SOUTH AFRICA KEEPING NATURE IN FOCUS

The report details the outcomes of a five-year partnership between WWF South Africa and Woolworths, highlighting achievements in sustainable seafood sourcing, water stewardship in key catchments, regenerative agriculture, and the reduction of food waste and plastic pollution.

• Woolworths achieved high compliance with its sustainable seafood commitments, with 89% of evaluated species meeting the criteria and 94% compliance by volume. Additionally, 45% of seafood sold is certified by recognized eco-labels like the MSC or ASC.
• The partnership established South Africa's first national seafood-labelling standard, SANS1647, with Woolworths becoming the first retailer to fully align all its seafood product labelling with this standard.
• Water stewardship efforts in the Western Cape, specifically through the 'Ryno Pienaar Coordinator Model', resulted in the clearing of 5,383 hectares and 88 km of riverbanks of invasive alien plants, saving approximately 811,900 m3 (8,119 megalitres) of water.
• In the Mpumalanga Drakensberg Water Source Area, research revealed significant faecal pollution in the Sabie and Crocodile catchments, with E. coli concentrations exceeding 1,000 cfu/100 ml at 40% of monitoring points in the Sabie and 30% in the Crocodile, far above the 100 cfu/100 ml irrigation standard.
• A pilot project in Mpumalanga successfully supported smallholder farmers transitioning from water-intensive sugarcane to sustainable cotton, with the first harvest yielding over 3,500 kg per hectare.
• Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of produce showed that tunnel-grown raspberries have carbon and water-scarcity footprints less than half those of raspberries grown under shade netting, despite higher plastic use. For cucumbers, avoiding retail refrigeration could reduce the carbon footprint by at least 25%.
• Woolworths co-founded the South African Plastics Pact in January 2020, committing to 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging and a 30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging by 2025.
• The partnership's water stewardship work in the UmZimvubu Catchment Partnership (UCP) led to the protection of 36 natural springs, improving potable water access for approximately 5,000 people.

APA

WWF South Africa (2022). SOUTH AFRICA KEEPING NATURE IN FOCUS. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/woolworths_partnership_review_2023.pdf

Chicago

WWF South Africa. SOUTH AFRICA KEEPING NATURE IN FOCUS. 2022. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/woolworths_partnership_review_2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF South Africa |title=SOUTH AFRICA KEEPING NATURE IN FOCUS |date=2022 |url=https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/woolworths_partnership_review_2023.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfsouthafrica2022south, author = {{WWF South Africa}}, title = {{SOUTH AFRICA KEEPING NATURE IN FOCUS}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, year = {2022}, url = {https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/woolworths_partnership_review_2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }