Environmental policy

We have read the science, and there is no doubt: humans just going about their daily lives are causing a catastrophic breakdown of our environment. We want to do our bit to change things. We realise what we are doing is not massive, ground-breaking stuff, and we could probably do more, but it’s a start.

We try not to fly, but if we have to, we have pledged to donate a tree to Greenpop for every hour we are in the air, to compensate for our carbon emissions. Greenpop works to restore forests all over Southern Africa, and the science says restoring the natural world is the best way to combat climate change.

We know that it’s almost impossible to not have waste, but we hope by vocalising these actions, we will be more mindful every day with the amount of waste we create.

• We have our takeaway coffee from reusable mugs
• We bring our own lunch as often as possible to avoid single-use plastic
• If we do get takeaway, it’s usually in compostable containers 
• We have a recycling pickup for the office
• We don’t buy bags at shopping centres 
• We don’t use air conditioning
• We don’t buy bottled water

The bottom-up behaviours we take in the office are almost insignificant if not paired with a top-down approach set out in the policies of South Africa. We need better legislation and we hope that by being vocal, by having an environmental policy, by talking about it, and by voting for it, we can make a difference.

Our offices are close to Parliament, so it’s easy for us to join the #fridaysforfuture protest action! But even if it wasn’t, we would join the kids. Because even if we reach our global emissions targets for 2030, we are relying on future generations to take carbon out of the atmosphere in the last half of this century. That’s not OK. (Did you know that South Africa is the 15th worst emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet? We are by far the worst polluter in Africa.) 

Our actions are small but important. Our commitment is to continue looking for ways we can do our bit, and to continue taking action to pressure our government to do something. There is no Planet B.