Green Economy Journal Issue 39

Economy G

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Issue 39 R29.00 incl VAT 9 772410 645003

Water Risks quality and availability Green Finance a unicorn no more!

11025

Infrastructure decoupling rand and ruin New Skillforce greening our economy

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Contents ISSUE 39

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NEWS & SNIPPETS

WATER STORAGE When business-as-usual is no longer an option

PROFILE Toyota’s environmental programme

ECONOMY Sustainable finance: a gamechanger for SA

ECONOMY A guide to carbon tax submissions

INFRASTRUCTURE Decoupling economic growth from environmental harm

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Focusing on the action and not the words

PROFILE NCPC-SA impacting skills development

BIOENERGY Wasted food, wasted water, wasted economy

EVENTS CTICC and corporate sustainability

ENERGY Green jobs are good for the economy

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Lightweight, shatterproof and, above all, convenient for our daily lives. It’s no secret that plastic bottles are very useful in our modern society. But only when they are discarded irresponsibly or thoughtlessly after use, do they end up polluting. By choosing to recycle, you’re ensuring that they can become bottles yet again. This eliminates the chance that they harm the environment, creates income opportunities for many individuals involved in their collection and processing, and contributes positively to our country’s GDP. Recycling PET plastic bottles ensures that a circular economy is established where their value can continue indefinitely.

16 BILLION PET bottles collected for recycling

R6.6 BILLION injected into South Africa’s economy

68 000

income opportunities created** ** 2018 specifically

1905356_FP_E

Keep plastic bottles in use.

Always recycle.

Economy

Now that COVID-19 is upon us, all other issues appear small and somewhat irrelevant, but that could not be further from the truth.

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As we adapt to our new reality, the question, apart from how can I play my role in delaying the spread of this virus, is what will the world be like after COVID-19?

That answer depends to some degree on just how severe the pandemic becomes, and God-willing, South Africa will somehow shallow dip out of the worst of it.

I predict a world of greater caution, greater attention to detail.

One in which health and freedoms are no longer taken for granted, and I believe this will extend to the broader health of the world around us.

In these circumstances, I see the green economy becoming even more mainstream, with companies being expected to do what’s right for all stakeholders and being rewarded with loyalty and the concomitant success that flows from such a market positioning.

It may be that green economy solutions, which are intrinsically clean and healthy, will ultimately prevail. A vision that is borne out of two extremes: the vulnerability to COVID-19 of communities living with respiratory illnesses along the coal belts near Witbank, and the desperate efforts by Saudi Arabia to capitalise on their vast stockpiles of oil as the end of the combustion engine starts to crystallise on the horizon.

And all at once - a ray of hope of the appears through the soot: Eskom releases a request for proposals for independent power generation! Somehow, it’s a good day.

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ISSN NUMBER: 2410-6453

PUBLICATION DATE: March 2020

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PUBLISHER

Green Economy Journal is audited by ABC

Issue 39 R29.00 incl VAT

Water Risks quality and availability

9 772410 645003

Green Finance a unicorn no more!

11025

It may be that green economy solutions, which are intrinsically clean and healthy, will ultimately prevail.

e

Editor-in-Chief: Gordon Brown

Economy

Yours,

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journal

I predict new standards, higher levels of compliance, and more regulation. In short, those companies already leading the way in respect of governance and stewardship will emerge with an even greater competitive advantage, and the rest will be left behind.

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Infrastructure decoupling rand and ruin New Skillforce greening our economy

Cover image: Courtesy of Veolia Water

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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News & Snippets the IPP process. CTF sought to interdict the conclusion by Eskom of the then-pending PPAs with 3 bid window 4 IPPs, which had not been signed when they argued their case. CTF further argued in its founding affidavit that the renewables programme would impact negatively on Eskom’s financial performance.

SAWEA CEO Ntombifuthi Ntuli welcomed this final judgement issued by the Supreme Court of Appeal, handed down earlier this year.

SAWEA

Perdekraal East Wind Farm

SAWEA WELCOMES COURT RULING The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has welcomed a judgement by the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissing a case brought by the Coal Transporters Forum (CTF) to set aside power purchase agreements (PPAs) with preferred bidders.

CTF had argued that the court should declare null and void all Round 4 PPAs signed by Eskom with IPPs at the time because it claimed that the National Energy Regulator of SA (NERSA) had not properly approved the section 34 authorisation, which was a pre-requisite for

According to a CarbonBrief analysis it is estimated that the coronavirus cut China’s carbon emissions by 25% over a period of four weeks.

SOUTH AFRICAN KIDS LEARN ABOUT RENEWABLES English, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Setswana speaking children are learning about the role that wind power is playing as the world transitions to renewable through a beautifully illustrated storybook, aptly named ‘Let the Wind Blow’.

“The amazingly insightful tale of the desire for a healthier planet, inspired by a conversation between two mums, a Polish wind advocate and a British journalist, as well as a talented young Iranian artist who brings the story to life, is a great way to gently teach our country’s young children about benefits of wind energy.

The South African version has also been contextualised, which makes it easier for our children to relate to,” explained Ntombifuthi Ntuli, CEO of South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA).

SAWEA has taken the opportunity to make this book available to schools, libraries and parents, both in print and electronic versions.

To download your copy visit https://sawea. org.za/let-the-wind-blow/

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Ntombifuthi Ntuli

Water scarcity: not understanding what is needed “Water scarcity is the next big threat we face in the coming months as the coronavirus pandemic spreads, particularly in our country where there is a wide gap between ‘first’ and ‘third’ worlds. Not having access to water to frequently wash hands could mean the difference between life or death for some,” says Mannie Jnr. Ramos, COO of Abeco, the world’s first ‘bank’ for water and leader in hygienic water storage solutions in Africa for over 35 years.

Ramos does not welcome calling attention to this fact while our country is facing concerns around safety and their livelihoods, due to Covid-19. “This issue has to be voiced,” he says, “there is a very real threat to those living in areas where water is not accessible. In addition, the drain on existing water resources which are already in crisis needs to be addressed in our coronavirus crisis planning, sooner rather than later.”

By 2030 over a third of the world population will be living in significant water stress, including many of the countries and regions that drive global economic growth, with an estimated 40% gap between demand and supply.

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News & Snippets

PLASTICS SA HELPS LAUNCH WASTE NETWORK

No rush for renewables

As part of the African Marine Waste Network, various projects have been initiated around South Africa to stem the tide of marine pollution.

Although activities are currently coordinated and managed by the Clean Surf Project, a South Coast steering committee has been formed consisting of industry, government and environmental organisations.

“Launching the KZN Marine Waste Network South Coast is directly aligned with the aims and objectives set by the SA Initiative to End Plastic Waste, i.e. solving the issue of plastic in the

February 2020: Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe cautioned that the department would not be rushed by renewable energy lobbyists to open the renewable energy IPP procurement programme’s bid window 5.

He emphasised that the S34 determinations – which would allow municipalities to procure electricity from IPPs – need to first be concurred with by the energy regulator before this bid window can be opened.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) received two ministerial determinations enabling Government to procure emergency and utility-scale projects to address the electricity deficit plaguing South Africa.

In terms of the legal framework, both the National Energy Regulator Act and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) require NERSA to observe procedural fairness and allow for public consultation in its decisionmaking processes.

