Greening SANBS

Environmental imperatives as we manage our natural capital

Introduction

The Greening Task Team, comprising cross-functional staff and managers, continued its activities to “reduce SANBS’s impact on the environment”.

Focus on the greening efforts during the past financial year was limited due to the collective efforts of business being diverted to dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. In some areas we have seemingly made considerable progress in reducing carbon emissions e.g. flight travel, although this is a false positive in that severe restrictions were placed on travel, by both Government and the SANBS.

For 2020-2021 SANBS’s overall carbon emission as presented from the data collected totals 18 188 tons. This is an overall reduction of 11 % on the previous year. 99% of this total is attributable to a decrease in electricity consumption and business travel.

The Coronavirus pandemic has provided an ideal opportunity for the mandatory use of technology such as video conferencing. The lockdown has seen considerably fewer flights being undertaken and reduced business travel and we expect this situation to continue – contributing to SANBS’s greening objectives.

Energy and Carbon

Sustainability objective 1: Conserve energy

To reduce the carbon footprint, focussing in particular on the reduction in the use of electricity from the national grid.

2020-21 Update
  • Carbon emissions, in particular those related to our building energy use, represent one of our most significant environmental impacts
  • Monthly electricity consumption statistics obtained from real-time monitoring devices have highlighted increased consumption during the summer months
  • During the reporting period, the measured power consumption was 11.72mWh, 4.5% lower than 2020, primarily due to the closure of some sites and the relocation of the KZN HQ from Pinetown to Mt Edgecombe
  • The consumption statistics for sites where we do not have access to the electricity distribution boards are not reported in the figures reported. In Mt Edgecombe, solar energy has been installed to complement the power from the national energy provider
  • In the first full month after installation (June 2021), we consumed 49 180kWh of solar generated power with a carbon saving of 50 655kg. Carbon emissions from the measured electricity used is in the magnitude of 12 076 tons
Progress against our objective
  • Although the reduction in energy consumption has been marginal, the installation of solar in Mt Edgecombe has set the basis for the further installations to be done in the next few years
  • LED light bulb installations were rolled out to additional sites
  • Electricity and other carbon stats are published on the SANBS Intranet which is accessible by all staff

Plans for 2021-2022

Technology improvements
  • Continue with the phased rollout of LED bulbs at SANBS owned properties
  • Use the solar installation at Mt Edgecombe as a baseline for rollout to other SANBS owned properties
Culture change
  • Foster a low carbon culture under which procurement and other decisions are made with the overall carbon reduction objective in mind
Information assets
  • Use information gathered to indentify areas where we can be more effective in reducing emissions

Water

Sustainability objective 2: Optimisation of Water consumption and conservation
  • To reduce the consumption of water from all SANBS’s operations
  • Deploy rainwater harvesting technologies for SANBS owned properties
  • Prevent or minimise the disposal of trade effluent that contravene local bylaws
2020-21 Update
  • Tracking the consumption of borehole water at head office
  • Reducing water consumption has been limited, however an additional borehole water tank has been installed to redirect water to the garden irrigation system. The borehole at Mt Edgecombe has been commissioned
  • Borehole water consumption for the past year was 33% lower than the previous year due to the majority of staff working from home under the pandemic conditions
  • Borehole consumption was 4238 KI with estimated savings of R127k. By comparison, in the previous financial year 6381 Kl was consumed with an estimated savings of R191k
Progress against our objective

Although limited progress was made, the additional borehole water tank and borehole at Mt Edgecombe will drive improvements with this objective.

Plans for 2021-2022

Technology improvements
  • Continue with the rollout of water monitoring devices
  • Commission the borehole in Mt Edgecombe
Culture change
  • Foster a culture where water conservation becomes innate habit
Information assets
  • Use the information gathered to date to indentify areas where we can be more effective in reducing water consumption

