historical lows, yet, in South Africa, fuel prices are increasing. Moving to electric vehicles and e-mobility public transport reduces exposure to the cost of fuel. And yes, taxis are included in the e-mobility concepts.

Taxi ranks are a perfect place for charging stations and can be part of the e-mobility infrastructure plans.

The building of the infrastructure and the moving of public transport to electric will create massive employment possibilities. The added benefit is the higher productivity due to the reduction of traffic.

Bonus – South Africa achieves carbon reduction targets.

Leaders throughout the world have been asking for strategies and action plans to achieve ambitious carbon reduction targets. The world also needs to move towards Net Zero carbon goals and more circular economies. The Green Recovery assists South Africa to achieve the carbon reduction goals it agreed to in the Paris Accord on climate change.

The IEA Sustainable Recovery Plan states that: “Past financial recoveries – for example following the 2008/09 crisis – have been matched with rebounding global carbon dioxide emissions. Along with bringing projected emissions in 2023 significantly below where they currently are, the sustainable recovery plan would also see air pollution improved, reducing health risks around the world. Increased efficiency and lower carbon energy generation, as laid out in the plan, have the potential to make 2019 the ‘definitive peak’ in global emissions, putting us on a path to achieve longer-term climate goals, including the Paris Agreement.”

Towards the Green Recovery “As we emerge from lockdown, we know we are in for a tough time for a while, but it is also an ideal time to think innovatively and drive a Green Recovery where we also deal with the persistent threat of climate change.

I encourage everyone to embrace a Green Recovery – creating healthier, resource-efficient and meaningful spaces in the built environment that respond to climate-related challenges,” concludes Reynolds.

11

EVENTS

Green at Heart

BY CTICC

The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) lies in the business hub of Cape Town, welcoming delegates from across the globe in the quest to expand the knowledge economy and create jobs by connecting people.

CTICC Nurture Our World Team

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esigned from the outset to be green at heart, the CTICC is proud to continue its contribution to sustainability in the events industry. At the time it was built, CTICC 1 achieved a 77.1% compliance with South African Energy and Demand Efficiency Standards, while the innovative design of CTICC 2 earned a 4-star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of South Africa. Both CTICC 1 and CTICC 2 maximise the use of natural light, emission-minimising climate control and energy saving technologies.

Ongoing retrofits have included the installation of sensor-operated escalators, LED lights, soft-touch taps, dual flush toilets and a closed climate control system that actively manages unnecessary usage.

To ensure sustainable water usage, the CTICC invested R8 million into a reverse-osmosis plant, combined with an extra storage capacity of 400 000 litres. Greywater and rainwater harvesting, for use inside and outside the complex, are two additional initiatives the centre has in place to save water.

When it comes to the events hosted at the CTICC, clients are offered the opportunity to ‘green’ their events, through various ways such as completing the ‘Event Greening Checklist’ early in their planning process.

This ensures that greening is top of mind at every step of their event planning and execution.

The CTICC takes extra care to ensure that the majority of the ingredients used in the catering offering is sourced from local suppliers within a 50km radius, with the exception of food items sourced from upcountry to accommodate specific client requirements. 63% of the Centre’s recyclable waste, including kitchen waste, is diverted from landfill.

The kitchen waste is segregated and sent to fly farms, while unpackaged food waste, as well as any horse manure and straw from the annual Cape Premier Yearling event, is sent to a composting contractor, who distributes the waste for use in bokashi. Bokashi is a composting method where scraps of organic food waste are placed in a container filled with a special type of bran, which is tightly covered for 10 to 12 days. The waste becomes pickled and is then ready to be used in the garden.

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CTICC 2 ground floor.

Event waste such as wood from custom stands, furniture left behind at events, and packaged non-perishable food, is donated to organisations in need for upcycling and reuse.

The Investing in African Mining Indaba is a good example of green events hosted at the CTICC. In celebration of its 25th anniversary, organisers created an event that brought the issue of sustainability to the attention of its 6 050 delegates. One of the initiatives included a waste recycling programme that saw 24 000kg wood donated to the Orion Organisation, a school for persons with disabilities, and Cabrico Genuine Clay Face Brick and Pavers.

The centre work with the event organisers and stand builders to guarantee that the event break-down procedure was well briefed and methodically managed, and ensured that the wood was carefully dismantled and contamination avoided.

Additionally, one of the centre’s contractors assisted in arranging and delivering the event fabric, banners and signage to Sealand Gear, who reused the material to make upcycled goods.

Not only did the CTICC and Investing in African Mining Indaba meet their goal of creating an environmentally sustainable event, but the diversion of this waste helped create multiple jobs.

The CTICC’s commitment to ‘green’ events extends to the Centre’s participation at exhibitions as well. This year CTICC won the Small Stand Award category in the Event Greening Forum Awards at Meetings Africa 2020. The stand was created to be used at multiple events for the next two to three years, with minor touch-ups. To ensure a sustainable exhibition stand, during the design phase, the Centre specifically chose construction elements that could be upcycled, recycled or reused at the end of the stand’s lifespan. While the stand is not in use, it is be stored in a warehouse.

It is no wonder the CTICC is an iconic world-class convention centre, and a business whose reputation for inspirational leadership in the meetings and conference industry is underpinned by its triple bottom line strategy; people, planet, profit. The CTICC is undoubtedly green at heart.

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GROWTH REFORMS

Government plans to boost economy The Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of South Africa

BY Calyn Moneron

In June 2020, the inaugural Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium of South Africa (SIDSSA) was held. SIDSSA hosted virtual and in-person roundtable discussions about investing in key sectors of the South African economy.

