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South African Business 2017 edition

  • Text
  • Development
  • Network
  • Johannesburg
  • Durban
  • Town
  • Opportunities
  • Investment
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Government
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Africa
  • Africa
  • African
  • Sector
  • Economic
  • Manufacturing
  • Province
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South African Business is a unique guide to business and investment in South Africa. In addition to an up-to-date economic overview of the country, analyses of the main industrial sectors, plus profiles of the nine provincial economies, the 2017 edition of South African Business includes special features on key topical issues such as skills development and education, renewable energy and the REIPPPP programme, and trade with Africa.

OVERVIEW The new

OVERVIEW The new Department of Environmental Affairs' head office in Pretoria has received a 6-Star Green Star SA Office Design v1 certification from the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA). the Vodafone Site Innovation Centre (Gauteng) and the No.1 Silo at V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. Simple ideas such as having a heat pump instead of a geyser can yield enormous savings. Keeping track of the amount of energy being used is another important (and underutilised) tool. Keeping track of energy use in a household or a company or factory is a vital part of energy efficiency. In this field, it is indisputably true that "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it" and good meters (including "smart" meters) must become part of the solution. South African Industrial Energy Efficiency Project The South African Industrial Energy Efficiency Project (IEE) has been running for six years and has achieved substantial successes. The National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC-SA) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) are the joint implementers of the IEE, with the NCPC acting on behalf of South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry (dti). The first five-year phase of the project came to an end in 2015. In that time R1.97-billion in energy costs were saved (equal to 2019 gigawatt hours and 1.9 tons of CO 2 emissions). In addition, 435 tons of industrial waste was diverted from landfill sites; this number will rise to 234 000 tons in 2016/17. The sectors focussed on by the IEE were: • agri-processing • automotive • metals and mining • chemicals Since its inception in 2012, the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa’s (REDISA) government-backed national Waste Tyre Management Plan has diverted more than 125 000 tons of used tyres from landfill into new supply chains by subsidising the collection and recycling process. The initiative is supporting 190 SMMEs and says it has created 2 505 new jobs across South Africa – mainly for individuals and small entrepreneurs. The e-Waste Association of South Africa (eWASA) was established in 2008 to manage the establishment of a sustainable environmentally sound e-waste management system for the country. E-waste (electronic and electrical waste) includes computers, entertainment electronics, mobile phones, household appliances and less obvious items such as spent fluorescent tubes, batteries and batteryoperated toys that have been discarded by their original users. E-waste makes up to 5% to 8% of municipal solid waste in South Africa. ONLINE RESOURCES Energy blog: www.energy.org.za Eskom: www.eskom.co.za National Department of Energy: www.energy.gov.za SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2017 64

Environmental sustainability in the workplace Environmental sustainability in the business world involves making decisions that are in the interests of protecting the natural world. It is a prominent topic at the moment as many people are taking notice of the important impact that businesses and individuals can have on the environment. There are a number of benefits that accompany environmental sustainability for businesses. It has become an increasingly effective way for establishments to differentiate themselves in a competitive market. Marketing your business as environmentally friendly and selling environmentally sustainable services can really help you to expand your customer base and capitalise on new opportunities. Additional benefits include a reduction in operational expenses and increased efficiency and fluidity within a balanced business. A company implementing this balance, Brother Earth meets the needs of its customers for quality, innovative print, while being equally committed to protecting the environment. Embodied in the Brother Earth programme, the company’s environmental philosophy is to reduce environmental impact and increase efficiency. Focus areas include reducing CO 2 emissions to prevent global warming, helping to build a recyclingorientated society, managing and reducing the use of chemical substances, and working with organisations to conserve and restore forests. Brother focuses on all stages of in the product lifecycle to reduce environmental impact, including design and development; procurement; production; packaging and distribution; use; collection and recycling. There are a number of activities that businesses can do to increase environmental sustainability. These include enhancing eco-conscious design processes and green procurement, maintaining a continuous reduction in environmental impact at manufacturing facilities (such as CO 2 emissions and water consumption), and enhancing the reusability, recyclability and collection system. The beauty of many environmentally friendly features is that they also help to deliver a real cost saving to businesses, whether through lower energy bills, reduced paper usage or increased toner longevity. Implementing energy-saving features during production is also key. A standby power consumption of approximately 0.04W is Brother's new lowenergy standby technology that has fundamentally eclipsed the conventional standard of about 0.2W. This achievement, which will change the future development of power-saving technology, was the product of our engineers changing their way of thinking. With this technology, we limitlessly approach zero watts, the state of being unplugged. In terms of "green" certification there are a number of quality management standards that companies can implement, such as the TCO99 Accreditation, ISO Certification and the International Energy Star Approval. Using Energy Star products can make a huge difference in energy usage, as they are capable of conserving energy through power management and sleep mode, they run cooler and last longer and, on average, are 25% more efficient. For over two decades, Energy Star has been a driving force behind the more widespread use of such technological innovations as efficient fluorescent lighting, power management systems for office equipment, and low standby energy use. At Brother, consumables are manufactured to exacting, environmentally friendly specifications and the company is committed to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 Standards. Only four Japanese and six international manufacturing facilities have been accredited with the strict environmental ISO 14001 conservation standards. Brother is the only printer manufacturer with the globally recognised benchmark, TCO99 Accreditation for excellence in ecology, energy, emissions and ergonomics. The potential for businesses that are integrating environmental sustainability into the planning and production systems of their enterprises is immense. Good business depends not only on physical and financial capital, but on natural resources. Through the adoption of key strategies, reaching a balance between a financially secure and environmentally sustainable business can be achieved.

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