June is Environment Month in South Africa, and globally we celebrated World Environment Day on June 5 as part of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Much like Earth Day in April, World Environment Day is celebrated by millions of people across the world and the global platform advocates for environmental outreach and sustainability.

While reducing our carbon footprint might not be on top of a business’ priority list in a survivalist economy such as South Africa, it is important to keep focus of environmental sustainability practices as one of the three pillars of the company’s triple bottom line (profit, people and planet).

A company’s success is measured by its financial performance and certainly requires most of our effort in keeping this margin up in a global environment marred by war, fluctuating markets and political uncertainty. None more so than in the current Eastern Cape climate where we find the closure of a decades-old company like Goodyear in Kariega resulting in significant job losses.

However, a responsible company is also concerned with the success of its people, which includes the internal and external stakeholders, as well as the environmental context it finds itself in.

Environmental sustainability is not a luxury reserved for first-world countries. Businesses do not operate in a vacuum in a country and region like South Africa and the Eastern Cape, which have been severely affected by natural disasters such as droughts, flooding and fires over the last few years.  

These environmental issues have forced many exporters to invest in sustainability initiatives such as alternative energy sources (solar panels, generators, wind turbines) as well as water conservation efforts to reduce and recycle water in production processes as well as storing rainwater at factories and plants.

The initial cost of these investments is significant, and I commend our exporters who have made these investments in the interest of long-term benefits for the companies, and in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint. This is why the categories of the SJM Flex Environmental Practice Award and the SJM Flex Environmental Award are so important as part of the Exporters Eastern Cape Exporter of the Year Awards each year.

The SJM Flex Environmental Practice Award is awarded to exporters, other than manufacturers of original equipment for the automotive industry, who pursue activities towards Environmental Sustainability. The SJM Flex Environmental award is for exporters who are manufacturers of original equipment for the automotive industry, have environmental accreditation and pursue excellence in environmental management.

Other than receiving this recognition, our global counterparts expect sustainability as a core value and outcome of our exporting businesses. These standards differ depending on the type of industry and sector the exporters find themselves in; with even the tourism industry being mindful of sustainability practices as a key tourist requirement.

The Paris Agreement (2015) allows countries to set their own emission reduction goals, which has been intensified by some countries in recent years. Decisions made by some of our vehicle export markets have changed the future business model of our exporters locally, for instance the move away from the traditional combustion engine.

Reporting Standards on Environmental Issues focus on how organizations disclose their environmental impacts, risks, and sustainability practices. These standards help stakeholders (investors, regulators, customers, and the public) understand an organization’s environmental performance and strategy.

Global cooperation to combat climate change, is everyone’s responsibility. Whether it is recycling initiatives in big OEM production facilities or innovative product designs like the eco-friendly potato bags recently introduced by the Shoprite/Checkers group to reduce packaging waste; all businesses need to include environmental sustainability as part of their long-term strategies for future growth and success.

By Quintin Levey, Exporters Eastern Cape Chairman