Following from this, an expedited publicparticipation process by NERSA or potentially even dispensing with the entire publicparticipation process may be permissible and necessary to enable a swift response by Government to close the existing electricity supply deficit of 30 000MW.

environment. It is significant in its ability to unite industry partners around a common goal and we are very excited about the future possibilities that this project holds. Not only does it offer a very real environmental solution for reducing waste in the environment, but it will also have very positive socio-economic spin-offs for local communities thanks to future job creation and youth development. We are truly fortunate to be part of such a significant initiative,” says Douw Steyn, Plastics SA. www.plasticsinfo.co.za

The voice of the public South Africa is a developing nation, however, advancement in development does not come without its environmental impacts. Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) play an important role in ensuring the environmental and social impacts are mitigated as much as possible. Equally as important is including the voice of the public in the EIA process.

Reputation Matters has launched its public participation service to support environmental practitioners and developers with the public participation process. The purpose of public participation is to provide a source of information for the public about the EIA and proposed development. It also allows stakeholders to register as interested and affected parties (I&APs) to submit their comments, concerns and recommendations.

Public participation is a vital component to the EIA process and will largely influence the Department of Environmental Affairs’ decision to approve a development based on the EIA. www.reputationmatters.co.za

Africa’s move towards solar energy is rapidly underway According to industry experts, the future scope of solar energy for Africa is extensive and has seen exponential growth in the past few years.

The continent has experienced a growth of over 1.8 GW of new solar installations, with 1.4 GW related to photovoltaic (PV) installations, which is a considerable increase from the 786MW that was connected in 2017. In 2016, South Africa had 1329MW of installed solar power capacity and this capacity is expected to reach 8400MW by 2030.

African nations and their respective municipalities lack the available grid infrastructure and required funding to upgrade the existing network or grid. Owing to the lack of infrastructure upgrades, along with the rising cost of fuel and electricity, an increasing number of companies are transitioning to solar. This is not only to yield the associated returns but to gain access to reliable power.

Successful implementation of solar is futile without regional cooperation to enable expediting the process of implementing solar under a single framework. As most municipalities operate completely independently from one Green Economy Journal - GreenEconomyOnline greeneconomy.media

another, this consequently implies that they are unable to foresee or understand the benefits or the process of such regional integration initiatives.

Addressing Africa’s large and persistent power deficit is key to achieving economic and social targets. There is significant potential for solar power, both at the utility and off-grid scale, to assist in reducing this shortfall. This is because of the given high solar irradiation in

many countries, as well as the declining price of PV equipment in recent years.

Governments increasingly see both forms of solar power as critical to their electrification objectives. In an endeavour to increase investment on the continent’s solar front, African ministers are encouraging international investors to participate in solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) processes and are empowering them to own and operate solar farms in their own capacity.

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Water Management

When business-as-usual is no longer an option

By JAMES CULLIS, AURECON

With increasing pressure from population growth and the need for water to support economic growth, South Africa’s water security is at risk. Additional threats are posed by climate change, land-use changes, declining water quality, and catchment degradation.

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ot only is it vital that South Africa continues to invest in the development of its physical water infrastructure systems, but we must also invest in the people who manage these systems and maintain our critical ecological infrastructure such as wetlands, catchments, groundwater aquifers, and river systems,” Aurecon Technical Director James Cullis attests.

South Africa has always been a water-stressed country and has developed a complex and highly integrated bulk water distribution system. Johannesburg is the only global city to be located on a continental divide, while South Africa has one of the highest numbers of large dams per capita globally. Therefore, the country’s water-resource expertise and legislation are respected globally.

“Investing in technical and institutional capacity, improved operations, water-use efficiency, and the development of decision support systems is particularly important as we become increasingly dependent on these more complex and stressed water-supply systems. We also need to balance the trade-off between competing demands for an increasingly scarce resource. Financial constraints and a lack of capacity and accountability for the management of our water resources is a constraint requiring innovative solutions, particularly in Africa,” Cullis elaborates.

There are still significant opportunities for improved water-use efficiency through replacing old pipes, reducing leaks, and by implementing new technologies such as low-flush toilets, improved irrigation systems, and pressure-management devices. Smart technologies, improved monitoring, and operational decision support systems are also critical to reduce wastage.

The future will see a transition to more diverse and alternative water-supply options. In particular, the potential for increased reuse of

wastewater for both direct and indirect purposes has many advantages.

This is increasingly recognised as an important water-supply option for the future, particularly for landlocked countries or regions, including Gauteng.

Demand management will, however, continue to be an important component for managing the variability of water supply.

“The private sector will have an increasing role in coming up with longterm water solutions,” Cullis elaborates. Trends include a general move towards more decentralised water supply and treatment solutions, just the same as is happening for energy, but the private sector will also be critical in terms of providing the financing as part of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for water.

“We have undertaken water resource planning and feasibility studies for alternative water-supply options, including deep groundwater aquifers, desalination, and direct and in-direct potable re-use. We are assisting municipalities in terms of access to financing, development of their digital transformation strategy, and the development of decision support systems to improve operational efficiencies and reduce losses,” Cullis concludes.

We need to balance the trade-off between competing demands for an increasingly scarce resource.

*Aurecon undertakes advisory, planning and engineering design for water infrastructure, as well as hydrology, water-resource planning and feasibility studies across Africa.

Aurecon is currently in the process of rebranding as Zutari, after officially announcing the separation of the African business from the Aurecon Group, effective from 1 January 2020.

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Water Management

Photos by JG Afrika

Urban Water Management

BY BENJAMIN BIGGS, CIVIL ENGINEER, JG AFRIKA

The uninterrupted availability for clean water for many industries is a prerequisite for operations. To what extent are companies in South Africa at risk of interruptions in the supply of water, or the supply of quality water of the required standard?

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ape Town’s Drought of the Century forever changed the City’s urban water management landscape. Declared as a disaster area in May 2017, the City of Cape Town faced severe level 6b water restrictions – up to 50 litres per person per day. Residents and businesses alike experienced considerable water tariff increases. The possibility of Day Zero threatened business continuity and precipitated a necessary discussion on the value of water as a resource.

Cape Town’s water comes almost entirely from surface water resources (i.e. rainfall run-off into dams), which is captured and stored in six major reservoirs around the city. Supply dependence on surface water resources can reduce supply resilience to climatic shocks, such as drought.

Considering tariff increases and supply stresses; reducing domestic and commercial water demand; as well as associated water costs has become important for industries, homeowners and businesses. Consumption in toilets, taps, showers and irrigation typically comprise 60-80% of potable use in domestic and commercial areas and targeting these water uses became the focus for demand reduction strategies.

Interestingly, business continuity, rather than savings on utility bills, became a primary motivation for de-centralised alternative supply.

Water Sensitive Design (WSD) WSD is a globally accepted concept that addresses the limitations of conventional urban water management. It integrates all aspects of the water cycle with urban design to provide economic, environmental and social (sustainability) benefits. These principles form a framework through which sustainable water management can be achieved.

Alternative supply CASE STUDY: STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY GREYWATER SYSTEM These principles were applied in the design and operation of a greywater system at Stellenbosch University (SUN). One of the largest of its kind in Africa and a Water Category winner at the 2019 South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) Western Cape Regional Awards, the system was designed to provide fit-for-purpose water for SUN. Once both installation phases have been completed, the network will flush over 1 300 toilets used by about 25 000 university students to meet a significant portion of campus water supply and supplement campus irrigation. During term time, up to 75 m3/day of greywater can be treated and reused (Phase 1). This capacity could be increased to between 150 and 200 m3/day after Phase 2.

Eight representative buildings on campus were assessed and modelled.

Water characteristics from each type were then extrapolated across campus to other similar buildings and calibrated against utility data to develop a comprehensive campus water balance. Interventions focused on the top 40 users, comprising 80% of total water demand and the WSD principles were then applied according to the Water-Management Hierarchy. Notably, campus interventions introduced as part of the first “reduce” stage of the Water-Management Hierarchy decreased potable water use during the drought by more than 50%.

