By Kate Stubbs
In recent years, sustainability has evolved from a buzzword to a fundamental principle that shapes the strategies of businesses, investors, and policymakers alike. The interconnected issues of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria, sustainability, and climate change are at the forefront of global discussions and will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our planet.
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria have become integral to investment decisions, and their importance will only continue to grow. In fact, so much so that the concept it encapsulates, sustainability, has become a key watchword for South African corporates, as they grapple with both the public’s demand for environmentally friendly products and the demands of ESG reporting requirements. There is no doubt that the combination of this is helping to drive a culture change across society, leading businesses to work together to identify innovations that address key issues, while meeting changing legislative demands.
The beauty of ESG lies in its increasing ability to integrate into investment strategies and corporate decision-making. In fact, what we are seeing is that investors are not only seeking financial returns but demanding ethical and sustainable practices from the companies in which they invest. And this is good news for our global sustainability and climate crisis, as now businesses are prioritising ESG considerations as a means of attracting capital and securing long-term viability.
However, I believe that even with ESG reporting prioritisation taking place, we still need to see a greater shift in thinking from businesses around their production processes and broader value chain – from the traditional linear production process – the take-make-dispose model – towards one that aims to reduce all unnecessary waste materials, and actively reduces the consumption of energy and raw materials to feed this back into the cycle.
This is the definition of the ‘Circular Economy’ model, where waste created in one industry is re-purposed for use in other areas of industry, and the economy, and where disposal is the final option, rather than the immediate go-to.
Of course, this means looking deeper than the obvious solutions and finding ways to unilaterally work together to ensure solutions available are viable and cost effective. Understanding too, that this is a massive strategic shift, which requires cross-functional collaboration, long-term planning and implementation.
South Africa has already indicated the intention to gain access to higher levels of climate financing with a goal of achieving $8 billion per year by 2030 and we are seeing strong legislation coming through the system that examines end of life products – and what should be done with these (addressing a key waste such as plastic for example) – as well as the future removal of organic waste from landfill disposal.
In fact, our country’s fixed target for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is 398-510 MtCO2e by 2025, and 350-420 MtCO2e by 2030, with the objective of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 through the Low-Emission Development Strategy. However, while we are making headway in many areas, we are still currently at number 96 on the Climate Vulnerability Index, meaning we are still largely a climate vulnerable society.
However, there are solutions that can change this reality for our society and drive sustainability. For us, effective waste management and the ability to use waste in creating a circular economy provides a critical pillar to addressing this reality. Not only does proper waste management ensure that we can reuse and repurpose the growing mound of waste, but it ensures that, where waste cannot be repurposed/recycled, it can be – as a last resort – sent to a compliant landfill for safe disposal.
Without a doubt the waste sector plays a fundamental role in meeting the country’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), tackling not one, but at least 6 of the 15 goals in total. Goals 6 (Safe water), 7 (Clean energy), 13 (Climate action) and 11 (Sustainable cities) being the most prominent in this regard.
However, we have a conundrum where business, community and at some levels of government – are under informed about the potential of well-managed, compliant, and innovative waste management solutions. The reality though is that with a population of 61 million people and growing by around 1% a year, and with each person generating around 2 kgs of waste per day, we are heading towards a waste disaster if we don’t start creating solutions and ensuring that all parties are educated as to why effective waste management is so important.
As a starting point, let’s discuss the impact of wastewater management on driving sustainable water supply. With 7 of the 13 major water systems in South Africa predicted to be in deficit by 2040 and the demand for water expected to exceed available supply by 2030, we need to find solutions. In our experience wastewater management can result in the redistribution of water into the environment for irrigation and dust suppression, as well as to replenish rivers and catchments in our water infrastructure networks. Furthermore, treated to the required standards, we have found that nearly all effluent can be recycled, if done properly, creating a strong solution for water sustainability and access – water that was previously not deemed safe for consumption.
On the other hand, waste can also help support how we tackle the energy crises, but it needs solid business, government and industry collaboration to see it to fruition. We know that Just Energy Transition’s (JET) provision focuses on achieving “Net Zero” carbon emissions by 2050, by exploring alternative sustainable options, and if we consider that the global waste-to-energy market is expected to grow from 28.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, to almost 43 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, waste presents a large economic opportunity to establish new industries and/or revenue streams – while also meeting our SDG Goals. Sounds strange to use waste for energy, but it can be achieved through three key processes – thermal, biological and physical. For each process, there are a variety of technologies available to convert different types of waste to energy such as electricity, steam or gas, which to my mind, presents us with multiple layers around how we can change South Africa’s energy crisis.
Let’s not forget the impact of what recycling can do for our sustainability too. South Africa consumed around 3.4 million tonnes of packaging in 2021 (so you can imagine how much higher these figures are today), with approximately 54% collected for recycling – which is a good start. However, if we consider that each person is estimated to generate around 2 kgs of waste per day, our recycling efforts are still not near close enough to what we need, especially as around 90% of all waste is still being disposed of to landfill or illegally dumped, a lot of which could be re-used as alternative resources, when managed effectively.
While some might say that South Africa is making large headway in our fight against climate change, we must consider that we are in a juxtaposition between fighting climate change, and fighting economic turmoil – and which one comes first, or can they coexist? While we would like to believe that climate forms top of the agenda, we must be aware that the very agenda items needed to drive effective climate change are the same ones where we face some of our largest challenges including water and energy as key components.
This certainly doesn’t mean we aren’t committed to it, but rather that our challenges currently outweigh the obvious opportunity and so, simply put, we need to start digging deeper to find alternative means to addressing our challenges to improve our climate action.
The good news is that climate action and economic preservation can coexist and in fact, should. Waste and effective waste management presents a large economic opportunity to establish new industries and/or revenue streams as well as meet our country’s SDG Goals and companies ESG targets, while meeting growing and necessary climate action agendas.
Kate Stubbs is the Group Business Development and Marketing Director for Interwaste Holdings