S

IDSSA has been in the making since February 2020 when President Cyril Ramaphosa called an emergency meeting with financiers and stakeholders to discuss the challenges of how to boost the country’s economy. “The pro-activeness of government to initiate a suite of interventions and growth reforms aimed at recalibrating the country’s economic trajectory to promote inclusive growth, economic transformation, spatial justice, and create a globally competitive economy can only stimulate investor confidence going forward,” reported the Investment and Infrastructure Office of the Presidency.

The discussions aimed to find solutions to achieve the targets set out by the National Development Plan 2030. For this, SIDSSA focused on six key sectors of South Africa.

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GROWTH REFORMS

Green economy

Transport planning

Out of the 25 projects related to the energy sector that were reviewed, only 11 projects were chosen. The projects had an estimated investment value of R270 billion. When evaluating projects, the environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, legal and regulatory aspects as well as the market potential of each project were considered.

These projects will include technologies such as solar, wind, gas turbines and energy efficiency measures. With the use of these technologies, 3125-million CO2 emissions could be reduced. It is believed that these projects will create more than 200 000 jobs, either directly or indirectly.

The National Development Plan 2030 set specific and ambitious targets to provide affordable and safe public transport to all South Africans across the country, as well as allowing safe transport of goods from production to consumption and developing transport alternatives that are less harmful to the environment.

This became the responsibility of the central government who created the National Transport Master Plan 2050 (NATMAP 2050) for South Africa.

In this plan, key priorities were identified. Detailed plans were documented and implemented by state-owned enterprises.

Food and agriculture

Human settlements

The Scheepersvlakte Citrus Farm has become the catalyst project for the agriculture sector. The farm will grow more than 500 hectares of citrus in the Kirkwood region of the Eastern Cape. There will be employment opportunities while the farm is being established. It is estimated that over 5 years the farm will support more than 100 jobs each year.

When the farm is operational there will be employment opportunities for farmworkers and in the processing of fruit and nuts.

The Greater Cornubia project for the human settlements sector began in 2015 with an investment period of 16 years. The Greater Cornubia, a mixed-use and mixed-income development, is a new city that is situated about 25km from Durban CBD and 7km from the King Shaka Airport.

The project consists of commercial, industrial, open and residential spaces. In the future, there will be more than 50 000 housing opportunities for various income groups. It is estimated that by the year 2027 more than 15 000 employment opportunities will be available.

Digital infrastructure Two of the seven projects that were submitted will be the compound projects for the country’s development of its digital sector. Project Thobela and The Space Infrastructure Hub for National Development have a combined investment of more than R12 billion. The project is anticipating to amass more than 9 000 jobs by the year 2026. The Space Infrastructure Hub will include satellites that will independently feed information to South Africa. This information will help create products and services unique to the challenges that our nation faces.

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Water and sanitation More than 40 projects were submitted with a projected investment value of R170 billion. The catalyst project for this sector is the Mokolo Crocodile Water Augmentation Project (Phase 2A). The objective of this project is to increase the water supply to the Lephalale region. During the first year, there will be at least 3 000 direct employment opportunities. By the year 2022, the number will increase to 16 985 available positions for semi- and low-skilled workers.

15

ENERGY

Bringing all your resources to light:

Women in power

In honour of Women’s Month, the Green Economy Journal speaks to Karen de Bruyn, Head of Development, G7 Renewable Energies, and co-founder of #WEConnect, a networking platform for women working in renewable energy across South Africa.

In your opinion, what is the status quo of the renewable energy sector in South Africa?

Opportunities galore if you have the patience. We are at the cusp of renewable energy uptake in South Africa. We still rely heavily on outdated energy sources with coal meeting 72% and renewable energy sources meeting 12% of our energy needs. When considering the climate crises, and the role we play in it as the 14th largest emitter in the world, the rollout of renewable energy is taking place at a scale and pace that does not match the urgency. The shift away from fossil fuels has been slow going with prolonged dry spells in procurement of renewable energy.

However, this is set to change.

The promulgated Integrated Resource Plan 2019 (IRP 2019) provides the blueprint for decommissioning of our ageing coal fleet and addition of new generation, including procurement of renewable energy up to 2030.

Adding 1 600MW of wind per annum from 2022 to 2030 and 1 000MW of solar for most years during the same period is a very promising step in the right direction for a few reasons: • Environmentally: It brings us closer to our climate change goals and commitments to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels for energy • Economically: The cost of renewable energy rapidly falling and the positive impact on the economy and communities • Socially: The opportunity to create much needed job opportunities in areas in South Africa with truly little development taking place.

Installed Base Coal RE

Other; 6 189MW (12% Coal; 37 419MW (72%)

RE; 8 466MW (16%)

Other

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Women make up just 32% of the global renewable energy sector workforce.

Coal current base = 37 419MW Renewable energy currently (hydro, storage, PV, wind, CSP) 2100 + 2912 + 1474 + 1980 = 8 466MW Nuclear, gas, diesel, and other: 1860 + 3830 + 499 = 6 189MW

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ENERGY There are a lot of opportunities that are subjects of many talk shops.

Green hydrogen for instance is enjoying unprecedented political and business momentum and there are increasing talks of possibilities for South Africa to become an exporter of green hydrogen due to our superior wind and solar resources. Globally, massive innovations are taking shape such as the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and big data, Blockchain, mini-grids, super grids and battery storage. Cost reductions of the latter is a key component to modern energy solutions.

As a woman in the renewable energy sector, what have been some of your biggest challenges and successes?

