Greenpeace Africa volunteers have launched a petition demanding accountability from United Phosphorus Limited following the July explosion of their chemical warehouse in Cornubia in Durban. An investigation by amaBhungane has uncovered that the warehouse stored hundreds of chemicals with known adverse health effects, including Masta 900, methamidophos, and paraquat. It also … [Read more...]
EWT reviews the biodiversity performance of SA companies
The National Biodiversity and Business Network (NBBN), an initiative of the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), has released a report entitled Invitation to Join the Biodiversity Disclosure Project – A Study of the Biodiversity Performance of South African Companies. The report highlights the low biodiversity performance by South African companies and presents an opportunity … [Read more...]
What are directors’ duties in respect to climate change?
Directors need to factor climate change into their governance deliberations about strategy, risk management, products and services. So said Sue Lund, member of the Institute of Directors in SA (IODSA) at a recent discussion on directors’ duty of care for the current and long-term sustainability of their organisations – which should translate into measures that both mitigate … [Read more...]
Innovative printing cuts footprint in half
Green innovation really gives us hope for the future. This week we discovered a nifty new way of printing, which saves you half your ink and toner. An organisation with 1000 workstations use up to 240 000 litres of water during the toner lifecycle of their printers. In the same work environment, Ecofont can save you up to 10 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year. We … [Read more...]
Responsible business to leave a legacy
When Pravin and Nirvana Goorun returned to South Africa after ten years in Dublin, Ireland they wanted to leave a legacy for their children. “Not in terms of monetary funds, but in a business that supports a sustainable future and takes responsibility for a healthy world,” said Nirvana. In Ireland Pravin, a corporate accountant and Nirvana, a chemical engineer, missed the … [Read more...]
Pushing every button for sustainability
Imagine opening a newspaper and reading that across the world, fish stocks are recovering, that forests are growing back, that droughts and extreme weather events are declining, that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are dropping, that oceanic dead zones are regenerating and that threatened species are bouncing back. That’s what John Elkington (pictured) describes when … [Read more...]
Six years of corporate green
For the sixth consecutive year, Nedbank Group has been included on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index; one of only two South African financial institutions and five South African companies to feature on this important benchmark of global corporate sustainability. The other South African companies included on the 2012 DJSI were Gold Fields, Investec, Woolworths and … [Read more...]
Finding ways to do business sustainably
Caring for the planet and its people has always been important to Woolworths. They consolidated all their efforts to support both people and planet under one programme in 2007, which they called their Good Business Journey. Through this programme they have learnt how to tread more lightly on the earth and contribute to issues affecting all South Africans. Since 2007 … [Read more...]
Sustainability: the next great leadership challenge
The concept of sustainability has been on corporate agendas for over a decade. The notion of People, Profit and Planet has been the basis for triple bottom line reporting for most listed companies for many years. However, in most cases the focus has been on compliance, whether directly in respect of legislation or indirectly whereby companies recognise the social need for a … [Read more...]
Energy saving initiative
The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) is one of the only convention centres in Africa that has had its energy consumption processes certified according to the internationally recognised systems standards ISO 9001 (Quality Assurance), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) and OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety). As part of Eskom's energy saving … [Read more...]
Green is the new gold
The global economic meltdown has forced people to drastically rethink their investments. I have heard it said by investment advisors that gold is a safe-haven for investors. Then suddenly its value drops inexplicably and another avenue is mooted as the place to invest at this time. CEOs are having to consider very carefully what they choose to invest their money in right now. … [Read more...]
