Most of us have heard of activists who dedicate their lives to protecting our natural environment, and until recently, they were often dismissed as tree-hugging hippies. Well, if you were at the Gigaton Awards in Durban on 3 December 2011, which single out businesses for measurable carbon reductions and for working towards sustainability, you would definitely change your view about the green movement. Its members are far from being hippies; in fact this movement has been taken over by CEOs of multinational organisations. Business people often do not get involved in projects that do not have the potential to make a profit. Perhaps it is fortunate that being green is actually profitable for society and for your bottom line!
There are massive business opportunities, it has emerged, in the green economy. More than 500 million people on the African continent are not catered for by the energy grid that the rest of us take for granted, a gigantic opportunity for solar energy suppliers here in Africa.
So the grey suits are not barking mad by suddenly jumping on the green bandwagon – it makes perfect business sense it would seem. President Jacob Zuma, who delivered the opening address at the World Climate Summit, said that this is a great opportunity for business and society to transform, and in our case (South Africa’s), an opportunity to link rural economy to mainstream economy, amongst other potential eventualities.
For the doubting Thomases on climate change or the impact of greenhouse gases on the planet, the business-type greenies say it does not matter if you believe that our climate is changing or not – changing our behaviour and consumption patterns, be it for energy or other products and services, is still good for us long term.
And with the traffic on Johannesburg highways these days (less said about the tolls the better), it probably makes sense to work from home or jump on that bike to go to work.
Shoni Makhari, reporting live from the World Climate Summit, Elangeni, Durban.