Earth Hour 2015 will be held on Saturday 28 March between 8.30PM and 9.30PM in your local time zone. The event is held worldwide towards the end of March annually, encouraging individuals, communities households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour as a symbol for their commitment to the planet. Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia in 2007 … [Read more...]
Monitoring energy consumption leads to savings
Business can use the National Energy Barometer Survey as an opportunity to calculate their energy consumption to make improvements. This is what The Clicks Group did when they used the National Energy Barometer Survey (NEBS) as an opportunity to collate energy use information for the entry. This enabled them to see what the Group’s energy baseline was, in order to improve … [Read more...]
Editor’s note: Ditch the fossils?
If there is one time when this nation speaks with one voice it’s when we experience power cuts. We seem unified in our addiction to fossil fuels. Suddenly the complaints roll in from business, domestic, rich and poor alike. We can’t cook, we can’t run our factories, the aeroplanes are delayed. Chaos ensues. Of course we need power. We are dependent on Uncle Eskom and if he … [Read more...]
Employing aliens to capture carbon
Imagine turning thirsty alien invasive trees into biochar. Biochar is charcoal created by pyrolysis of biomass. This differs from charcoal only in the sense that its primary use is not for fuel, but for biosequestration or atmospheric carbon capture. If created under specific conditions it can also be suitable as a soil amendment. In a forest near Pietermaritzburg there is … [Read more...]
Awards promote responsible commercial sector in Cape Town
Cape Town’s Energy Efficiency Forum for Commercial Buildings is delighted to announce the award winners for 2013. There were three categories: Single Buildings, Head Offices with Franchises and New Buildings. At an event held on Monday 25 November 2013, attended by over 150 guests, the following companies were Energy Efficiency Forum (EE Forum) Award Winners: Single … [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...]
Top retailer and WWF form sustainability partnership
In a first for African retail, the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA) and Woolworths have announced a broad-based, multifaceted partnership to drive greater sustainability through selected Woolworths products and operations. The collaboration is timely, reflecting a trend that recognises that the private sector and the non-governmental sector can work together … [Read more...]
Get more lighting bang for your buck
Conversion Lighting represents Hyundai energy-saving lighting products in South Africa as well as Verde LED from Ireland. Their mission is to optimise lighting energy consumption with maximum savings and durability as well as supplying a greener product to the South African consumer. They sell quality Hyundai fluorescent fittings at competitive prices which save between … [Read more...]
Stop ironing, save the planet
Before one can even contemplate getting off the electricity grid it is necessary to reduce one’s electricity usage – in many instances quite dramatically. This generally entails a change in lifestyle and the giving up of much-loved appliances, such as tumble dryers and air conditioners. Having brought the daily usage of electricity to below 5kWh, and supposing there were not … [Read more...]
Working together to reduce energy consumption
Reducing the energy consumption of a building takes a concerted combined effort from the property owners, managers, tenants and staff - but is a very worthwhile exercise, both from a financial and an environmental point of view. This is according to Martin Bester, Managing Director of Intersect Sectional Title Services, the sectional title specialist subsidiary of the Spire … [Read more...]
Sharing lifts, reducing costs, saving energy
Findalift.co.za is all about encouraging South Africans to share journeys, and the benefits are significant! Readers of the Green Times are encouraged to visit Findalift.co.za, register free and add your journey. It’s secure, takes less than 5 minutes and no personal data about you is visible to anyone or shared with any 3rd party. There are so many people driving on … [Read more...]
Lighting for the future
With the current looming energy crisis in South Africa, and pressure exerted on governments and businesses alike for more sustainable energy solutions, LED lights have a bright future in space lighting solutions. LED lighting isn't a new technology; in fact, it has been around since the 1960's. LED light bulbs were originally used as a replacement for incandescent indicators … [Read more...]
Energy audit can reduce energy usage
The increased importance of a reduction in energy costs to ensure an organisation's financial sustainability need no further emphasis in today's world. In many industries input energy costs have become comparable to that of raw input materials and limited resources are available to fund energy savings projects. Says Stefan Swanepoel, Associate Consultant at Pragma and … [Read more...]
