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478 results
Using reclaimed concrete in road construction
The project reclaimed 13,000 m3 of concrete and 5,000 m3 of asphalt for on-site reuse, saving R3.1 million in landfill airspace. While on-site crushing would have saved 36% compared to virgin materials, moving the crusher to Philippi increased costs by 20% over virgin sources due to haulage. Technical findings recommend SANS 3001 testing, a grading modulus of 2.2-2.3, and crushing to 37 mm for G5 material to improve workability and CBR values.
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Document type: Case study
Building Cape Town’s resilience qualities through design thinking
The document describes a partnership between the University of Cape Town’s d-school, GreenCape, and the City of Cape Town to introduce design thinking to youth. It focuses on a workshop for 180 Grade 6 learners from Wesfleur Primary School in Atlantis, using the challenge of saving water during a drought to teach human-centred problem solving. The study concludes that while young children can engage with the process, the approach is most effective for students in Grades 10-12.
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Document type: Case study
Building resilient industries: Applying industrial symbiosis to support wood recycling in Cape Town, South Africa
The document explores the use of industrial symbiosis to divert wood waste from landfills and reduce reliance on virgin timber in Cape Town. It details how the Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Programme (WISP) matches businesses to exchange under-utilised resources, such as using sawdust for brick manufacturing or refurbishing old pallets. These circular economy practices are presented as a means to build resilience against resource depletion and climate change while creating jobs and reducing the carbon footprint of local industries.
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Document type: Case study
GREEN ECONOMY SKILLS AUDIT 2019 REPORT
The report finds that while there is a general availability of skilled labour in Atlantis, many qualified residents commute to Cape Town, leaving local businesses to report skills shortages. It argues that the future of the A-SEZ lies in medium-sized, value-adding green businesses rather than mega-factories, as the utility-scale renewable energy market has been hindered by poor government implementation of the REIPPPP. The audit identifies a critical gap in 'soft skills' and STEM competencies, alongside systemic failures in the local education sector, particularly at West Coast College, which serves non-local students more than residents. Recommendations include a 'whole of society' approach to education, the establishment of a community ICT centre, and targeted bursaries for high-tech tooling training.
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Document type: Report
Energy Services: Market Intelligence Report 2019
The report identifies a total available energy services market in South Africa valued at approximately R125 billion by 2035, driven by rising electricity costs and falling technology prices. It highlights growth in rooftop solar PV, energy storage, and energy efficiency, while detailing the shift from a single-operator utility model to a distributed generation model. Key emerging opportunities include commercial off-the-shelf systems, project bundling, and building modernisation, supported by innovative finance mechanisms like PACE and a growing framework of municipal small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) regulations.
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Document type: Report
Atlantis Special Economic Zone Community Stakeholder Network: Building economic resilience in Atlantis, South Africa
The document details the creation of the ASEZ-CSN, a representative community forum designed to connect the local workforce and businesses in Atlantis to opportunities within the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) for Green Technologies. It outlines the election process managed by GreenCape, the eight sectors represented in the network, and how the structure aims to foster a 'social license to operate' through transparent communication and skills development.
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Document type: Case study
Building a resilient clothing and textile industry in Cape Town, South Africa
The clothing and textile industry in Cape Town faces significant risks from water scarcity, energy instability (load shedding), and a linear 'take, make and waste' business model. To build resilience, the Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Programme (WISP) facilitates resource efficiency and industrial symbiosis, helping businesses divert waste from landfills and reduce water consumption. Key interventions include water pinch analysis, borehole installation, and the adoption of solar PV. The document argues that facilitated, impartial programs like WISP are strategic assets for urban resilience by providing rapid adaptation and trusted information during crises.
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Document type: Case study
AN APPETITE FOR COLLABORATION
The report examines South Africa's public health crisis driven by a transition toward low-nutrient, high-calorific diets, which contributes to a 'triple burden' of under-nutrition, over-nutrition, and micro-nutrient deficiencies. It argues that while government regulation is critical, the concentrated power of the industrial food sector presents an opportunity for collaborative action. Based on a global review and 46 interviews, the document proposes four 'opportunity spaces' for collaboration: creating healthy retail environments, establishing a manufacturer innovation group, engaging smallholder farmers and fresh produce markets, and implementing collaborative social marketing. Key barriers identified include intense industry competition, mistrust between business and NGOs, and conflicting business imperatives.
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Document type: Report
Young Leaders
WWF South Africa's Environmental Leaders programme has supported 128 interns over a decade, addressing high graduate unemployment by providing work-based learning and mentoring. The programme focuses on scarce green skills, resulting in 76% of participants finding employment directly after their internship, with 37% of those in newly created positions. It emphasizes transformation and diversity, recruiting from 20 universities across South Africa and partnering with 32 host organisations across government, NGO, and private sectors.
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Document type: Report
Pay As You Save for Clean Transport LAB INSTRUMENT ANALYSIS
The report proposes the PAYS for Clean Transport instrument to address the high upfront costs of electric buses, which can be up to 40% higher than diesel alternatives. Under this model, utilities invest in batteries and charging infrastructure and recover costs through a fixed charge on the bus service provider's (BSP) electric bill. This approach shifts capital expenditure from the BSP's balance sheet to a monthly operating expense, reducing the need for grants and leveraging private finance. Modeling for a 100-bus fleet in Santiago, Chile, indicates that PAYS can make electric buses cheaper than diesel over their lifecycle and leverage over 70 dollars of private investment for every grant dollar provided.
