Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI), the soft drinks division of South African Breweries (SAB), will sponsor a new category in the Climate Change Leadership Awards (CCLA).
The CCLA has, in its third year, introduced the new category called Waste Minimisation Hero Award in its Climate Hero sector
"ABI partnered with us because one of their primary concerns is around the 5Rs of waste minimisation: reduce, reuse, recycle, recover and residual management or disposal," says Jeunesse Park, founder of the CCLA and of Food & Trees for Africa.
“The Climate Change Leadership Awards proposal was ideally suited to ABI’s commitment to producing our product with as little impact on the environment as possible,” says Gaopaleloe Mothoagae, sustainable development specialist at ABI. “As a business we make up about 60% of the beverage industry and we are very conscious of our responsibility to society. The interests of business and the wider community are inextricably linked. The health and prosperity of those communities in which we operate is essential to our profitability and growth. Therefore, ensuring the sustainability of the world around us is vital to our success. As a founding member of PETCO (PET plastic recycling South Africa) and other similar industry bodies, we have always been concerned about the impact that waste generated through our value chain has on the environment, and are always looking for ways to ensure that we minimise this impact."
Mothoagae says that PETCO currently collects approximately 42% of the PET that is generated and the target agreed with government is for the industry to collect 50% of all PET by 2015.
In order to do so, says Mothoagae, businesses like hers must occupy a leadership role. South Africa must look beyond the low hanging fruit that has been harvested so far . Current initiatives, designed to have the greatest impact in the shortest time and most cost-effective manner possible, have focused on the collection of recyclables from landfill and through a number of buy back centers.
“But we need to change the mindset of communities so that collection is focused on minimisation at source through kerbside collections, groups of people taking an active role in their communities, in their households, schools and places of work,” she says. “We believe the introduction of this new category will reward those people in the communities already doing this, encourage them to do more and encourage more people to join the movement.”
The sponsorship offers financial assistance to winners in the categories of schools, communities, and youth groups and will deliver financing for additional, necessary equipment directly to suppliers.
Entrants will be judged based on their understanding of climate change, how it impacts the planet and species, their clear leadership in climate change, by showing initiative, through widespread impression across learners, educators, parents and other community members, a financially sustainable project, and promoting awareness. Entries opened in August and will close on January 30, 2012, with the awards in March 2012. Go to www.ccla.co.za for more information and to enter.“Successful nominations will demonstrate excellence in recycling , waste minimisation, and management," says Park.