Land and Air pollution

Sustainability objective 3: Manage Land and Air Pollution
  • Ensure that, in accordance with legislation, waste will be managed in a sustainable manner following the waste hierarchy of Prevention, Reuse, Recycle, Recovery and Disposal, to reduce the waste sent to landfill discarded and the resultant carbon emissions
  • Reduce the use of fossil fuels for personal and business travel in order to decrease the carbon impact of these activities
  • Dispose of all electronic waste according to the guidelines published by the Electronic Waste Association of South Africa (eWASA)
  • Reduce the use of paper and ensure spent cartridges are recycled
  • Prevent or minimise noise and air pollution
2020-21 Update
  • Significant effort was made to improve recording of waste data from our two main waste streams - general (office type) waste and biomedical waste from our operations
  • This has enabled us to better manage and control our waste outputs and to focus our waste management attention towards prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery and disposal
General waste
  • General waste is separated into 14 categories ranging from cardboard, newspapers and plastic
  • At some of the larger SANBS sites, a service provider has been engaged to separate general waste for recycling and minimal landfill disposal
  • The volume of waste recycled and equivalent carbon emissions was marginally higher than the previous year (1.6% and 2.9% respectively)
  • However, waste volumes and the amount discarded to landfills have increased considerably (48.7% and 350% respectively). Landfill discard from the recently opened Mt Edgecombe sites has partially contributed to the increase in waste sent to landfill

During the year, 38mt of general waste was recycled while 26mt was sent to the landfill. Carbon reduction from recycling amounted to 17.6mt.

Flight travel
  • Carbon emissions from business flights was significantly lower (65 tons) than the previous year (589 tons), which was attributable to the travel restrictions as a result of the coronavirus pandemic
  • Carbon emissions recorded are only attributable to domestic travel as no international travel was undertaken during the year
Road travel
  • Road travel comprises the use of couriers to deliver blood and blood products, own fleet to transport staff to donor clinics and to fetch collected blood for testing and processing, and mileage claimed by staff for the use of their own vehicles for business purposes. During the year, there was a small increase of 1.9% (463 373km) in the transportation of blood. However, there has been a significant 23% (2.14m km) decrease in the use of the SANBS fleet and mileage claims by staff
  • The restricted travel resulted in a reduction 1.12m kg of carbon
Printing
  • Notwithstanding lockdown conditions, printing volumes have remained static when compared to the previous financial year resulting in a negligible net impact on the environment (+50kg)
Progress against our objective

Further investigations need to be undertaken to identify why there has not been a reduction in printing similar to the other carbon emission elements we are tracking

Plans for 2021-2022

Technology improvements
  • Continue to monitor these measures
Culture change
  • Foster a culture where waste management and the impact on the environment through increased travel and printing becomes standard practice
Information assets
  • Use the information gathered to date to indentify areas where we can be more effective in reducing emissions

Procurement

Sustainability objective 4: Optimise procurement

Make sure that the products and services procured for SANBS are as sustainable as possible with the lowest environmental impact

2020-21 Update
  • While only energy efficient computing equipment is purchased, this needs to extend to other equipment used in our business

Plans for 2021-2022

Technology improvements
  • Create a database of the power requirements for all instruments and equipment used in the company
Culture change
  • Foster a culture to purchase only energy efficient equipment
Information assets
  • Ensure that the power requirements for new acquisitions is lower than the current instruments and equipment

Green building

Sustainability objective 5: Green building

Ensure that all SANBS owned buildings are built and operated in an environmentally sustainable way.

2021-2022 Update

  • The new Mt Edgecombe building was planned to achieve a 4 Star Green Building rating when the renovation work commenced in 2019.
  • In May 2021, the site achieved a 5 Star for Design with the Buildings rating still pending.

Culture change

Sustainability objective 6: Culture change

    SANBS operations are undertaken in a sustainable manner by environmentally conscious SANBS staff

2020-2021 Update

  • The Task Team has commenced with creating awareness around environmental matters through communication on different greening topics
    • Awareness topics included waste segregation, solar energy, water conservation, rainwater harvesting
  • The greening dashboard is now updated and published to the business on a quarterly basis. In November 2020, the Labyrinth and Amphitheatre build at head office was formally launched to the business.
    • The construction included the use of water wise plants and a rain-sensitive irrigation system that draws its water from the borehole.

Plans for 2021-2022

Technology improvements
  • Complete a greening dashboard and make this available to all staff
Culture change
  • Improve the awareness of our environmental impact through staff engagement, such as competitions, quizzes etc