Sustainability Week will be held at Sandton Convention Centre from 24 – 28 July and will feature various Eco Product and Technology Exhibits, 8 conferences and the Green Home and Lifestyle Fair over the weekend.

One can’t miss seeing the good-looking big red busses in and around Cape Town with the happy faces staring around from the open deck on top and I have always wanted to “hop-on” as their signage encourages us all to do. I recently looked into how they came to be SA’s first bus company to achieve ‘carbon neutral' status.

According to avid Green Times reader Maurice Britten, the powers that be have not been very receptive to attempts to bring recycling depots and initiatives to the beautiful tourist town of Parys in the Free State.

Behind the hyper-modernization that it is known for in mainstream media, South Korea is a fascinating mix of ancient and modern, tradition and innovation. This unique Food Sovereignty Tour allows you to explore South Korea’s world-renowned cuisine and the centuries-long struggle of South Korean farmers for land and democracy.

Two hiking tourists were airlifted off Table Mountain in separate incidents after the sweltering heat got the better of them on Tuesday.

According to global civic organization Avaaz, Hundreds of South African lions are being slaughtered to make bogus sex potions for men in Asia. But a global public campaign can stop this cruel trade by hitting the government where it hurts - the tourism industry.

Correcting the imbalances of the past is the core message arising from the Princess Vlei Controversy. "I tell you I will lie down in front of any bulldozer!" said a resident who has lived within the environs of Princess Vlei for more than 60 years.

The winning trio of architects selected to expand the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) were chosen for their green credentials!

This year the theme of World Wetlands Day will be ‘Wetlands & Tourism,’ celebrated on Thursday 2 February 2012. This will celebrate the 41st anniversary of the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental treaty signed on 2 February 1971 in Iran for the protection of wetlands worldwide. 160 countries have since signed the treaty.

The South African tourism industry will need to take steps to minimise its impact on the country€™s finite water resources if it is to grow and maintain a tourism-based economy.

There are still people who believe that economy and ecology are mutually exclusive systems. How then did the earth thrive for so many millions of years?

The Heritage Environmental Management Company today announced the introduction of the new Green Globe App for Apple mobile devices €“ an application promoting responsible tourism businesses across the continent and globally.

Overseas, sustainable tourism is a booming industry, arising from the fact that today's travellers are prepared to pay more for a greener travel experience.

Trees are becoming almost sacred in a world constantly battling against carbon emissions and their resultant climate change with its dire ripple effects on every sphere of our planet€™s functioning. Nothing represents life, growth and vigour like an ancient, sturdy tree.

Hidden on the slopes of the Baviaanskloof hills, just beyond Gansbaai, is 70ha of indigenous forest. A rare and aw-inspiring site in this part of Fynbos country. Platbos Forest is privately owned by Francois and Melissa Krige, who made it their home in 2005. It boasts 13 tree species, some as old as 1000 years and transports visitors to a green wonderland where pollution is a foreign concept. Together with their two children, this family redefines the concept of €˜treading lightly€™, using only renewable energy to power their wooden house in the forest.

In the months of May and June, a total of 600 ready-grown indigenous trees donated by Just Trees nursery in Paarl will be planted in Tokai Park, part of the Cape€™s magnificent Table Mountain National Park and an offshoot of South African National Parks€™ shade tree planting project.

Toward the end of the century, scientific revelations awoke the world to the harsh realities of fossil fuel exhaustion, ozone depletion and global warming. It became increasingly clear that very few activities associated with new technologies are sustainable without the conservation of resources or the pursuit of more ecologically friendly and carbon-neutral alternatives.

'Africa€™s tourism industry would be grossly negligent if it did not take measures to protect its environment,€ says Joyce DiMascio, Principal of Joyce DiMascio Consulting and one of Australia€™s most experienced tourism marketers. 'The world wants to come to Africa because of its natural wonders. But the industry must 'future proof€ itself by putting responsible tourism at that heart of its industry development agenda,€ she adds.
Until 2010, Joyce was the Head of Business Events Australia at Tourism Australia and led the successful rebranding of Australia as a place where environment and community really matter.

Thumbs up to the Vineyard Hotel and Spa in Newlands for winning the `Investor in People` category of the annual Imvelo Awards for responsible tourism. The hotel is also a runner-up in the €˜Best Single Resource Management€™ category, specifically for its waste management programme.

NaturCert announced the appointment of ETC-Africa as their South African partner. NaturCert operates through the international network of NaturCert representative offices and subsidiaries. Each network member is a separate and independent legal entity and operates locally in countries around the world. NaturCert's local partners provide NaturCert programs locally and perform marketing and communication activities in local business language.