Alternative water supplies were then investigated. The Water Masterplan identified treated greywater reuse on campus as a viable alternative

‘Fit-for-purpose’ use is important when selecting a suitable alternative supply for a local site. Not all water supply needs to be a potable (drinking) standard. The application, available quantities and associated risk should determine the level of treatment incorporated. Non-potable use within buildings often necessitates altering plumbing networks – a process that is the easiest to incorporate during the design stage.

Source diversification Source diversification provides resilience against climatic shocks, such as drought. This requires identifying and matching suitable alternative sources with appropriate application(s).

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Photo by JG Afrika

Fit-for-purpose

SUN greywater treatment plant and storage facility.

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Water Management

Photo by JG Afrika

Inside the treatment plant container. supply. JG Afrika was appointed to implement a campus-wide greywater reuse system for toilet flushing and irrigation.

In this system, shower greywater from selected residences is isolated from blackwater and redirected into the collection system via sumps, manholes and grit traps and distributed to a treatment plant.

The treatment plant on-site can treat, store and distribute up to 100m³ of greywater a day at a peak supply of 6 l/s. Treatment steps include primary sedimentation, aeration, solids removal/physical filtration and disinfection/ sterilisation using hydrogen peroxide dosing. The treated water is stored in tanks at the treatment plant for daily use and in future (Phase 2), excess greywater will be boosted into the existing irrigation network.

Treated greywater is pumped to a header tank with a booster system situated on the roof of a residence to pressurise the non-potable network, which includes a municipal potable supply backup. Plumbed directly into the toilets, this network plans to be expanded to supply and collect from additional campus buildings during the second phase of the project.

and a booster system, was installed for flushing toilets and irrigation. This system enabled off-grid use for between six and eight months of the year and increased municipal saving to 83% from the baseline year.

The combined savings realised by the rainwater harvesting system and efficient fixtures under drought tariffs enable a payback of three to four years for all water optimisation measures. With an alternative supply available, the risk of closing the office should Day Zero arrive was also eradicated and business continuity guaranteed.

CONCLUSIONS FROM CASE STUDIES WSUD principles, applied to the Stellenbosch University Campus using ‘The Water Management Hierarchy,’ improved the campus water sustainability.

The SUN greywater was designed to improve campus supply resilience and provide ‘fit-for-purpose’ water.

JG Afrika demonstrated that demand reduction measures – regardless of implementation scale – can be simple, cost-effective and result in better than expected savings. Installation of efficient fixtures typically does not require behaviour change and only minor maintenance. These measures can be implemented by a local plumbing team and do not usually depend upon additional technical assistance.

Furthermore, rainwater harvesting when used alongside efficient fittings can be highly effective in maintaining business continuity during a drought and reducing utility bills.

Implementing similar measures to these two case studies on a larger scale could considerably alleviate pressures on regional and national water supply and enable water savings in other offices, homes and campuses. *Benjamin Biggs is a civil engineer in JG Afrika’s Municipal Infrastructure and Sustainability divisions.

The Water Management Hierarchy

Interestingly, business continuity, rather than savings on utility bills, became a primary motivation for de-centralised alternative supply.

Alternative supply CASE STUDY: JG AFRIKA’S RAINWATER SYSTEM During the drought conditions in the Western Cape, JG Afrika’s Cape Town office decided to install a rainwater-harvesting system to provide an alternative source of water should municipal supply cease to be readily available.

Implemented as early as 2011, JG Afrika’s demand-side management at its office had already recorded a 73% saving in water use. Retrofitted old water fixtures with water-saving items began in 2013 through a series of water-saving interventions, including reduced irrigation time and waterless urinals.

Further measures, such as hold-flush toilets, low-flow taps and showers were undertaken in 2016 and 2017. Educational information on the effects of the drought and responsibilities of the consumer was distributed to staff and engagement on the suitability of installed fixtures was facilitated regularly with employees. Water-efficient retrofits kept office water use below level 6b water restriction targets and reduced utility bills considerably.

Once demand had been reduced, a rainwater harvesting system – comprising 30kl of storage, activated carbon filtration and UV-sterilisation

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WSD principles can be implemented through this JG Afrika strategy comprising three stages. i. After a mandatory baseline assessment is undertaken to develop a site water balance that provides an understanding of water use on-site, JG Afrika first focuses on reducing demand. This can be done by, inter alia, installing efficient fittings; addressing leaks; educating staff/users and encouraging behavioural change; as well as managing system pressures. Importantly, reducing demand is emphasised before implementing alternative supply solutions.

This step is critical in decreasing quantities of alternative supply required and, in so doing, reducing installation, operation and maintenance costs, as well as utility bills, while also facilitating good stewarding of precious water resources. Many projects have saved over 50% in water use after implementing these measures. ii. The second stage entails reusing greywater and rainwater in ‘fitfor-purpose’ applications, such as toilet flushing and irrigation iii.

Alternative supply from more conventional sources, such as borehole abstraction in conjunction with sustainable drainage systems managed aquafer recharge, river abstraction and treated wastewater reuse, are assessed in the final stage as a last resort.

Local world-class initiatives - Working for Water programme, administered by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) - Working for Wetlands joint initiative by the DEA and other bodies - Greater Cape Town Water Fund

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Profile

A Sustainable Post-Mining Future: The Reuse Potential of AMD

By Tamsyn Grewar and Kerri du Preez (Biotechnology Division of Mintek)

Mining is a significant driver of the South African economy, however a lack of enforcement of regulations has left a legacy of environmental and socio-economic impacts, including uninhabitable land and acid mine drainage (AMD). The AMD produced from our gold and coal mines contains abnormally high levels of sulphate with relatively low metal concentrations, which is a uniquely South African problem.

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n view of the anticipated number of mines due to close in the near future, the impact of uncontrolled and untreated decant of acid water on the environment and communities will be significant and severe, including: 1. Serious and long-term consequences for community health 2. Contamination of natural water bodies 3. Unavoidable job losses Currently, South Africa does not have a commercially available, sustainable solution for the treatment of AMD. We need to look at finding integrated solutions to solving the most immediate challenges around AMD treatment, instead of trying to solve this problem in isolation. A truly sustainable solution should address the Triple Bottom Line: Society, the Environment and the Economy.

Innovators in the sustainability arena are proactively investigating new ways of sharing resources between industries. Two of the largest combined water users in South Africa are mining and agriculture, and a strategic marriage of these two industries, at least in part, could make a significant contribution to addressing the damage caused by our mining legacy.

Over the past few years Mintek’s Biotechnology Division has been developing a biological process for the treatment of AMD. Mintek’s cloSURETM technology employs biological sulphate reduction, facilitated by a complex consortium of microbes. It has been developed as a low-cost, low-maintenance technology for treatment of AMD, and is particularly suitable for treating small point sources in remote locations that lack services and infrastructure, such as mines after closure. cloSURETM takes a three-pronged approach to mine water treatment, by removing metals, increasing pH and removing sulphate to below limits required for safe discharge or reuse. It also produces relatively small volumes of waste in comparison to current treatment alternatives, such as high density sludge processes. The process overcomes the obstacle of high substrate costs by utilising organic waste products, including cow manure. cloSURETM consists of a number of stages. AMD typically has a pH between 2 and 3. Currently a partial neutralisation step is required, since the sulphate reducing bacteria have a lower pH limit of around 5. However the cloSURE group at Mintek is undertaking research to overcome this issue so as to eliminate the pre-treatment step and the associated costs.

