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120th blue-chip company signs up to 49M campaign

120th blue-chip company signs up to 49M campaign

29th August 2013

By: Creamer Media Reporter

  

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From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report. Eskom’s 49M campaign has made significant progress since its inception in 2011, with hotel and gaming group Tsogo Sun recently becoming the 120th blue-chip company to join the initiative. Leandi Kolver has the story.

Leandi Kolver:
The 49M campaign is aimed making energy efficiency a national culture. Through this initiative, South Africans are encouraged to take the environment into consideration while simultaneously assisting in protecting the country’s security of electricity supply.

49M spokesperson Andrew Etzinger explains how the initiative has grown since its launch two years ago.

49M spokesperson Andrew Etzinger:
It has seen great growth. We have at the moment 119, in fact after today’s signing ceremony with Tsogo Sun we have 120 blue chip companies who have signed on and pledged that within their own facilties and within their own staff they would promote energy efficiency and go through a calendar of events with us which involves a variety of activities aimed at heightening awareness around how to save electricity and the importance of it and also to bring that message forward to their customers and in the case of a hotel t hat would be the patrons that stay in that hotel, so vitally important that we get that behavioural change and awareness going and once again get all South Africans and the visitors to our country to be energy efficient for the good of all.

Leandi Kolver:
Tsogo Sun recently became the 120th blue-chip company to join 49M. The group has an existing environmental strategy in place across its 90 hotels and 14 casinos that has already seen a 3% reduction in energy use during the course of this year; however, through the 49M pledge, the group has committed itself to a further 10% reduction in energy use.

Tsogo Sun chief marketing officer Rob Collins discusses the group’s commitment.

Tsogo Sun chief marketing officer Rob Collins:
We are doing everything in our power to conserve and save energy, we have budgeted and strategically decided that we are going to save at least 10% in terms of consumption, we are well on track to achieving that.

In a group our size it is no small feat, the reality is that we have to do it via the operational sides, changing the old, big energy consuming light-bulbs into LED more efficient lightbulbs, changing the old geyser, element heated water, moving towards a heat pump which is far more efficient.

And then ultimately it is really a case of when we have the operational and the logistics right is to get the mindset of the staff, our patrons, and we have a huge staff complement, about 18 000 staff, as well as all of our clients, and the areas, because we are so community-centric, we are using the ladies, even the glamorous Miss Earth ladies to go talk and preach and become ambassadors of energy saving in the townships and the schools around our hotels and cities in which we operate.

Shannon de Ryhove:
Other news making headlines this week: Brics business leaders want the formation of a development bank to be accelerated; Transport MEC IsmailVadi unveils the 25-year Gauteng transport plan; and Property fund Emira’s turnaround plans result in a 3.5% distribution growth.

Business leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (known collectively as Brics) who participated in the recent inaugural meeting of the Brics Business Council in Johannesburg, have appealed to their respective governments to accelerate the formation of the Brics-led development bank.

President Jacob Zuma

Gauteng Roads and Transport MEC Dr Ismail Vadi recently unveiled the province’s proposed 25-year integrated transport master plan, set to guide the Gauteng government in its transport development and planning.

Gauteng Roads and Transport MEC Dr Ismail Vadi

JSE-listed Emira Property Fund has reported distribution growth of 3.5% for the financial year ended June 30, achieving a noteworthy turnaround from last year’s decline in distributions.

Emira Property Fund CEO James Templeton

That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy.

Edited by Shannon de Ryhove
Contributing Editor

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