Businesses must gear up for new ‘green’ legislation

Greenhouse gas reduction is high on the agenda for South Africa – and a green paper on the matter is expected no later than June. That’s the word from Liesl De Wet, senior manager: sustainability for Barloworld Logistics Africa. She says now more than ever before it is important for South African businesses to get their heads around what is green, how it can be translated into their business offering and the way they conduct business, especially if they want to remain viable and competitive in a carbon constrained future. “The government has announced a target to reduce South Africa’s carbon footprint by 34% by 2020 and by 42% by 2025. With these kinds of targets in place and legislation on the horizon to ensure that the targets are realised, it is imperative that businesses become aware of the changes they will have to make.” Having been involved in ensuring environmental sustainability at Barloworld Logistics, De Wet says the first step for any company embarking on the ‘green’ journey is awareness. “An assessment of your company is necessary to determine what your carbon footprint is as well as your direct impact on the environment within which you operate. If you do not take this into account and make the necessary changes – which could soon be legislated – your competitiveness as a global player could be impacted significantly. There is also no doubt that non compliance will affect your bottom line sooner or later.” While experts agree reducing the carbon footprint of any company is costly to implement, the cost saving of green is huge. “There is definitely a direct cost benefit to the business,” says De Wet. “When one looks at the enormity of the topic of global warming, going green sometimes is too much to comprehend, but essentially it is not a difficult concept to implement – and apart from the environmental benefits and doing the right thing, it can save money in the long run.” With South Africa estimated to be responsible for some 3% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the world, the country has no choice but to bring about change. And business is going to have to get on board. “It is about the bigger picture,” says De Wet. “As a country we will find ourselves being less competitive in the global arena. In the developed world emissions are capped. Companies have very strict compliance legislation and they will not do business with markets that are not even attempting to comply. For the sake of South Africa Incorporated we have no choice but to become environmentally sustainable – and soon as time is running out.”