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Mintek’s pilot plant located at a coal mine in Mpumalanga The pre-neutralised AMD is then treated in two successive steps. Stage 1 employs anaerobic sulphate reduction, while Stage 2 facilitates aerobic sulphide oxidation. Stage 1 does most of the heavy lifting in terms of water treatment, by removing sulphates, metals and further neutralising the effluent. Stage 2 is primarily a polishing step to remove excess sulphide and any remaining metals of concern prior to re-use.

To date, the process has been piloted at a local coal mine treating 300L of AMD a day. Preliminary data shows that the treated water would be of a suitable quality to irrigate a number of hardy crops grown on the Mpumalanga Highveld, including maize, wheat, potatoes and sorghum.

The next phase will demonstrate the treatment and re-use of the water in irrigated crop trials with local partners.

The primary objective of the cloSURETM process is to produce treated water that is fit for re-use in irrigated agriculture. An alternative water resource and rehabilitated mine land has the potential to create agriindustrial hubs which would promote entrepreneurship, and employment in local communities.

The broader vision of the project encompasses skills development and new inclusive economies around mine water in the Mpumalanga region.

Such an approach to protect community health and water resources, while promoting socio-economic development of affected communities, has the potential to change the post-mining landscape of South Africa.

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Profile

Toyota ramping up

environmental programmes in South Africa

Toyota South Africa Motors has been an enthusiastic and very active supporter of local environmental initiatives for many years, participating in public projects such as beach and river clean-ups as well as having long-running, structured programmes for the company itself and its dealers.

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Halfway Toyota George is a green dealership and the current holder of the Toyota Environmental Dealer of the Year

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strategy is now being implemented to ramp up the programme on all levels in South Africa, particularly at the 219 Toyota and Lexus dealerships countrywide. There is also a strategy to increase public awareness of all these eco-friendly actions at the dealerships which benefit local communities as well as the environment.

“We are keen to encourage other automotive vehicle dealerships in South Africa to get involved in environmental projects to show consumers a caring attitude by the local motor industry as a whole,” says John Thomson, Vice President – Service, at Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM).

“Driving environmental programmes is a win-win situation for all involved and that is why we are now stepping up our dealer programme.”

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Profile

Rainwater is collected and water recycled at Halfway Toyota George

Halfway Toyota George’s service manager, Frans de Winnaar, checking daily environmental compliance at the dealership

Solar panels on the roof of Halfway Toyota, George.

Bins used for waste separation at the Dealer.

An initial step, taken many years ago, was for all dealers to sign a commitment to support TSAM’s environmental programme. This has expanded over the years into a structured, sophisticated programme that has become more comprehensive over time, with a set of standards that require compliance.

Each dealership has a chief environmental officer with the seniority and correct reporting line. He or she can take any transgressions to the dealer principal and institute remedial action immediately.

Already 200 of the Toyota and Lexus dealerships have attained Toyota’s ECO-3 standard, which included several of the relevant, key elements of the international ISO 14001 standard. Now the Toyota benchmark has been raised to ECO-3 Advanced which brings it in line with recent revisions to the ISO 14001 standard. TSAM uses its own standards because obtaining ISO 14001 certification would be extremely onerous and expensive for individual dealerships.

“Our objective now is to get the dealers to an ECO-3 Advanced level which puts even more focus on reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, promotes a recycling culture that minimises waste to landfill and optimises water usage,” explained Charles Classen and Gregory Molise who drives the dealer environmental programme for Toyota SA. The ultimate driver of this programme is the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 which was launched globally in October 2015 and aims to make Toyota the most environmentally responsible motor manufacturer in the world. Here in South Africa, the requirements and solutions are very much homegrown to suit local conditions and resources with the aim of continued positive results.

The main tool used to manage progress is the Dealer Environmental Risk Audit Programme (DERAP), where dealers have to undertake

self-audits twice a year to monitor compliance. This process involves the dealer evaluating five fundamental points comprising of 16 assessment points to demonstrate compliance. The Toyota field staff provide an additional checkpoint at each dealer to verify conformance.

Dealers are encouraged to voluntarily implement action plans to reduce pollution and natural resource usage, specifically in terms of energy generation, water consumption and waste-to-landfill generated.

Dealers are urged to precisely measure and evaluate the impacts of their activities on the environment and the outcomes of actions to improve the situation.

Toyota uses the carrot instead of the stick to encourage enthusiastic involvement by the dealers in the environmental projects and this strategy is working. The rewards include incentive bonuses with the ultimate yearly prize for best dealer carrying with it an overseas trip.

Halfway Toyota in George is the current holder of this title, which followed the relocation of the dealership to new premises that included a number of design elements and installations to minimise energy consumption and dependency on the municipal water supply.

Installation of 288 solar panels on the roof is capable of supplying more than enough power for the dealership. LED lights are used in the workshop, while louvres in the roof permit natural light, thereby reducing electricity use substantially. Three large tanks collect rainwater, while recycled water is used for the car wash, which has a sophisticated filter system that permits in excess of 50 cars a day to be washed.

“We continue to make significant progress in terms of decreasing Toyota’s environmental footprint in all aspects of our business and the latest programme changes will help us retain our reputation as a caring company,” concluded John Thomson.

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ECONOMY

Rising adoption of

sustainable finance

will boost South Africa’s green economy

BY NIGEL BECK, HEAD OF SUSTAINABLE FINANCE AND RENTIA VAN TONDER, HEAD OF POWER FOR STANDARD BANK

South African companies are showing unprecedented interest in sustainable finance solutions – a trend that will give further impetus to the country’s green economy.

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lobally, sustainable debt issuances surged 60% to a record high of US$415bn in 2019, according to Bloomberg data. While green bonds still account for more than half of all issuances, green loans and sustainability loans are starting to gain traction.

For the time being, South Africa is behind the curve when it comes to the adoption of sustainable finance. But we are seeing a sharp increase in interest from corporate clients, who are considering new opportunities to initiate and implement renewable energy projects, ensure their buildings are ‘green’, and to launch water- and energy-efficiency initiatives.

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Opportunities abound in every sector. A 2019 study by advisory firm Consulting for Sustainable Solutions found that in the property sector, there is much-untapped potential for sustainable finance. In the residential segment, R216bn worth of property in South Africa currently meets the Climate Bonds Initiative’s requirements for certification, while R4.7bn worth of commercial property meets those requirements.

However, as per the green-building principles, more than R100bn worth of commercial property could qualify as green buildings. There are already more than 500 certified green buildings in South Africa, according to the Green Economy Journal - GreenEconomyOnline greeneconomy.media

ECONOMY Green Building Council of South Africa. Collectively, these buildings are yielding significant water and electricity efficiencies, easing the strain on our natural resources.

In response to heightened demand from clients for sustainable and impactful investment expertise, Standard Bank Group recently formed a sustainable finance business unit. This unit has raised a US$200m green bond, which it will use to finance eligible green projects – renewable energy, energy efficiency, water efficiency and green buildings.

Renewable energy comes to the fore We are currently seeing a surge in demand for decentralised renewable energy projects, where clients can reduce their reliance on the national grid through self-generation.

This trend has been boosted by Government’s positive comments towards support to unlock the regulatory environment to allow companies to produce their own power – one of several steps underway to open up the market. There is a strong demand for renewable energy within the mining industry, which is on a drive to raise environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores as investors promote the sustainability agenda.

Thanks to sharp cost declines, solar power solutions are more attractive than before, and costs are still coming down. There are now numerous providers of modular solar technologies, and the industry is benefiting from global learnings and best practices that have been developed over the years. And while the accompanying energy storage units remain relatively expensive, these costs are declining with technology becoming more bankable.