Karen de Bruyn, Head of Development, G7 Renewable Energies and Co-Founder of #WEConnect The status quo is a sector ready to successfully roll out the IRP 2019 as soon as the government gives the green light facilitating a steady rollout of request for proposals, followed by timely awarding of projects. The energy transition is taking place worldwide, radically transforming the energy systems as we know them now, and South Africa should not be left behind in this energy “revolution”.

What role can renewable energy projects provide in the economic recovery post-Covid?

Our economy is under unprecedented pressure. We need to avoid adding the pressures of load-shedding by procuring new generation capacity with urgency.

Stakeholders and industry experts are increasingly adding their voices to call for the accelerated implementation of the IRP 2019 so that renewable energy projects can contribute to a post-Covid-19 recovery in South Africa. This was recently discussed in a SAWEA webinar where panellists explained that a large renewables-led green stimulus is one of the few substantial recovery opportunities available that does not require any fiscal resources. The wind sector alone could invest between R300and R400-billion in South Africa by 2030 should the 1 600MW allocation be sustained. Renewable energy development attracting investments of this magnitude just makes sense to support.

A recent report by IRENA states numerous reasons why we need renewable energy as a post-Covid-19 recovery equality: The energy transition provides a crucial link to medium- and long-term global climate and sustainability goals. These benefits include job creation, resilient economies, and increased willingness to invest in renewables.

What are some of the innovative trends to look forward to in the next three to five years?

Eskom was established in 1923. I believe that by the time it turns 100, the South African energy sector will look quite different. We can expect further increased tariffs from Eskom as it can recover reduced revenue because of Covid-19 versus its predicted revenues through its regulatory clearance account mechanism. This will in turn increase its tariffs in the following year. Expensive electricity coupled with the carbon tax coming into full effect, will accelerate the need for private power purchase agreements procuring renewable energy at a fraction of Eskom tariffs to sustain energy intensive industries.

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I am proud to be part of the G7 Renewables team that developed the Roggeveld Wind Farm in South Africa with the lowest tariff awarded to date – at R0.56c/kWh in April 2014.

I proceeded to lead this team as G7’s head of development. I am the first female to take on this role in our company. Many people in leadership roles, regardless of age or gender, suffer from the impostor syndrome – even though you are completely capable you will sometimes question yourself. And I think this is often truer for females working in male dominated industries, and especially younger people.

My journey, as I believe for most women, has not been without challenges: being underestimated based on age or appearance is something that fuels hunger for success.

How are you personally innovating in this sector, especially in the time of Covid-19?

I was and still can lead our G7 team while working remotely, encouraging everyone daily through our regular meetings and maintaining strong achievable targets. I believe that throughout this time, our daily routine provided structure and support to all of us.

Secondly, the successful launch of #WEConnect during Covid-19, was a personal highlight for me. In fact, the lockdown forced us to innovate – leading to more regular online sessions, making it easier to arrange than real time physical events and allowing for women across the continent to benefit from it.

How does #WEConnect improve the presence of women in the renewable energy sector in South Africa?

A gender perspective study by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) found that women make up a mere 32% of the global renewable energy workforce and 21% of the wind energy workforce. The same study found that women can be supported through increased networking opportunities, mentorships, and knowledge sharing. #WEConnect launched in May 2020 and is focusing on these three areas to improve gender diversity. Several studies indicate that up to 80% of job opportunities are filled through a network. If you are not part of a network, you are already on the backfoot. In terms of knowledge sharing, there is no lack of technical capabilities amongst our members and therefore for the next six months, we are hosting monthly online events focusing on softer topics and challenges women face.

What more can be done to encourage young girls and women to pursue a career in renewables and the broader green economy other than mentorship?

It’s really simple. Encourage young girls and women in the same way we encourage boys and young men – through equal access to opportunities, education, equal encouragement, and positive female and male role models. Role models play a big role – to believe it is possible for women to succeed in this industry, it helps to see women achieve it before you.

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PROFILE

Continuity of

essential services

Given the unprecedented health crisis the world is currently facing, Veolia is fully mobilised to safeguard the continuity of essential services while also protecting the health of its employees, the Group’s two absolute priorities.

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eolia South Africa provides a holistic range of solutions for the design, construction, maintenance, operation and upgrade of any water or wastewater treatment facilities in the industrial and municipal markets. We are active in the operation of food and beverage plants to ensure compliance and consistent quality for companies on process and wastewater treatment. Our clients include groups such as Nestle, Simba, Coca Cola, Distell, etc.

Since the beginning of the crisis, Veolia has put in place continuity plans specific to each country that focus primarily on producing and supplying drinking water and treating wastewater, preserving waste processing operations, in particular collections and processing facilities, to ensure industrial and tertiary facilities continue to operate and upholding its activities processing hazardous waste at DCLM (hazardous waste landfill operated by Veolia), which is vital to maintaining key industrial operations.

Supplying drinking water To maintain the quality and availability of its services, Veolia South Africa has activated a business continuity plan to protect its operations for Overstrand Municipality and various industrial clients who are producing essential food products. Its teams continue to guarantee the supply of perfect quality drinking water in sufficient quantity, in all circumstances.

We also treat effluent streams to ensure compliance and to guarantee the safety of our communities.

The tap water supplied has systematically undergone various stages of treatment, including disinfection, which is designed to eliminate all viruses, as well as the coronavirus. The World Health Organisation has confirmed that the virus has not displayed any resistance to the standard treatment applied to drinking water.

Protecting the environment While important in everyday life, it is imperative in a time of crisis that people remember waste items cannot be flushed down the toilet. Some users ignore the severity of the environmental and financial consequences of disposing of waste in this way, which pollutes natural environments and creates an imbalance in the ecosystem.

