CGF ARTICLES, OPINIONS & EDITORIALS
The Challenges of Green (2011-05-23)
February 19,
2015 3553 3553 
Back in 1624, John Donne coined the phrase that “no man is an island, entire of itself.”
And whilst Donne may have captured this phrase from a spiritual perspective, its principles of ‘connectedness’ may indeed also be likened to the modern-day view of business sustainability and the integrated reporting now espoused within the King Report on Governance for South Africa 2009 (‘King III’). Indeed, King III emphasises the need that sound environmental governance is central to the sustainability of business and cites that “environmental issues should form part of business performance and [its] risk management strategies.”
Notwithstanding the recommendations found within King III, organisations and their directors are generally not taking enough action to fully commit themselves to good environmental practices. And while there is much hype surrounding the need for integrated reporting, one can’t help wondering whether leaders are sufficiently armed with energy-efficient information that can be effectively applied within the business while not crippling the bottom line. Of course, the flip side of this question also needs to be addressed. Is an organisation and its directors implementing the required ‘green changes’ because they;
- believe it makes good business and ecological sense, or
- are compelled to do so as a result of the respective legislation, or
- are being driven by the demands of their stakeholders and supply chain or, most cynically,
- responding to the marketing claims of a competitor in order not to appear left behind.
Gauging the extent of South African legislation -- such as the National Environmental Management Act 2008 (NEMA), the Air Quality Act 2004, the National Energy Act 2008 and the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 -- one would think that our country and its businesses would be ahead of the pack vis-à-vis its carbon reduction strategy. Regrettably, South Africa is still one of the largest carbon emitters in the world. Despite the many debates to reduce our carbon footprint, we produce around an eighth of the total emissions of the European Union, most of that on the back of Eskom which is reported to be one of the highest carbon-intensive electricity utilities in the world