Further, demand for decentralised power is being partly driven by continued instances of load-shedding and steep tariff hikes for companies tied to the national grid, which is expected to continue for at least another 18 months (in the case of South Africa).

Industrial firms too are expressing a renewed interest in off-grid solutions, particularly rooftop solar installations, focusing on the reliable and sustainable supply of power. In most cases, hybrid solutions are considered, contracted over a 10- to 15-year period to support price certainty.

While South Africa remains Africa’s biggest market for renewable energy, neighbouring countries including Namibia, Mozambique and Botswana are following a similar path, as are others across the continent.

There is pent-up demand for sustainable finance that unlocks these projects, and we believe the market is set to grow rapidly now that more funding solutions are being brought to market.

Government playing its part The Government is also taking steps to stimulate the green economy.

In his budget speech, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said the carbon tax will bring in R1.75bn over the next few months, and that this will be complemented by more focussed spending on climate change mitigation.

The carbon tax is aimed at encouraging a shift towards cleaner sources of energy and is underpinned by the fact that the urgent need to address climate change need not be at the expense of economic growth.

The first phase of the carbon tax’s implementation, which runs to 2022, is about sensitising the market to the pricing of carbon emissions and involves relatively modest tax rates. However, with rates set to increase in phase two, companies need to be as prepared as possible.

A business-as-usual scenario is no longer an option and we must take appropriate action to help transition our economy onto a low-carbon growth path, as articulated in South Africa’s National Development Plan.

The carbon tax is one of the policy instruments in play to nudge the economy onto a sustainable trajectory.

We see the next two to three years as being a critical window for the green economy – a period in which many far-reaching policy and investment decisions will be made.

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Climate change is one of the greatest issues of our time, and banks have an essential role to play in reducing the carbon-intensity of the world economy.

Encouragingly, the world-renowned renewable energy independent power producer programme (REIPPP) is gaining fresh momentum.

Minister Mboweni said bid window four of the programme is being accelerated, while the rapid decline in renewable energy prices bodes well for the next round of bidding.

A large number of international and local groups are gearing themselves up for future bidding rounds, and the local banking sector is positioning itself accordingly.

Government has also launched a Request for Information (RFI) for the procurement of emergency power through a Medium-Term Power Procurement Program (MTPPP) for 2-3GW. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) will communicate next steps in due course. At the same time, it will soon be possible for financially healthy municipalities to buy electricity directly from independent power producers.

The budget document shows that of the 91 active renewable energy projects, 64 are already operational – adding about 4 gigawatts of power to the national grid. The 27 projects that are currently under construction are expected to add another 2.4 gigawatts to the grid.

As the next round of bidding gets underway, and as private companies move towards decentralised solutions while municipalities procure their own power, renewable energy is set to account for an increasingly larger portion of South Africa’s energy mix.

Alongside the trend towards green buildings and the adoption of water- and energy-efficiency initiatives, this augurs well for South Africa’s green economy.

Broad approach needed All organisations should be considering green initiatives and finance solutions as investors increasingly shift their mandates towards sustainability. A focus for Standard Bank will be looking at opportunities aligned to its sustainable bond framework. These include renewable power projects – including wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, biogas and geothermal projects – and initiatives to replace refrigerants with loweremission alternatives.

Climate change adaptation projects – for instance, the expansion or maintenance of flood defence systems – could also qualify, as can initiatives to increase the resilience of agribusinesses against climate change.

Energy efficiency projects, green buildings, green transportation and pollution-control initiatives could also qualify.

These initiatives will help to ensure sustainable economic growth and the safeguarding of our natural environment. Climate change is one of the greatest issues of our time, and banks have an essential role to play in reducing the carbon-intensity of the world economy.

As Africa’s largest bank by assets, Standard Bank fully recognises the importance of its role. The bank considers itself as bound by Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, and has published restrictive policies on the funding of coal-fired power projects and coal mining projects. The group also recently became a founding signatory to the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Banking.

This bolsters our commitment to Africa’s green economy.

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ECONOMY

Are you Ready?

A Checklist Approach to Carbon Tax Submissions

BY Lodewijk Nell, EcoMetrix Africa

Businesses and government organisations, across a wide range of sectors beyond heavy industry, are well-advised to prepare now for the first-ever carbon tax submission deadline on 31 July 2020 – just weeks away.

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he carbon tax submission process is complex and intricate, and a step-by-step checklist approach is recommended to ensure all the requirements are met in full and on time. To simplify the process, our carbon professionals use these questions to assist businesses in monitoring and assessing their progress to successfully meeting the tax deadline, while also minimising tax exposure – now and in the future.

1. Certain your business is not liable?

Verify if your business activities are liable by checking against the tax-free thresholds in Schedule 1 of the Act, bearing in mind that a limited number of relatively small equipment combined can easily result in exceeding a threshold. For example, three 1MW back-up generators with 30% electrical efficiency together count for a combined thermal capacity of the 10MW equal to the common threshold for fuel combustion activities.

Taxable activities include fuel combustion in power and manufacturing plants, as well as transport by rail, domestic aviation and shipping. Road transport and moving equipment are excluded. Process emissions and fugitive emissions from activities such as waste treatment or chemical processes, have their separate thresholds and must also be included.

2. Registered or licenced?

Only license or register as a Customs and Excise Manufacturing Warehouse including the relevant facilities when emission generating activities exceed the thresholds.

3. Consumption and activity data captured correctly?

The common basis of your tax assessment is the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions reported to the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) on 31 March.

Consumption and activity data for every emissions facility must be captured, with checks and balances for data accuracy and completeness, to avoid harsh penalties. Record-keeping requirements include archiving all data, reports, algorithms, procedures, submissions and technical references used to estimate emissions for at least five years.

A monitoring and reporting system to manage consumption, production data and related emissions are instrumental for record-keeping compliance, while also providing useful technical performance information.

4. Data correctly aggregated, converted and submitted?

The consumption and activity data must be aggregated and converted per facility into GHG emissions data as per technical guidelines. Applying the

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most beneficial emission factors and calorific values allowed can reduce your exposure significantly. This GHG emission data must be submitted to the DEFF in the prescribed format by 31 March each year. While you register online, report submissions still need to be done by email.

5. Is the Carbon Tax liability correctly calculated and optimised?

Well-informed and positioned taxpayers can reduce their effective tax rate by a maximum of 90-95% and thereby reduce the effective tax rate to 6-12 R/tCO2.

In addition to the fixed tax-free allowances which can reduce taxable volumes up to 70-75%, there are also flexible allowances depending the company’s performance, such as a trade exposure allowance up to 10%; a performance allowance up to 5%, and offsetting through Carbon Tax Offset (CTOs), allowed for 5-10% of the gross volume of emissions.

The first batches of carbon credits are in the process of being traded for future use and procedures to convert international carbon credits into local CTOs are pending. The price range currently expected by traders is R70.00 - R90.00 per tonne CO2e.

6. SARS carbon tax forms completed and submitted with payment?

Carbon tax submissions to SARS is due on 31 July of the year following the tax period, along with payment of the calculated carbon tax levy to SARS by 31 July.

7. Ongoing monitoring and management of GHG emissions in place?

Ongoing monitoring and management of GHG emissions and the resulting tax liability are crucial to avoid tax surprises and last-minute deadlines, while also revealing reduction and mitigation opportunities and providing additional value in terms of general performance management.