Hazardous waste collection The provision of reliable, uninterrupted waste management services to the municipal, industrial and commercial sectors remains our priority, now more than ever, to combat the spread of disease by maintaining high standards of hygiene.

Safety is not negotiable; our vehicles and office facilities are outfitted with protective equipment, and staff provided with PPE and sanitisers. Where possible, staff employed in administration roles are working remotely to ensure that deadlines are met with zero impact to our customers.

Handling emergencies 24/7 All employees who can carry out their duties remotely using digital technology are currently working from home. Where people have to be present on the ground, in particular for certain tasks that are essential

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Tyrone Iyavoo (Plant Supervisor) and Avishkar Ramsuren (Process Operator) next to RO module at CCBSA Premier Plant. in maintaining service continuity, Veolia has organised team rotations and has furloughed a number of employees. The Group has also asked its employees to strictly comply with the protective measures, health regulations and professional risk prevention measures already in place within the Group.

All operations carried out by Veolia South Africa on the ground are coordinated by a crisis unit working at a national and regional level, in liaison with the Veolia Group global crisis unit.

“Veolia’s mission is to provide services that are essential in day-today life, like supplying drinking water, treating wastewater, processing waste and providing energy services. During this challenging time, our responsibility is even greater as needs are more pressing. Our operatives are fully mobilised to continue serving the country,” concludes Stanley Steenkamp (CEO) at Veolia South Africa.

Veolia group is the global leader in optimised resource management.

Present on the five continents and with close to 179 000 employees, the Group designs and provides water, waste, and energy management solutions that contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industries. Through its three complementary business activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and replenish them. www.veolia.com

In 2019, the Veolia Group supplied 98-million people with drinking water and 67-million people with wastewater service produced almost 45-million megawatt-hours of energy and converted 50-million metric tons of waste into new materials and energy. Veolia Environnement (listed on Paris Euronext: VIE) recorded consolidated revenue of €27.189 billion in 2019.

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AMBITIONS FOR

AFRICA

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WATER

WASH on, WASH off

The provision of safe water, sanitation and hygienic (WASH) conditions are imperative in human health protection during all infectious disease outbreaks, including Covid-19.

Ensuring steadily applied WASH practices in all avenues of life will further prevent the transmission of the coronavirus. Understanding how governments are addressing hygiene is critical during the pandemic.

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WATER

Less than 1% of the world’s freshwater (or about 0.007% of all water on earth) is readily accessible for direct human use.

More than 40% (783-million people) in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to an improved source of drinking water.

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ore than one-third of the world’s population – roughly 2.4-billion people – lives in water-stressed regions and this number is expected to rise. 3.6-million people die each year from water-related diseases and 98% of water-related deaths occur in the developing world. 884-million people lack access to safe water supplies – approximately one in eight people.

In July, Minister Lindiwe Sisulu participated on the virtual 2020 HighLevel Political Forum (HLPF) special event of the official launch of the SDG 6 global acceleration framework. The forum was themed: “Showcasing of stakeholder commitments on accelerating progress on SDG 6”. Minister Sisulu joined several other ministers from across the globe in a forum that was co-chaired by Gilbert F. Houngbo, Chairperson of the UN-Water and Liu Zhenmin, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.

During the online engagement, Minister Sisulu outlined South Africa’s country planning, implementation and knowledge sharing for SDG 6 while supporting country response to the Covid-19 pandemic. She expressed that when the SDGs were developed, the world did not foresee a crisis of the magnitude presented by Covid-19. She further highlighted the strides South Africa has made in achieving the SDGs. “Like many countries, South Africa has made great strides since 1994 when only 50.4% of all households had access to an acceptable form of sanitation service and 55.1% had a

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reliable water supply service, to 2019 when sanitation services increased to 79% of households and 88%,” said Minister Sisulu.

She maintained that in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, her Ministry established a water-specific, national command centre based at Rand Water Board, one of the entities reporting to the Ministry. The command centre is where all water supply initiatives across the country are coordinated to ensure that the basic service of supplying water is achieved.

Minister Sisulu said that to date, over 740-million litres of water has been transported to fill water tanks distributed across the country, at an average of 10.31-million litres per day. She added that R1.4 billion was set aside for sustainable water services. The funds are meant to address the backlog mainly created by the unforeseen growth in population and the unintended consequence of economic growth which saw a parallel increase in urbanisation.

884-million people lack access to safe water supplies – approximately one in eight people.

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WATER Effective water resources management is dependent on all water users and water managers playing their part. Government alone cannot do it. It is important that South Africans understand how the water cycle works, and how their actions create impacts in this cycle. It is equally important to understand the context of water resources in South Africa and the specific challenges that we face as a country.

3.6-million people die each year from waterrelated diseases and 98% of water-related deaths occur in the developing world.

THE WATER CYCLE Heat results in water evaporation from the land and water resources. As the water vapour rises, it cools and condenses to form clouds. When conditions are appropriate, the water in the clouds is released as precipitation (rain, hail, snow or sleet). This precipitation evaporates back into the atmosphere, infiltrates the ground to become soil moisture or groundwater or runs off into surface water resources such as rivers, estuaries and wetlands.

Plants take up water from the soil and transpirate some of it into the air, contributing to the return of moisture into the atmosphere, and back into the cycle of evapotranspiration and precipitation.

