Contents ISSUE 101 | APRIL / MAY / JUNE 2022 04 06 14 25 32 34 48 54 55 SACCI FOREWORD Accreditation and standards. The voice of reason. NEWS & SNIPPETS What has been and what is to come. CIRCULAR ECONOMY: WHY THE SECTOR IS FERTILE GROUND FOR SOUTH AFRICAN ENTREPRENEURS Catherine Wijnberg, CEO of Fetola, explains how entrepreneurs in the circular economy could hold the key to economic growth. 2018 MINING CHARTER IS POLICY, NOT LAW The High Court has ruled that the 2018 Mining Charter is policy, not law, and has set aside various aspects of the Charter as unconstitutional. Jonathan Veeran, Bruce Dickinson and Rita Spalding from Webber Wentzel think the ruling will be appealed. ARE INVESTORS BEING DUPED BY GREENWASHING? Warren Winchester, Product Manager for Impact Farming at Fedgroup, writes that impact investing is a tangible alternative to the sometimes murky waters that might be called “greenwashing”. THE LOGISTICS INDUSTRY IS LOOKING FOR A CLEANER ALTERNATIVE FUEL Renergen is promoting liquid natural gas (LNG) as an attractive, clean and economic alternative to diesel for the cold storage transportation industry. PREMIER RESORT ACHIEVES CERTIFICATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Sun City resort has been awarded ISO 14001 certification for the responsible manner in which it interacts with its environment and the responsible way in which it uses scarce resources. HIGHLIGHTING THE VALUE OF THE TES SECTOR IN HEALTHCARE Donald McMillan, MD of Allmed Healthcare Professionals, emphasises agility and cost-effectiveness. HOW DRONES ARE CHANGING AGRICULTURE A case study by Aerobotics illustrates how costs were cut by early nematode detection. XX 14 25 www.opportunityonline.co.za APRIL / MAY / JUNE • ISSUE 101 The circular economy Why the sector is fertile ground for South African entrepreneurs. The 2018 Mining Charter is policy, not law Aspects of the Charter have been set aside as unconstitutional. 55 48 The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, digs in to support the tree-planting initiative. The Ten Million Trees Programme The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) is leading a national campaign to plant 10-million trees to promote biodiversity, reduce soil erosion and combat climate change. ABOUT THE COVER: The photograph of Minister Barbara Creecy collaborating in planting a tree was supplied by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. Background image: iStock.
South Africans must start having honest conversations about what a “just transition” to renewable energy really means Not very long ago, South Africa had six functioning oil refineries. The biggest, Sapref in Durban, has paused operations and is under an investment “freeze” while the second-biggest, also in Durban, is to become a terminal for importing fuel. Meanwhile, the Mossgas gas-to-liquids (GTL) refinery has run out of feedstock and Sasol, which runs two refineries (coal-to-liquid fuels and gas-to-liquid fuels) is under pressure to reduce its carbon footprint. Cape Town’s refinery (previously Chevref and Calref and now Astron Energy) experienced a terrible fire in the middle of 2020 which caused it to close. Into this mix has been added rising global prices for all forms of fuel because of the impact of Covid-19 on supply chains. The UK added its own complications by exiting the EU. And then came the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It’s not all bad news, depending on what you think is good and what you think is bad. Huge gas condensate reserves have been found off the coast of Mossel Bay. Glencore will reopen the Astron Energy Cape Town refinery and spend billions of rands in upgrading it. The Council for Geoscience is doing an extensive national mapping exercise to unearth new minerals. What are South Africans to do? The first thing is to start listening to one another. There really is a climate crisis and there really is an energy crisis. Both have to be tackled. Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has made it clear that he thinks South Africa should continue to use the coal that it has to support economic development. His criticism of environmentalists whose objections caused Shell’s prospecting off the Wild Coast to be called off by a judge were extreme. Said Mantashe, “We consider the objections to these developments as apartheid and colonialism of a special type, masqueraded as a great interest for environmental protection.” (Daily Maverick) When a “National Energy Dialogue” was held in February 2022, the subheading of a column by a participating environmentalist included these harsh words: “The Central Energy Fund event featuring minister Gwede Mantashe was a disingenuous farce.” (Business Day) Gray Maguire, a project manager at Climate Neutral Group South Africa, marvelled at what he thought was the bias in favour of fossil fuels at the “dialogue”. He also pointed out that the Presidential Climate Commission was not represented. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) was described as a “key stakeholder” of the Energy Council of South Africa when it was established in November 2021, but of renewable energy interests on the initial list of participants there was no sign. The council’s website announced, “The initiative is led by CEOs from Anglo American, Central Energy Fund (CEF), Eskom, Exxaro, Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), Sasol, TotalEnergies South Africa and Naamsa, who will serve on the interim board.” The Sapref refinery is a joint venture between Shell Refining SA and BP Southern Africa. Is the decision to shutter the refinery linked to the judge’s siding with the environmentalists about marine prospecting? We don’t know yet. An honest dialogue needs to start happening soon. Those arguing for a “just transition” should not use the term to prevent any transition at all. Those arguing for a shift to renewables need to take seriously the concerns of the advocates of the large numbers of South Africans without proper access to any electricity. Arising out of the COP26 conference, a sum of .5-billion has been made available to help South Africa transition away from fossil fuels. Perhaps that can be the first item on a new agenda: how to spend that money intelligently for a brighter energy future. John Young, Editor www.opportunityonline.co.za Editor: John Young Publishing director: Chris Whales Managing director: Clive During Online editor: Christoff Scholtz Designer: Tyra Martin Production: Aneeqah Solomon Ad sales: Shiko Diala Vanessa Wallace Venesia Fowler Gabriel Venter Tennyson Naidoo Tahlia Wyngaard Mandlenkosi Dlamini Administration & accounts: Charlene Steynberg Kathy Wootton Distribution and circulation manager: Edward MacDonald Printing: FA Print PUBLISHED BY Global Africa Network Media (Pty) Ltd Company Registration No: 2004/004982/07 Directors: Clive During, Chris Whales Physical address: 28 Main Road, Rondebosch 7700 Postal address: PO Box 292, Newlands 7701 Tel: +27 21 657 6200 Email: info@gan.co.za Website: www.gan.co.za No portion of this book may be reproduced without written consent of the copyright owner. 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