It also allows strategic planning for the long-term. The South African energy sector will drastically reform over the next decade. The current Phase 1 (2019 – 2022) is only the start of the carbon tax journey. After Phase 1, allowances may be strongly reduced and the headline rate may be substantially adjusted upward. If over time, the carbon tax indeed would be followed up by a carbon budgets system, the anticipated flat rate is 600 R/t when exceeding your budget.

It is important, however, to realise that the carbon tax forms part of South Africa’s international commitments in respect of the fight against climate change. South Africa is a carbon-intensive country, ranking no.

16 in the world (WRI, 2017). Carbon tax is an incentive to proactively change business-as-usual to play our part in the global solution by managing and reducing emissions to sustainable levels.

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INFRASTRUCTURE

Decoupling growth from environmental harm

BY GRAHAME CRUICKSHANKS, GBCSA

It has been said that South Africa is unable to help reduce global warming and that it would be economically unfeasible. But the potential implications of having this mindset are so huge that doing nothing would be a serious mistake.

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ven though we are behind the northern European countries, we must remember that they have had the opportunity to plan for longer, have already completed their industrialisation, and are on a different economic cycle to us. This is no reason why we should not implement SA’s well-documented climate change commitments.

South Africa has a long-term dependency on fossil fuels, and these are declining in their ability to deliver. Our economic downturn is suppressing energy demand, but the nation is still increasing its carbon emissions every year. What South Africa needs to link itself to is a peak-plateaudecline trajectory and we haven’t initiated the plateau yet.

By weaning itself off fossil fuels, South Africa’s economy will liberate itself. We have one of the best solar climates in the world. And so we need to see a ramp-up of large-, medium- and small-scale renewable energy systems coming online.

And the single step of implementing feed-in tariff and net metering systems will encourage this meaningful crowd-sourced participation of the private sector. This will unlock the capacity of PV installations of all sizes by having them feed in any extra electricity generated into the grid, he explains.

It will greatly assist in implementing our national commitments towards helping to keep the global warming range below 2˚C above preindustrial levels. This average rate of temperature change will determine the likelihood of South Africa’s future ability to compete in the global economy as an increase of 2˚C translates up to 4˚C for South Africa by the end of the century.

Prevention is better – and far cheaper than cure – and so separating South Africa’s carbon footprint from electricity generation and implementing other effective mitigation measures will reduce South Africa’s inevitable

What South Africa needs to link itself to is a peak-plateau-decline trajectory and we haven’t initiated the plateau yet.

environmental impact and so make it easier to adapt to a climate that is not as hot, dry or erratic.

Eskom is separating out its three functions – the generation, distribution and transmission of electricity – into different companies. Transparent processes and management protocols will be required to allow other power generators to share transmission infrastructure and create healthy competition required to drive down the price of electricity.

Beyond guarding against the day of insolvency or technical failure at Eskom that threatens to cripple the country, civil action organisation, OUTA, rightly points out that these measures will significantly contribute towards limiting price increases, avoiding rolling blackouts and allow municipalities to buy directly from independent power producers.

Effective competition to generate and supply electricity will accelerate the decoupling of South Africa’s economic growth from harmful environmental impacts. And this may well usher in a plateau period of carbon emissions, followed by a decline, and all the while a clean, cheap supply of electricity will lower the cost of doing business and fuel economic growth and job creation. The GBCSA represents South Africa’s green building sector and is on hand to assist all stakeholders to transition towards a sustainable operating environment. *Grahame Cruickshanks is the managing executive: market engagement at the Green Building Council of South Africa.

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Thought leadership

So, what is this Circular Economy?

BY CHRIS WHYTE

What do the buzzwords in our sector actually mean? Cradle-to-Grave, Cradle-to-Cradle, Green Economy, Sustainability, Restorative, Regenerative, Closed Loop, Performance Economy, Industrial Ecology. These trending themes lead to Circular Economy, or is that where they started?

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his is an evolution of dialogue and we all feel compelled to be in-the-know and on-trend. It all leads us down the same path to changing the way we do business and how we live to ensure that our children and their children have a planet to live on.

The activists amongst us argue that capitalism is the root of all evil, but is socialism the answer? We argue that there are capitalist models that embrace the green argument, and this certainly can be the case whereas the activists will relent to this simply being the lesser of two evils.

What I can say is that the conversation is going in the right direction, regardless of what you want to call it. The problem with the complex rhetoric and evolving language is that we tend to spend more time talking about it and less time implementing it. I believe this is complicated further by feeling the need to just simply keep up. Here’s my suggestion – let’s put away the thesaurus and just start doing stuff.

The definitions themselves complicate or halt progress. If I relate this to the waste sector, I have been frustrated by the purists who may state that

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a technological or innovative application is not truly Circular Economy and then impede development based on semantics.

Surely half a circle, or three quarters of a circle, is better than no circle?

We need to take a step in the right direction, even if it’s not perfect. End the discussion, implement it. This is the same argument as “I am not going to buy that smart phone because the technology is developing so fast. I will wait for the next upgrade version.”

No matter what you call it, make it a Circular Economy.

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Thought leadership We need to acknowledge that our tech will never be 100%, but more importantly we need to start progressing.

I often revert to some of the older terminologies to describe what I am doing, like my old favourite of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). Not perfect, but simple. It’s not that I criticise the use of Circular Economy – far from it. I am currently the country leader for South Africa for the African Circular Economy Network, ACEN, which has over 100 members in 23 countries – although we have some academic purists in that bunch, this is largely a gathering of people who are just getting on with it.

What I am doing in the waste sector regarding the LCA approach is just a simpler manner of calculating all the inputs, outputs and impacts that people often overlook; and that is essentially all related to Circular Economy. All too often in my sector, Circular Economy is seen in terms of materials and resources and their related offsets of virgin materials and resource management or reuse. Yes, this is a key element of what we are doing, but circularity includes all elements impacted by this, including the social and environmental impacts. Let’s illustrate this by manner of an example: Glass recycling is limited to the issue of logistics in getting bottle glass to the manufacturers whose facilities are based in Johannesburg and, to a smaller extent, Cape Town. Logistically, particularly with the huge increases in fuel costs over the past, it is becoming less viable in provinces that are remote from the processing facilities. Consequently, glass recycling does not make economical sense in areas such as Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

With recycling not economically viable, we need to look at innovation and alternative markets where we can unlock the value of the commodity in different ways. There are over 30 different applications for glass, so let’s just consider two: water filtration and sandblasting grit.

We mine sand from our rivers for water filtration, which has negative impacts on biodiversity, water yield and water quality. Each of these has a value, and with water this is an extremely valuable resource in our climate. Not to mention that most of our mined sand in this country is done so illegally. If we can work with users of this commodity to change from unsustainable mined sand to processed glass, we develop a chain of events.

The first is that we create a local market for collectors in the informal sector where the value of collecting glass can again sustain incomes and livelihoods. This has a social impact in both creating incomes, but also removes this waste from the environment where there are also negative

We need to work with government and corporates to drive the market through material specification, green procurement policies and supply chain management.

health and safety impacts. This needs to be valorised. The environmental benefit is less impact on water quality, yield and biodiversity that also has a value.

Economically, we are diverting materials from landfill where municipal landfill airspace is a valued commodity. Next, we create positive economic outcomes through the development of enterprises that can be supported to not only collect, but also to process the waste into alternative products for the filtration market. The unintended consequence is that glass is a better filtration medium that reduces water pressure and thus electricity and maintenance costs to run pumps.

Backwashing is more efficient and quicker leading to less water loss from general maintenance. Glass also lasts much longer than sand as a filtration medium, and after its useful end can be processed again into smaller fractions that can be used for other applications.