Infrastructure, such as dams, enables the provision of a reliable supply of water, and to increase the amount of water available for use, by storing water that would otherwise run into the sea. Storage of water in dams enables a reliable supply of water even during a drought. Other technologies are also available for increasing water availability, such as desalination. The challenge is that dams and general use of water for social and economic purposes have negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems, which provide important goods and services. The challenge is how to balance the use of water with the protection of aquatic ecosystems.

Water hygiene has come to the forefront as the coronavirus is expected to impact poorest communities in Africa who have limited access to water for basic sanitation, hygiene and health.

Vinesan Govender, engineering manager at Xylem Africa, explains that decentralised, low-maintenance infrastructure is a keystone for Africa’s water future. There is no longer a need for large and centralised infrastructure.

“Solar power is an example of how grids are being decentralised. Water can operate in the same way, especially when managing wastewater. It has become cost-effective to have more and smaller sites to manage water, and it’s much more efficient because you can calibrate that infrastructure to reflect the needs of the surrounding community. This improves performance and the longevity of the equipment.”

SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS Africa can benefit from vastly-improved water infrastructure designs and management philosophies as well as water technologies which deliver much more efficiency, control and cost-management. Govender claimed that these solutions could be effective anywhere on the continent. “The water management in Africa is extremely poor, and in most cases, non-existent.

We are not looking after our aquifers, which have become contaminated.”

He added that in Gauteng borehole water can contain heavy metals due to mining activity and could be added to water recycling. “We can manage those aquifers responsibly and even make them part of water recycling.

The same counts for other water resources, such as the great lakes. These are renewable resources, but they are not infinite without the right water management culture.”

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Chemical-free disinfection of water is another pivotal solution that can disrupt water in Africa. Govender explained that technologies such as UV and ozone are not yet as cost-effective at large scales as chlorine. However, it is a very different case for smaller applications, such as community water supplies, water in tanks or water used for cleaning. He added that an enormous amount of chemicals enter Africa’s water ecosystems. He further explained that by applying chemical-free disinfection at strategic points can massively improve quality of life, and fight infections such as cholera and E. coli, without harming the same environment many subsist on.

Water hygiene has come to the forefront as the coronavirus is expected to impact poorest communities in Africa who have limited access to water for basic sanitation, hygiene and health. Mannie Ramos Jnr, COO of Abeco Tanks, suppliers of hygienic water storage solutions, says that the pandemic highlights the need to get water back on the health agenda. “Why is Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH) only a priority in a crisis? This gap and the lack of local investment in water infrastructure within South Africa, is now glaringly obvious during Covid-19.” Globally, approximately US$260 billion is lost each year to the effects of poor sanitation and unsafe water on many aspects of the economy, but most significantly on healthcare.

“As a continent, it seems we have become used to reacting only when it makes sense economically or when there is an emergency. We are failing constitutionally regarding water infrastructure,” adds Ramos Jnr. As schools return during Level 3, 2 and 1, the lack of WASH facilities will be highlighted even further as 33% of schools in the country do not have sufficient facilities, according to a 2018 Unicef report.

He believes that more investment in water infrastructure, proper long-term planning and response readiness is critical to effective water stewardship in the country. The reality is that less than half of South Africans have access to piped water in their homes and one out of five informal residents do not have consistent water access. “If we can get WASH back on the health agenda, we won’t constantly be on the back foot,” he says. “It will require a mind shift which may not be possible during a crisis when one is dealing largely with an unknown situation.”

Ramos Jnr attests that short-term thinking is not the answer to the systemic water problem in our communities. At the outset of the pandemic in South Africa, the entire supply of plastic Jojo tanks in the country was purchased, as the government rushed to provide informal settlements and communities with water. However, he says 5000-litre plastic water tanks are meant for individual home use, not for larger communities. “Small tanks are an immediate solution for an immediate problem; long-term you cannot have thousands of small tanks to serve communities. One has to ensure the solution you put in place is fit for the number of people living in the community, their average consumption and usage pattern.”

The water evolution can happen through new ways of thinking, with technology to support them. “It is a pyramid effect, and smart technology sits at the very top of the pyramid. If you do not have the base of the pyramid in place, which is mindset, education and infrastructure, smart technology is not going to add any value,” Govender concludes.

2018 Unicef Report / UN World Water Development Report National Water Resource Strategy 2013, Department of Water Affairs www.gov.za

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ENERGY

Green Recovery

BY SAWEA

Wind power’s role in SA’s economic recovery post-Covid-19 pandemic The South African Wind Energy Association is pushing for a green economic recovery plan, which should consider renewable energy as one of the main components of the government economic stimulus package post-Covid-19.

T

he pandemic has brought a severe strain on the economy of South Africa resulting in disruption of capital flows, increased unemployment rates, and growing debt burdens. In his address on 21 April, the President stated that “Central to the economic recovery strategy will be the measures we will embark on to stimulate demand and supply through interventions such as substantial infrastructure build programmes…” To achieve a sustainable and lasting economic recovery, these actions should focus on long-term impacts, as well as the short-term need to generate growth and jobs.

It is expected that the energy demand will start ramping up as the country eases lockdown conditions in line with published lockdown levels, and additional energy capacity will be required. Therefore, the government should take measures to stimulate demand by moving decisively to electrify the economy. Renewable energy is well-positioned to play an important role in the country’s economic recovery post-Covid-19 since it is infrastructure investment that the government does not have to put capital investment into.

SAWEA has joined the major wind industry corporates and associations across the world, in support of the Global Wind Energy Council’s (GWEC) drive to secure wind power’s role in the global economic recovery,

Ramping up installed wind capacity by 1.6GW per annum as allocated in the IRP 2019, would create additional annual investments of about R40 billion each year in South Africa.

