Business synergy to lead greening of Tshwane

The Tshwane Green Foundation, endorsed by the Old Mutual Green Foundation, was launched at the Capital City Business Chamber’s gala evening on November 20.

Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya is to be the patron of the foundation.

Moya said at the launch that the business sector remains a pillar of Tshwane by creating jobs and investment, and its leadership towards creating Africa’s greenest city is remarkable.

“The launch of the Tshwane Green Foundation comes at a most opportune time. I have just come from an important international meeting of C40 Cities. Tshwane is part of this global network of mayors taking urgent climate action. It is a platform to globally talk about green issues like financing. Mayors are urging stronger multilevel partnerships and direct funding to help cities deliver faster, fairer climate action,” said Moya.

She said the metro is making headway with its greening and will in collaboration with Johannesburg be a host of the next summit meeting of the C40 Cities.

“The metro’s involvement in the Tshwane Green Foundation is critical to making real, people-focused progress and to hearing residents’ and the business sector’s voices on vital climate issues. I am honoured to be the patron. You can count on us,” said Moya.

Entrepreneur Mpho Sedibe explained the foundation’s aims as providing a neutral platform for the co-ordination and facilitating of greening initiatives within Tshwane.

“We will also turn the city into a recognised green city by practically involving citizens in beautifying and greening initiatives,” explained Sedibe.

Her hopes for the foundation are to create a green knowledge hub and unlock investment and employment potential to support the city’s transition into a resilient green economy.

“The choices we make today can lead us to be a model of a sustainable green city,” said Mpho.

Prof Godwell Nhamo from Unisa, a climate change specialist, asked if the city is on its way to becoming a green city or not.

“Where there is no vision, a city will perish,” said Nhamo. “We are fortunately already on a green journey in Tshwane but we also need a perspective on other green cities to see how we should go forward into the green space the metro is creating.”

Nhamo congratulated the metro on the work already done to establish a good vision to green the city.

“Greening is also about financing and policy making. I believe we are ready for greening more by-laws as a city. On the ground, the metro already has a climate action plan. What we need to do is to build resilience into what we already have,” said Nhamo.

Five Pretoria companies were asked to showcase what they are already achieving in making the city green: BMW, Coca-Cola, VDT Attorneys, Absa and Old Mutual. Each company showed the more than 500 guests their eco-friendly achievements.

Thilosh Moodally, spokesperson for BMW, said the company celebrated 50 years of production in South Africa last year. To her, one of their proudest green achievements is the fact that an environmentally friendly plug-in hybrid vehicle is exclusively being produced in South Africa for global export.

“This reaffirms our commitment to the greening of South Africa and the greening of our plant in Tshwane,” said Moodally.

Reuben Olifant, chairperson of the Chamber, referred to recent successes it had with the declaring of Rosslyn as an improvement district and the greening of the industrial area that also took place.

“To beautify Rosslyn by cutting the lawns and turning the often-damaged substation into a Fort Knox, as well as being proactive in curbing cable theft and giving the vendors a safer environment as well as legitimising them. These were our ways of taking hands with the metro,” said Olifant.

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