Ben Chiganze A Bass Fisherman’s Approach
In my last instalment I alluded to the importance of preserving our environment which is useful in keeping our staff members motivated and inspired to perform better at work. Any business that totally disregards the impact of its actions on the environment is doomed to fail in the long term. The same applies to sporting organisations, charitable organisations as well as religious organisations.
The issues of environment and sustainability of the environment we operate in care of paramount importance in any business decision making process now. The traditional thinking is that the only reason for any business’ existence is to maximise profits.
Some believe you have to make it at all costs necessary or viable, however the conventional way is about making profit in a sustainable environment, which many companies and countries are now employing.
This entails that current business value chain now incorporates the environment as a support service to its operations. In order to make the inclusion of environment as a major inclusion in the business operations some countries have come up with legislation which makes reporting on business’ sustainability in its operations compulsory for listed entities.
Adoption of sustainablereporting in Africa
In South Africa it is a compulsory listing requirement for companies listed on Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) to be rated based on global reporting initiatives (GRI) whereby, companies are given credit or points on the following factors:
Conservation
Conservation plays pivotal role in GRI reporting standards. One of the factors considered is reticulation of grey water (water from toilets) and black water (water from sinks, taps) for own their use at their company’s premises.
Energy Saving
The cost of putting up additional energy generating capacity for any country in Africa is prohibitive .This entails coming up with methods of conserving the available energy. In South Africa, companies are given ratings based on energy saving methods they are using at their companies such as the use of boreholes, energy lights and even city canals.
Rain water harvesting
Though countries like Zimbabwe receive above normal rainfall every year, it is sad to note that most of it just flows away to the oceans every year with very little efforts made to conserve it. In South Africa companies are rated on their ability to harvest rainwater and conserve it at their premises.
Solar energy
Among other notable initiatives the government of South Africa has also availed GRI points for use of renewable energy alternatives such as solar energy at company premises for heating water, lighting, and other uses applicable.
Global reporting initiatives in South Africa
South Africa is one of the countries with the largest number of known GRI reporters globally. The response to national and international accountability frameworks by the business community in South Africa has been positive and pioneering in some respects. The regulatory environment has encouraged transparency and accountability by the private sector, hence more trust is gained from the shareholders.The GRI Focal Point South Africa’s objectives are:
Promoting the importance of transparency for markets and better knowledge of sustainability reporting (SR) in key target markets on the continent as well as in the SADC region.
Building and strengthening sustainability performance and reporting capacity.
Shaping the reporting environment by influencing public policy and market initiatives.
Facilitating the participation and representation of African organizations/experts/practitioners in the development of the GRI Reporting Framework and governance bodies as well as GRI’s participation in key African regional initiatives.
Ensuring long term institutional sustainability.
However the uptake of sustainability reporting in the rest of the continent has been very low. Of the GRI registered reports in 2010 and 2011, only 3 percent were from outside South Africa, namely from organisations in Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius and Nigeria.
It is high time our business community follow suit by implementing our own home grown GRI initiatives .It is not always prudent for the business community to wait for the Government to create the enabling legislation to protect environment at corporate level.
Feedback-chiganze@iwayafrica.com