Sandblasting grit is used in massive quantities in the local market, yet few people realise that the large majority of this is just glass and is imported from China at a price 15-20 times the value of what we can produce locally from a commodity that either is dumped in the environment or landfilled.

The impact of this is that we are throwing away our own resource at cost to either landfill or the environment, and then negatively impacting our balance of trade by importing a product at substantially higher costs than we can produce locally.

We need to work with the government and corporates to drive the market through material specification, green procurement policies and supply chain management. A simple task that would have multiple benefits for the economy (water, waste, energy, jobs, manufacturing, etc).

This simple example illustrates the benefits of Circular Economy. Now imagine the butterfly effect if it is applied as an underlying principle in other processes. No matter what you call it, make it a Circular Economy. *Chris Whyte is the Founder of USE-IT

The circular economy is a new way of creating value, and ultimately prosperity. It works by extending a product’s lifespan through improved design and servicing and relocating the waste from the end of the supply chain to the beginning.

This circular approach, in effect, uses resources more efficiently by using them over and over, not only once. Recycling is a key part of the circular economy, helping to protect our natural resources. – Leon Grobbelaar, President of Institute of Waste Management of southern Africa

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Profile

NCPC-SA contributes

towards skills development in South Africa Through the South African Industrial Energy Efficiency (IEE) Project, the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA) continues to heed Government’s call to fast-track skills development by training South Africans to become experts and trainers in resource and energy efficiency. The IEE Project training recipients were applauded for completing their respective courses at the recent Industrial Efficiency Conference hosted by the NCPC-SA.

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he IEE Project’s expert and trainer programmes were the first of their kind to be established through the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). “When UNIDO speaks about South Africa’s project, there is always fondness,” says Gerswynn McKuur, Energy Management Working Group Coordinator for UNIDO For the past six years, the IEE Project has trained and developed competent individuals whose skills are in high demand both nationally and internationally. They provide training on resource efficiency and cleaner production (RECP) and energy management systems (EnMS). The training is recognised by UNIDO as the blueprint for similar projects that have since been established world-wide.

“Many of the people that have been trained as experts in South Africa now train others on behalf of UNIDO in other countries,” Gerswynn disclosed to the programme graduates.

“Our quality manager has high standards, she ensures that if you are here today, you deserve to be,” Julie Wells, NCPC-SA Communication

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Manager, assured the graduation recipients who received certificates for: • RECP level trainers programme • Energy management 101 • Qualified experts programmes in: - Energy management system - Pumps experts level - Fan experts - RECP experts Further to the training, the NCPC-SA empowers companies to implement resource efficiency and energy management at their respective plants.

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BIOENERGY

Wasted food

Wasted water

BY EVENTS GREENING FORUM

It is estimated that one third of all food produced globally is wasted. This applies to South Africa and means that of the 31-million tons of food we produce annually, approximately 10-million tons go to waste.

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griculture is the single biggest consumer of fresh water, using 70% (or more) of all freshwater withdrawals from rivers, lakes and aquifers. So: wasted food is also wasted water. South Africa is a water scarce country, and this kind of loss can have very real implications for our society. Agriculture is responsible for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation estimate that lost and wasted food accounts for about 4.4 gigatons of carbon dioxide each year, which is a little less than emissions from road transportation. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) estimates the financial loss of wasted food in South Africa to be R61.5 billion a year.

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The damage happens along the entire food production chain – from pests and poor harvesting methods at production, to challenges around transportation, storage and packaging, not to mention retailers discarding food reaching its sell-by date, pervasive over catering in the food service industry, and also waste at home.

SA Harvest collects and redistributes quality surplus food to hungry South Africans through feeding schemes, homeless shelters, schools and more. Andrew Wilson, the Cape Town manager of SA Harvest, says, “It’s not too complicated. We need a few days’ notice of the event so that we can organise the rescue logistics with the event organiser.”

Regarding health and safety issues that could arise, Wilson says, “The Green Economy Journal - GreenEconomyOnline greeneconomy.media

BIOENERGY main concern is that the cold-chain should not be broken and so, overall, our most important criterion for refrigerated or warm surplus is that we must collect it asap after the event for delivery direct to our beneficiaries, where we have made arrangements to deliver any time if necessary.

“Catered events are a magnificent source for contributing towards ending hunger in South Africa, and we will welcome anyone involved in the events sector to contact us if they have any questions about how they can get involved.”

Closing the loop For food that is not fit for human consumption, there are many options to explore. Sending it to landfill (rubbish dumps) should not be one of them.

When organic waste is sent to landfill it releases methane, a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 21 higher than carbon dioxide, and leachate, a toxic liquid which poses the risk of contaminating our underground water supplies.

Some venues opt to send food waste to pig farms. (Interestingly, food is still considered lost or waste when fed to farm animals, because of the resource inefficiency of producing meat this way.) There are risks in dealing with food waste this way, says Gavin Heron, the director of Earth Probiotic. The biggest is that you could feed pork to pigs (especially when dealing with scrapings from plates), which is against all food safety policies. Another significant risk of feeding pigs untreated swill is you could potentially cause an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF).

As a result, the Animal Diseases Act 35 of 1984 outlines the following: “No feeding of swill is preferable, but in cases where swill feeding is practised, any item that originates or was in contact with animals (including any kitchen refuse of animal or vegetable origin originating from any dwelling, hotel, motel, restaurant, eating-house, airport, harbour or any place where food is being prepared for human use) has to be cooked (boiled) for at least 60 minutes or sterilised before it may be fed to pigs.”

“In short, there is a high legal and financial risk if any ASF breakout is in an area where food waste is being disposed of through pig farmer collections,” says Heron.

He adds that another unpleasant consideration is that bones, cutlery and toothpicks often end up in the swill, which can seriously injure the pigs.

A better option to deal with organic waste is to compost it. And yes, cooked meat and bones can be composted, for example using bokashi.

Earth Probiotic uses this for its onsite composting service; their Earth Bokashi has been inoculated with beneficial bacteria and fungi, which enables it to break down organic waste that is not easily composted (such as cooked and uncooked meat, dairy and seafood), while also eliminating odours. The Vineyard Hotel uses this solution for plate scrapings, and then gets this back as compost for their garden as required.

Fly farms also present an efficient way to break down food waste, as done by AgriProtein in Cape Town. Black soldier flies feed on the (treated) waste, grow and breed rapidly. The larvae are harvested to provide a sustainable, high-quality, natural alternative protein to fishmeal. Typically, farmed fish are fed wild-caught fish – and as much as 25% of wild-caught

fish is used to create fishmeal (although 90% of these fish are fit for human consumption). Given how overfished and depleted our oceans are, this isn’t sustainable.

At the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) kitchen waste is sent to fly farms, while food waste that is unpackaged and leftover, as well as any horse manure and straw (usually obtained from the Cape Premier Yearling event) is sent to their composting contractor, who distributes the waste for use in Bokashi. This, combined with careful planning in the kitchen, meant that in the 2018/19 financial year 86% of the CTICC’s total waste was diverted from landfill.

Another way to deal with kitchen scraps is feeding them to worm farms (which produce a compost and worm tea, both of which can improve soil fertility). However, the worms can be quite selective in their tastes and they don’t like citrus or garlic.

In South Africa 90% of waste goes to landfill, which means there is a massive opportunity for diverting organic waste.

A bio-digestor is an option for composting waste. It does this without oxygen, and the result is the release of biogas (60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide) which can be combusted to provide heat, electricity or both. To be truly effective at generating electricity, bio-digestors need to be done on a large scale.

