The CTICC Committed to sustainability

There is a growing global expectation that companies follow sustainable business practices and processes. Event organisers continue to discover that the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) is a venue as committed to sustainability as they are.

The CTICC has always focused on sustainability as a core business practice, and has strategically formulated environmental sustainability initiatives to maximise these efforts while creating real value for the beneficiaries of these initiatives. Additionally, the centre continually seeks new ways to mitigate its impact on the environment, as well as being committed to advancing its people by providing them with new opportunities to grow within the organisation.

The convention centre bases its operations on the ten guiding principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), to which it is a signatory.

Committing to these principles, contained in the UN sustainability goals for the year 2030 and set in the UNGC’s strategic policies for businesses, establishes a culture of integrity and an undertaking to meet basic responsibilities.

These include honouring human rights, following fair labour practices, care for the environment, and taking a stance against corruption. These principles are encompassed in the centre’s core values, which in turn drive the centre’s triple bottom line focusing on people, planet and profit.

To support these principles and promote sustainability, the centre has a Nurture Our World (NOW) committee, made up of representatives from across the business. The NOW team designs and implements sustainable CSR initiatives that contribute to social growth and ensure the effectiveness of the company’s efforts to minimise environmental impact.

To this end, the centre’s commitment to water and energy consumption remain key focus areas, and during the last financial year, the CTICC installed a reverse osmosis plant, which has reduced the centre’s dependency on the city’s water supply. The reverse osmosis system can produce up to 200 000 litres of purified drinking water in a 24-hour cycle. With the addition of extra storage capacity of 400 000 litres, the plant is able to cater for a substantial amount of the centre’s water requirements during events.

The plant extracts underground seawater using ultra-filtration, and reverse osmosis technology that removes the salt and contaminants from the water by pushing it through a semi-permeable membrane at high pressure. This produces fully potable water that complies with the SANS/SABS 241 of 2015 Standard for Drinking Water.

The CTICC has several other initiatives in place to reduce water consumption, including rainwater tanks that store up to 265 000 litres and the weekly capturing of 20 000 litres of condensate from the air-conditioning units. Water harvested in these ways is used for cleaning, irrigation of plants and the central airconditioning system.

Waste and energy management is also a high priority at the CTICC, as is the local sourcing of food for catering purposes. Food and beverage suppliers are located within a 50 km radius, the only exceptions being products sourced to accommodate specific client requirements. “By purchasing locally produced and grown products, we minimise the centre’s carbon footprint and, most importantly, support local businesses,” said Taubie Motlhabane, chief executive officer of CTICC.

Despite the new CTICC 2 building having expanded the centre’s floor space by 31 148 m 2 , energy consumption in the last financial year was just six per cent higher than the previous year. The centre is also investigating more sustainable power alternatives.

“The CTICC remains committed to connecting people and growing the economy, while ensuring that we continue to observe responsible and sustainable business practices,” Ms Motlhabane said.