Photo by: Duane Daws
The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport on Thursday signed a joint declaration of intent with the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety for cooperation in the field of green logistics.
The German ministry had previously commissioned the Nexus Institute for Cooperation Management and Interdisciplinary Research and Gesi System Innovation to create a Green Logistics Indicator (GLI:X) project report for the Gauteng region, aimed at evaluating the challenges facing the province in implementing more sustainable freight solutions, as well as assessing different approaches to smart and sustainable urban logistic solutions.
Speaking at the handover of the project report, Gauteng Roads and Transport MEC Dr Ismail Vadi said the province hoped to achieve five key goals, including greener, faster, more cost-effective, safer and more inclusive logistics.
“[This must fall] in line with the broader development goals, including environmental protection, socioeconomic development and a safe and secure urban environment,” he said, noting that this programme needed to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions, the preservation of natural resources and a reduction in waste.
“We live in a very small province, a very congested province,” he added.
German Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety Deputy Minister Gunther Adler added that programmes such as GLI:X were in line with global efforts to combat climate change.
“There are those that doubt climate change, but we hope they will gain some insight to the fact that we need to stop climate change in a very short matter of time,” he said, adding that the ministry was grateful for broad support of the project from both the private and public sectors in Gauteng.