By Gontse Tsatsi, Head of Retail Client Management at Old Mutual Investment Group

After being postponed earlier this year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has been meeting in Davos from 22 May. Looking at its programme, it is a stark reminder that whilst this forum is a great learning and sharing platform, as South Africa, and Africa, we must also develop our own forums for robust engagement around meeting United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), particularly those on issues of Climate Change.

It is significant for the African continent that the forum coincided with the Africa Day celebrations, a great time to reflect on whether we are living sustainably to enable future generations to also celebrate our achievements and thrive on a prosperous planet. 

However, we see it as a missed opportunity that there was no focus on how to deal with the Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) investment challenge in Africa.

ESG is relevant for South Africa (and Africa) because to meet the UNSDGs, it must grow its economy and be true to the agreements it made at COP26 in the ‘Just Energy Transition Partnership’. 

South Africa received a commitment of R128 billion to help end its reliance on coal. That this action is urgent and important is understandable as South Africa is the 7th largest coal producer and 12th largest carbon dioxide emitter, responsible for nearly half of Africa’s carbon dioxide. 

Indeed, the social impact is huge for South Africa, especially for the Mpumalanga province which is the largest single area affected by nitrogen oxide in the world, according to Greenpeace. WEF states that “a recent court ruling found that air pollution in the area infringes residents' constitutional right to an environment that isn’t harmful to their health”.

This is proven true at least from a health perspective, with more than half of hospital admissions and deaths in the area resulting from respiratory illness. Due to weather patterns Johannesburg and South Africa’s capital Pretoria, are unfortunately the inheritors of the polluted air from Mpumalanga as well. 

Challenges like the one of Mpumalanga may sometimes seem insurmountable to ordinary people, who might feel like only large-scale projects can truly make a difference. However, there are many ways that individuals can contribute to a better world such as recycling household waste, seeking out retailers who are ‘green’ and using solar energy. 

Another impactful way is using savings and investments for the good. This can be done by making sure that their investment managers who manage retirement funds or unit trusts invest in companies that practice Responsible Investing or incorporate ESG principles in their investment processes. In addition, investors who hold individual stocks through private investment portfolios can also buy funds that are rated highly on ESG considerations.

Events like the WEF and observance days such as Africa Day and World Environment Day, are necessary to take stock of the progress we’ve made, determine how far there is still to go and of course, celebrate our wins. 

Therefore, as we observe World Environment Day, we must remember that as individuals there are several tools in our hands, that we can utilise to drive and encourage positive action for the protection of our environment. This is a collective responsibility and each and every one of us must do what we can to help protect our environment for generations to come, by so doing achieve the UNSDGs. These might seem like audacious goals, but remember, we are here because of individual actions of the past.