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following the Covid-19 crisis, which lays out key policy actions that must be put into motion to realise a sustainable economic recovery.

“Our industry views the first step in this recovery plan is to fast-track the Ministerial Determination concurrence process by NERSA, which should give effect to the IRP 2019 thus enabling the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to proceed with the plans to procure new generation capacity,” says SAWEA CEO, Ntombifuthi Ntuli.

Whilst the wind energy allocation in the 2019 IRP promises to reduce the cost of energy, improve the country’s competitiveness and help deliver the additional power needed to kick-start the economy, the industry is of the view that the procurement of new capacity should be fast-tracked to deliver energy to the grid by 2022 in line with the IRP 2019 stipulations.

We view wind energy as a key building block for economic recovery as it can deliver new electricity infrastructure with private investments, and help South Africa achieve sustainable economic recovery.

Furthermore, the sector has been a source of substantial capital investment in the South African economy, a total of R80 billion has been invested since 2012. Ramping up installed wind capacity by 1.6GW per annum as allocated in the IRP 2019, would create additional annual investments of about R40 billion each year in South Africa, which will help to deliver jobs, clean and affordable power and energy security needed for a sustainable economic recovery.

“SAWEA would like to call on the government, intergovernmental bodies, as well as lending institutions, to put clean energy investments at the centre of their economic recovery and economic stimulus packages by implementing regulations that are fit for purpose, including market designs that provide long-term price visibility and streamlined permitting that enables rapid ramp-up of the deployment of renewables,” concluded SAWEA CEO, Ntuli.

This can also be achieved by enabling end-consumer 100% renewable energy demand to allow corporates to ramp up and meet their sustainability objectives; and removal of regulatory barriers where these exist to enable the private sector to freely purchase renewable energy.

23

MINING

Lessons learned

Creating an environment conducive to self-sustainable community development during the life of mine

BY LISL FAIR, SRK CONSULTING

Livelihood resilience in mining communities is now more important than ever. New threats to self-sustainable livelihoods in these communities have emerged in the past six months.

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hese threats include more mines choosing to reduce production or remain on care and maintenance post-lockdown; worldwide economic volatility; and the widespread socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic affecting lower-income families disproportionally. These factors beg the question: how can development practices increase resilience and create an environment for self-sustainable community development in mining footprint areas?

Key paradigm shifts in development practice are required, notably the need to effect meaningful change that avoids perpetuating social injustice based on historical narratives and economic imbalance of power. This involves moving beyond paternalistic practices aiming to develop for, to a participative asset-based process where mines create meaningful longterm value with communities. The process of creating value needs longerterm objectives, turning short-term ‘charity projects’ into self-sustaining enterprises that help mining communities build resilience and withstand fluctuations in mining activities. Success stories are rare, but sustainability practitioners working to co-create resilient communities do have valuable lessons on making this happen.

An important focus of good practice throughout the mining lifecycle is on its social impact, and how a proactive process of concurrent social self-sustainable development can make communities more resilient. This necessitates a move away from community dependence on the revenues flowing directly from the mining operation.

A non-traditional approach Most mines contribute significantly to local social development projects, either through regulatory requirements or through corporate social investment (CSI) initiatives. Contributions are often made without upfront consultation with recipients, effectively excluding recipients from taking ownership throughout the project’s lifecycle. Examples of this development approach are infrastructure projects such as schools or water wells for communities. All too often, they are developed for communities, with no clear community ownership and maintenance plan.

Traditional approaches to community development do little to create self-sustainable communities. There have, however, been recent practical efforts by mines to take a new approach to community projects – supporting them to build a sustainable foundation for a future beyond the life of the mine.

Sustaining early learning An example of a project showing how this can be done is the Lesedi Early Childhood Development Centre near Ivanhoe Mines’ Platreef Project in South Africa’s Limpopo province. Initially funded by Ivanhoe Mines in terms of the CSI mandate within the mine’s legislated Social and Labour

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Lesedi volunteers in the tree nursery established to help make their early childhood centre self-sustainable.

Plan (SLP), the centre has developed a path that supports its independence.

Started in 2011 as a volunteer organisation, Lesedi was supported by the mine in a five-year multi-pronged engagement from 2014 to 2019.

The support included training courses starting in 2016 – on leadership, childcare and catering – that would foster self-sufficiency. Lesedi and the mine also collaborated on an enterprise approach to generate revenue, starting a tree nursery in 2017. In 2018, the self-sustainability training continued with a process of asset mapping, business viability testing, and a micro-MBA small business course. The project expanded its nursery in 2019 and sought funding from other social development funds.

From our experience, creating self-sustainable community development is most effective if started early in the mine life-cycle. To foster this process, an innovative ‘Self-Sustainability Toolkit’ has been developed to help project teams consider self-sustainability right from the start. This toolkit is applied within a framework covering the full project life-cycle, from initial consultation phases and benchmarking through to project selfmanagement and independence.

The instrument tracks self-sustainability interventions and helps evaluate existing projects against self-sustainability actions. It also poses questions such as these: Did the beneficiaries initiate or request the proposed project – at least in broad concept? Did the project team involve the beneficiaries in the project planning and design? Do the project beneficiaries understand that the ultimate aim is for the project to be financially self-sustainable? Did the beneficiaries receive training in basic project and business management?

The practical lessons in creating self-sustainable social development projects learned in the mining sector to date have been valuable. They should be shared, adapted, and emulated – where appropriate – as we continue to build good practice in this important field.