In South Africa, 90% of waste goes to landfill, which means there is a massive opportunity for diverting organic waste and creating useful things – like compost, fishmeal and electricity. Each ton of food waste prevented, saves 4.2 tons of CO2 equivalent. Heron adds that businesses can also expect to benefit financially from reducing food waste – given that wasted food is also wasted money. *The Event Greening Forum is a non-profit organisation that promotes sustainability within the business events sector, through hosting educational sessions for industry and lobbying government in an effort to implement sustainability principles into the daily operations of the events industry.

The legislation “If you do not choose to divert your organic waste from landfill now, you will soon be legally obligated to,” cautions Grace Stead, the director of sustainability consultancy Steadfast Greening. This is because the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning has a ten-year plan in place to divert all organic waste from landfill. “It is motivated by the fact that landfill is the default destination for most organic waste, where it poses environmental and health risks. The price tag to manage these risks is significant, while waste diversion provides additional benefits,” explains Stead. The plan was launched in 2017, with the target to halve the amount of organic waste being disposed of this way by 2022, and to achieve a landfill ban by 2027.

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EVENTS

CTICC

The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) considers sustainability a strategic imperative, placing great importance on integrating economic, social, and environmental sustainability into every aspect of its operations.

Corporate Sustainability

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lobally, consumers and event organisers are demanding that companies follow sustainable business practices and processes.

At the CTICC, clients are assured of a venue that focusses on waste management, energy consumption, local sourcing and water conservation as key priorities for sustainability.

The CTICC aligns itself to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) guidelines, of which the centre is a member, and is always seeking new ways to mitigate its impact on the environment while advancing its people and providing them with new opportunities to grow within the organisation.

The UNGC focuses on a company’s value system in respect of its responsibilities in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anticorruption, and contends that in upholding these basic responsibilities, a company also sets the stage for long-term success.

Environmental sustainability was integral in the design of the CTICC buildings, from the maximum use of natural light, to the incorporation of energy-efficient lighting and emission-minimising climate control, the CTICC design as a venue is green at heart.

The innovative design of CTICC 2 earned the centre a 4-star Green Star rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa in 2017. Its design features includes electrical sub-metering, energy-saving devices, waste management and water conservation processes.

CTICC has maintained four internationally recognised managementsystem certifications (ISO 9001, 14001, 18001and 22000) for the 2019/2021 financial year, by leading the way for improved systems, functionality and sustainability.

Driving the centre’s triple bottom line sustainability objectives is its Nurture Our World (NOW) committee, which has implemented various practices and raised awareness around sustainability.

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BY THE CTICC

One of the CTICC’s sustainability initiatives was the installation of the centre’s reverse osmosis plant, which went online in 2019 and has already proven to be a highly effective water-saving intervention.

Purposely designed to cater to all the centre’s daily water consumption needs by being able to produce 200 000 litres of drinking water in a 24-hour cycle.

The centre also harvests greywater and rainwater for use inside and outside the building and have introduced a number of other initiatives to save water.

The Building Management System, combined with other energy alternatives, has resulted in a steady decline in electricity consumption and over the past five years, the CTICC has achieved an average annual saving of 12.84% in kWh measurement.

CTICC further supports clients by giving them opportunity to ‘green’ their events and reduce their own environmental impact and carbon footprint, either through the donation of excess food or consumables to the centre’s local community partners, as well as, donating to the NOW fund in aid of social sustainability initiatives.

The centre supports local community partners and engage with their communities in various ways including educational and income-generation initiatives, as well as feeding schemes and urban gardening projects.

The CTICC has continuously improved its environmental sustainability performance over the years, and seeks to increase its energy and water conservation metrics, while also providing for the safe disposal of waste and, where possible, providing recycling or upcycling opportunities.

Learn more on how to green your events at the centre or contribute to the CTICC’s local community partners by visiting our website, cticc.co.za, or contacting an events executive or mail the centre’s sustainability officer at NOW@cticc.co.za.

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THE FINE ART OF

CONFERENCING Designed to connect businesses and people, the CTICC offers flexible floor space of over 140 000m2, encapsulated within its mirror-like glass façade. In addition, this architectural masterpiece is ideally located in the heart of Cape Town, one of the world’s most vibrant cities.

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ENERGY

Green jobs are the green light for our economy

Photo by SAWEA

BY NTOMBIFUTHI NTULI, CEO of South African Wind Energy Association

South Africa’s energy transition is poised to unlock economic growth and deliver thousands of much-needed new jobs, at a time when the country faces staggering unemployment rates that threaten to continue well into the new decade.

Kangnas Wind Farm.

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espite the approved 2019 IRP, which was gazetted in October last year the industry continues to wait for a Ministerial Determination to give the green light for the next round of wind farms to be built, which will result in thousands of local jobs being created.

The positive impact of continued wind farm construction on the economy, over the next ten years, cannot be overstated considering that the energy plans promise 14 400MW of wind procurement. Once we get the go-ahead the country can directly benefit through jobs that are intensified during the construction phase of wind energy projects that have a significant impact on different parts of the value chain.

Twelve wind farms are currently being constructed across the country achieving thousands of jobs as well as high levels of local content, which is in line with Minister Gwede Mantashe’s stated imperative that the renewable energy sector, wind stakeholders included, increases its local content efforts.

Perdekraal East Wind Farm, the Western Cape’s largest BW4 wind farm, is currently under construction and is an example of localised job stimulation.

The project is providing local employment to community members of Ceres, Nduli, Bella Vista and Prince Alfred Hamlet and has exceeded its obligation for local content of the total project value as stipulated by the Department of Energy’s renewable energy programme, Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REI4P).

It is expected that an average of 17 new wind farms will come on stream each year, for the next ten years, as outlined in the resource plan. Should this stay on track, South Africa will see the local manufacturing sector helping to boost economic growth and job creation, two priorities across the African region.

Tower manufacturing facilities are already set up in the country, with additional capacity and facilities awaiting the government’s next bid round as part of the REI4P. So, if we are looking specifically at the manufacturing sector, this

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industry is poised to create jobs to deliver the 640 individual towers and 1920 wind turbine blades required to meet the annual capacity of 1600MW each year.

The existing local tower manufacturing facility in Atlantis, on the Cape’s West Coast, currently produces 150 towers per annum and has created 340 direct jobs and 200 indirect jobs. Therefore, manufacturing 640 towers locally can potentially create 1360 direct jobs and about 800 indirect jobs.

What our country can’t afford is a repeat of DCD Wind Towers’ fate.

What was once a successful manufacturer of local components in Nelson Mandela Bay, closed its doors in April last year, which resulted in the loss of over 100 direct jobs due to the stop-start renewable power procurement that saw the industry halted for over two years. The plant had the potential to manufacture up to 300 towers and create 142 direct jobs but failed to find an investment partner.

Additional potential exists, should wind tower blades and other components such as drive trains be manufactured locally, the number of jobs could easily scale up to the 8700 estimated by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) analysis.

The CSIR analysis indicates that for 1.6 GW per annum roll-out, the wind energy industry can contribute to the creation of more than 16 000 direct jobs per annum in the South African economy during the construction phase alone, given that the aggregate level of localisation of about 50% is realised.

This equates to about 6400 direct jobs in the construction sector, 8700 direct jobs in the manufacturing sector, 820 direct jobs in the transportation and logistics sector and 640 direct jobs in the finance, professional and business services sector.

Despite the past setbacks, we continue to look forward to delivering wind power to boost the country’s economy, as outlined in the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan and thereby deliver thousands of jobs for a decade to come.

Green Economy Journal - GreenEconomyOnline greeneconomy.media

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