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Document type: Report
Waste Management Flagship Programme
The Waste Management Flagship Programme seeks USD 1,359,719 in preparatory funds to transition South African municipalities from landfill-based disposal to a circular economy. The programme focuses on five organic waste treatment technologies: open windrow composting, in-vessel composting, decentralized containerized composting, anaerobic digestion (AD), and biomass pre-treatment. The PPF phase will conduct full feasibility studies and Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) for six pilot municipalities—Rustenburg, Emfuleni, uMhlathuze, Msunduzi, Mbombela, and Mangaung—while developing standardized blueprints, procurement documents, and a due diligence framework to scale the model to 24 additional municipalities. The overall programme aims to reduce methane emissions by 572,800 t CO2 eq per annum and create 938 jobs during construction and operation.
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Document type: Report
Closing the loop: Using building rubble in construction
The project achieved a 90% reuse rate of demolition waste by carefully deconstructing existing buildings on a 15 ha site. By reusing 4,500 m3 of concrete onsite for fences, casting beds, and pipes, the project saved R649,000 in material and transport costs. Other recovered materials included 3,500 m3 of brickwork for a local school, 2,600 m3 of asphalt, and 6,800 m3 of laterite. The approach avoided greenhouse gas emissions linked to virgin material extraction and processing, with only PVC piping, roof insulation, and sheeting sent to landfill.
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Document type: Case study
The role of climate change in the 2015-2017 drought in the Western Cape of South Africa
An international team of scientists used a multi-method attribution approach to determine that anthropogenic climate change increased the likelihood of the 2015-2017 Western Cape drought by a factor of 3.3. The drought, characterized by three consecutive years of below-average rainfall, led to a severe water crisis in Cape Town, nearly resulting in 'day zero'. The study finds that drought risk in this region scales linearly with warming, suggesting that further temperature increases will continue to raise the probability of such extreme events.
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Document type: Research paper
Repurposing builders’ rubble & other secondary materials
Iselula Crushing processes between 5,700 and 22,000 m3 of builders' rubble monthly to produce construction aggregates, diverting an equivalent volume from landfills and saving suppliers between R980,000 and R3.8 million in landfill costs per month. The facility recovers concrete, bricks, mortar, metal, tyres, timber, and PVC pipes, supporting 32 formal employees and 14 informal business opportunities for the local community.
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Document type: Case study
Green Bonds: A Bridge to SDGs - Focus on SDG 6, 7, 9, 11, 13 & 15
The document examines how green bonds support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically identifying SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15 as those receiving the most direct benefit from green investment. It highlights that while clean energy (SDG7) remains the largest market share at 40%, other sectors like low carbon buildings (24%) and transport (15%) are significant. The author argues that climate change is a crosscutting threat to all SDGs and calls for the application of 'green' definitions and climate risk disclosure across all thematic bonds—including social and sustainability bonds—to avoid short-term gains that fail long-term climate targets. The briefing concludes that annual green bond issuance must scale to USD1 trillion by 2020 to meet these goals.
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Document type: Briefing
FINAL REPORT: CE & BIOVALSA TRADE MISSION TO CAPE TOWN 22-25 MAY 2018
The trade mission, held from May 22-25, 2018, focused on sharing Dutch expertise in waste management and circular economy practices with South African government and private sector entities. Activities included site visits to waste management and composting facilities, sector workshops on secondary materials and bio-based economies, and the development of business cases for insect-derived animal feed and invasive species valorisation. The mission identified specific needs in South Africa for crushing standards in construction and demolition waste and the implementation of quality control systems for secondary materials.
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Document type: Report
NEMA Section 24G Application to Rectify Unlawful Activities: Expansion of Processing Area and New Process Water Dam at the Tormin Mine, West Coast Environmental Management Programme
The report outlines mitigation and management measures for the operational and closure phases of two unlawful activities at the Tormin Mine: the expansion of a processing area and the construction of a process water dam. It identifies low to insignificant environmental impacts and provides a detailed framework for monitoring and rehabilitation to comply with the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA).
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Document type: Report
Municipal Snapshot
The Drakenstein Municipality faces significant water constraints due to urban growth and climate change, with urban water requirements projected to grow by 129% by 2040. Agriculture, particularly grapes which consume 80% of irrigated water, is a major driver of demand. By 2040, the estimated water deficit could cost the local economy approximately R10.5 billion per annum and 57,218 jobs.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Pay As You Save® (PAYS®)
The document introduces Pay As You Save (PAYS) as a financing model to accelerate the transition from diesel to electric buses in South Africa. By shifting the cost of batteries and charging infrastructure from the bus operator's balance sheet to a municipality-managed on-bill tariff, PAYS removes the primary barrier of high upfront capital costs. The model benefits bus service providers through immediate operational savings, utilities through increased electricity revenue and secure cost recovery, and capital providers through reduced risk by lending to creditworthy municipalities.
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Document type: Briefing
Why making your business water resilient makes financial sense
The document argues that investing in water resilience makes financial sense regardless of whether water tariffs are strict or relaxed. It models three business scenarios—a medium-sized office, a medium-sized manufacturing facility, and a large manufacturing facility—demonstrating that solutions like smart metering, retrofitting, and rainwater harvesting can reduce municipal water reliance by up to 70% and lower water-related costs by 60%. All modelled solutions are projected to pay for themselves in under six years.
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Document type: Briefing