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ENVIRONMENT

SOLVED

ENVIRONMENT MINING | WATER INFRASTRUCTURE | ENERGY

www.srk.co.za

PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY ORGANISATION

Is your brand going to the dump?

Take responsibility for your product's end-of-life.

Paper producers pay voluntary extended producer responsibility fees.

Be part of the solution. Join Fibre Circle. www.fibrecircle.co.za • PAPER • BOXES • BAGS • BEVERAGE CARTONS • LABELS • PAPER CUPS • CARTONS • SACK KRAFT •

PAPER

Packaging has power and requires

collaborative responsibility

Paper is one of the oldest technologies in the world, and the way it’s sourced and made has come a long way. Still, many companies worry about paper, about printing on it or using it for packaging.

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hese worries emanate from deeply rooted myths that paper is bad for the environment. However, paper is one of the most sustainable materials, says Francois Marais, manager of Fibre Circle, the paper sector’s producer responsibility organisation (PRO), which manages extended producer responsibility (EPR) programmes on behalf of the sector.

“Forestry companies, as well as the downstream value chain of wood and paper-based products, subscribe to certification organisations to ensure that the paper is sourced and produced in a responsible and balanced manner, and that its end-of-life is appropriately managed,” he adds.

EPR, a relatively new concept, describes the lifecycle of products and packaging manufactured, sold and distributed by producers, importers, brand-owners and retailers, collectively referred to as “obliged industries”.

The idea is the brainchild of Thomas Lindhqvist of Sweden’s Lund University, whose 1990 research sought to determine how recycling and waste management were driving cleaner production policies. According to Lindhqvist, EPR makes the manufacturer of the product responsible for the entire lifecycle of the product and especially for its take-back, recycling and final disposal.

EPR dictates that the costs of collection, processing and recycling are placed on the obliged industries, with one of the objectives being to encourage them to design products for better recovery and recycling.

Making the circle bigger Fibre Circle aims to bring together players in the paper and packaging value chain, including obliged industries and brand owners and retailers.

To this end, Fibre Circle has mapped out key groups of products and has been engaging producers and importers of: • Printing and writing grades • Paper packaging and packaging paper for conversion • Paper sacks or sack kraft • Liquid board packaging for beverage and food cartons, including paper cups • Labels and release liner/backing paper

The ultimate renewable While many paper products are classified as single-use, most are recoverable for recycling, and all are renewable.

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South Africa boasts a recovery rate of around 70% of recoverable paper products, which excludes tissue, sanitary products and items like books.

More than 53% of locally-made paper products contain recycled content.

Recyclability requires value Cardboard and cartons make up the largest proportion of recovered paper because they are easy to collect and recycle.

Office paper, a high-value commodity due to virgin fibre content, can be difficult to collect if offices and homes don’t separate at source, while label backing paper or release liners are difficult to recycle due to the siliconised laminate but relatively easy to collect due to large, pre-consumer volumes at factories.

Paper cups and beverage cartons are recyclable, but not easy to recover.

“When a recyclable is difficult to collect, its value to a waste collector is low,” says Marais. “One paper cup isn’t worth the effort for a collector; one tonne of paper cups from one location every week is a different story.”

Fill your cup with Fibre Circle To address this, Fibre Circle has been working on a prototype coffee cup collection bin. Resembling a giant takeaway coffee cup, it comprises three compartments – for liquids, high-density polystyrene lids, and cups, and is ideal for office buildings and high-traffic areas.

Fibre Circle aims to roll out more of these initiatives as its membership grows. “The sector needs practical solutions that prevent usable paper fibre from going to landfill while ensuring it’s turned into value,” says Marais.

Beyond compliance, fostering stewardship In response to the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries’ call for an EPR framework in line with Section 18 of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act 59 of 2008, industry bodies representing the paper, paper packaging and other waste streams had been consulting with Government before the Covid-19 lockdown. “All indications are that EPR will become mandatory in the near future,” says Marais.

“By paying their dues, paper manufacturers, importers and brand owners can extend responsibility beyond their own gates and their customers’ hands, diverting material from landfill, training more people and creating more jobs – something that our country desperately needs,” Marais concludes.

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AIR

REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS NOW NMISA Gas Analysis Laboratory supports the automotive sector through the provision of traceable reference mixtures

BY NMISA

Over the years research has shown a significant increase of toxic and hazardous gases in the atmosphere due to the increase in automobiles and rapid industrialisation, leading to severe indoor and outdoor pollution with detrimental health effects to human life.

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AIR

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ir quality in South Africa has deteriorated with an increase in emission of various toxic and hazardous pollutants into the atmosphere emitted through various sources1. Some of the sources include power generation, domestic, fuel burning, industrial emission, biomass burning and vehicle emissions. These have led to the release of air pollutants such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, benzene and VOCs. Vehicle exhaust emissions have contributed to the air quality deteriorating, especially in urban areas, as a result of the increase in the number of privately-owned vehicles, subsequently leading to an increase in fuel consumption. These emissions contribute to the presence of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, propane and other hydrocarbons in petroleum products (petrol and diesel). The National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA) supports the local automotive industry through the provision of accurate automotive vehicle exhaust primary reference gas mixtures.

The NMISA Gas Analysis Laboratory has established measurement capabilities to provide these gases in 2009, and further demonstrated international equivalence through participation in the international, preparative comparison for automotive emission gas standards (EUROMET 1113) containing propane, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide as components in petroleum products.

NMISA enables compliance to legislation and reliable reporting of emission measurements through the provision primary reference gas mixtures.

To ensure compliance with the CO2 tax, there is a need for accurate standards to monitor CO2 emissions and ensure those correct penalties are applied.

