Load shedding and escalating energy costs have had significant impacts on businesses in South Africa. Whilst South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP), which has been at the forefront of South African energy news, is going some of the way to addressing South Africa’s energy requirements, many businesses are starting to take … [Read more...]
Milestones in sustainable seafood sourcing
Since introducing its sustainable seafood policy in 2008, Woolworths has achieved a number of significant milestones and is continually working to raise awareness and help customers make informed choices. They areÂÂ passionate about the environment and have for a number of years been concerned about the impact of overfishing in our own waters as well as globally. Woolworths … [Read more...]
Inspirational young survivor fights for education
The Taliban shot 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai in the head for her education activism. But she survived, helped win education for all girls in Pakistan, and will address the UN in 3 days asking leaders to agree to put every child on the planet in school, a shockingly achievable goal. Avaaz proposes we stand with her, and call for education for all. The young women were … [Read more...]
Poor are most disadvantaged by climate change
"Investment in skills development should be at the centre of our attempts to build a green economy," Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe (pictured) said at the Green Economy National Youth Summit in Cape Town. "All these efforts and initiatives should be aligned to prioritising localisation of energy products and services." He said focus areas for training and capacity … [Read more...]
New partnership to boost sustainability leadership in Africa
Bringing together the expertise of two undisputedleaders in their fields, a new partnership between the World Wide Fund for Nature–South Africa (WWF-SA) and the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (GSB), has produced a programme to equip and inspire sustainability leaders across Africa to improve their impact. The groundbreaking executive education short … [Read more...]
New competition to teach kids about turning waste to wealth
In 2012 WESSA Eco-Schools celebrated a ‘Diamond Decade’ of inspiring sustainable development in schools with a launch of an exciting new competition offering prizes to the total value of over R120 000. The competition, called the WESSA Eco-Schools Waste to Wealth Competition is sponsored by Waste to Wealth, an NPO dedicated to educating communities about the thinking and action … [Read more...]
One educator can make the difference
Thousands of educators are attending workshops across the country, learning how to develop healthy and sustainable school environments that are conducive to learning. Food & Trees for Africa’s 20 year old EduPlant programme, now run in partnership with Engen and The Woolworths Trust, launches with this series of free, empowering workshops that help educators to pass the … [Read more...]
Growing your own sustainable food forest
This 12-day Permaculture Design Course, facilitated by Jamie Shepherd, is run as a Correspondence Course, which includes practical and interactive weekends where you can practice what you've learnt. Essentially, when each group of 8 students have completed all their assignments and have a good understanding, they will be invited to the weekend workshops in Fourways, … [Read more...]
Business needs to address environmental threats
UCT professor Ralph Hamann says complex social and environmental problems can only be addressed if business integrates an understanding of their socio-ecological context in strategy making and execution. The Fairtrade movement, which is gaining momentum in South Africa, is part of a shift in the way business is being done in the country that bodes well for the … [Read more...]
Finding solutions to SA’s escalating power costs
The future of South Africa’s electricity – will the country be able to afford electricity in the near future and what is being done about minimising electricity consumption? Electricity price hikes and the constant threat of depleting electricity supply are just some of the worries facing South Africans over the past few years. The seriousness of the energy situation has … [Read more...]
‘Building whisperer’ to make UCT Africa’s first smart campus
A public lecture by guest international speaker, David Bartlett, shone light on a new project to make the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) campus the first ‘smart campus’ in Africa. David Bartlett, also known as ‘the building whisperer’ is an internationally renowned IT professional, known for reducing the energy consumption of buildings considerably. He was listed by … [Read more...]
Pioneering organisation certifies 226 energy engineers
Towards the end of last year another 226 delegates received international certificates from the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE). Their sole training provider is the Energy Training Foundation (EnTF), which is the training division of Energy Cybernetics, an energy optimisation engineering company. With the growing awareness of a changing energy future and the need for … [Read more...]
Anti-waste crusaders reach halfway point
The CAN DO! Trekking for Trash duo, Camilla Howard and Michael Baretta, have reached the halfway point of the their seven month, 3000km trek across South Africa’s shoreline picking up litter and educating local communities about the importance of looking after the environment. The new year marks a milestone in the CAN DO! Trekking for Trash social change adventurers lives as … [Read more...]