In 2019, NMISA participated in a value assignment international comparison (CCQM K3.2019) containing propane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and oxygen to improve existing vehicle exhaust. The results of the comparison are expected in 2021. NMISA continues to provide accurate, low uncertainty standards required for emission monitoring to enable compliance with legislation and reliable reporting of emission measurement results.

Automotive exhaust emissions contribute significantly to the global emissions of carbon dioxide. In September 2010, South Africa implemented a CO2 emissions tax on all new vehicles as an initiative to improve air quality and reduce vehicle emissions by imposing the use of environmentallyfriendly vehicles. This will also contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions as the increase in atmospheric CO2 emissions is linked to the current global warming crisis. Vehicles emitting over 120 g/km are subjected to a tax penalty of R75 per g/km + VAT. To ensure compliance with the CO2 tax, there is a need for accurate standards to monitor CO2 emissions and ensure those correct penalties are applied.

NMISA enables compliance to legislation and reliable reporting of emission measurements through the provision of primary reference gas mixtures. The Institute is mandated by Measurement Units and Measurement Standards Act, 2006 (Act No. 18 of 2006) provides for the accuracy and international recognition of local measurement results.

NMISA is part of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s family of the Technical Infrastructure Institutes, which also include the South African Bureau of Standards, National Regulator for Compulsory Specification and the South African National Accreditation System, that together provides for confidence in local goods and products and allows for successful prosecution in cases of non-compliance. The accuracy of measurement results can be demonstrated by ensuring that these are traceable to the National Measurement Standards (Government Gazette No. 1131,19 October 2018) realised and maintained by NMISA.

Facebook: NMISouthAfrica Twitter: @NMISouthAfrica Instagram: @nmisouthafrica LinkedIn: National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA) YouTube: National Metrology Institute of South Africa NMISA www.nmisa.org

Reference 1. Department of Environmental Affairs. 2012. 2nd South Africa Environment Outlook. A report on the state of the environment. Executive Summary. Department of Environmental Affairs, Pretoria. 60 pp

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29

ENERGY

Load-shedding

sheds light on need for IRP 2019

BY CALYN MONERON

Intermittent electricity outages have come back in force while South Africa is experiencing an economic setback during the Covid-19 pandemic. The power disruptions, due to Eskom power station breakdowns, highlight the need for the implementation of IRP 2019.

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he Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019 is South Africa’s electricity infrastructure development plan for the procurement of generation capacity up to 2030. IRP 2019 supports a diverse energy mix and sets out nine policy interventions to ensure the security of South Africa’s electricity supply. The resource plan is based on the least-cost electricity supply and demand balance, considering the security of supply and the environment through the minimisation of negative emission and water use.

The government launched its inaugural Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa (SIDSSA) to plan its immediate infrastructure project pipeline aimed at reconstructing South Africa’s economic trajectory. At SIDSSA various investments in the energy sector were analysed. Eleven energy projects were chosen with an investment value of R270 billion. The projects are expected to produce more than 2 000MW. At an energy roundtable held as part of SIDSSA, Thsifhiwa Bernard Magoro, the recently appointed head of South Africa’s Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO), announced that the bidding round for the procurement of utility-scale renewable energy projects (Bid Window 5), would be launched in the second quarter of 2021. Magoro specified that the finalisation of bid documentation for the Risk Mitigation Power Purchase Programme (RMPPP) was a priority and the request for proposals for RMPPP would be released towards the end of July 2020. The IPPO aim to secure 2 000MW of emergency energy to fill an immediate supply gap that had been identified in IRP 2019.

The COO for the SA Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA), Nivesh Govender, responded that they are not convinced that the 2 000MW emergency round would be sufficient to address any short-term capacity restraints. SAPVIA has approached the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) and recommended that this should be increased to at least 4 000MW with 2 000MW of this being reserved for the Minister’s determination. Govender proposes that the second 2 000MW should remain open for bilateral self-generation builds. “These bilateral self-generation builds require slight regulatory adjustments and will achieve the quickest addition of power at no cost to the government,” Govender said.

During SIDSSA, the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, indicated that the IRP for Round 5 would be published in March 2021. Govender believes that this timeframe coupled with the emergency round and storage acquisition will help achieve grid stability in the midterm.

“These procurements together with a robust self-generation programme will definitely contribute to the desired outcome,” Govender said.

There has also been talk of Eskom being able to access available excess capacity from current IPP projects. “While there is excess capacity available

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from a number of IPPs, this would require a process. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy IPPO and Eskom would need to determine how this will happen. I assume they will engage with each of these projects individually and negotiate this. As far as I understand, this process has not moved,” added the SAPVIA COO. “The IRP’s biggest opportunity is in low-cost electricity which would create additional operational and construction jobs and only consistency will open the prospect for domestic manufacturing of renewable components. Embedded solar energy can also contribute to ensuring energy security in the short- and medium-term which is now even more critical,” says Govender. The solar industry has a policy target to generate 6GW of energy by 2030 and will contribute to the procurement of 2 000MW of distributed energy by 2024.

“Implementation of the IRP is a valuable tool to kick-start our economic response to the pandemic and can go a long way to giving our country the stability and certainty of a reliable power source. Our economy and our future simply cannot afford the uncertainty that comes with the spectre of possibly again going through load-shedding,” concludes Govender.

Utility-scale technologies outlined in the IRP 2019 6 800MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind capacity for the years 2022 to 2024 513MW of storage to be procured for the year 2022 3 000MW from gas for the years 2024 to 2027 1 500MW from coal for the years 2023 to 2027

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