GCXAfrica

Renovagen, a solar energy company from the UK has developed the Roll Array, a high powered Solar PV (Photo Voltaic, powered by sunlight) type of carpet. It is a completely flexible, easy to transport, all in one microgrid.

As we all know we have inherited fossil fuels as the life blood of the global economy. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution which started in the late 18th century, the fossil fuel –namely the “oil and coal economy” started to emerge.

Available drinking water is something many of us take for granted, for some it is a challenging part of life that takes up many hours of precious time. Millions of people in developing countries struggle finding safe drinking water.

A world first, one of South Africa’s biggest pork abattoirs based in Cape Town has been given the green light to convert all of its waste to a biogas facility.

Coffee pods have changed the way we drink coffee. This tasty convenience, however, has an unsustainable downside being that the pods themselves are not recycled after use. European market leader Keurig brand’s K-Cup has particularly come under fire.

GDP (Gross Domestic Product) remains the main benchmark for countries measuring their success. In recent years new and alternative measures have been developed to measure societal success.

The technology of using captured greenhouse gasses from the air to make plastic polymers was developed by California startup Newlight Technologies and used commercially by Dell Computers on its laptop sleeve covers.

A lot has happened since the 74 year old highly acclaimed physicist and cosmologist Professor Stephen Hawking’s quoted in 1988 that “We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe.

The Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) on the Cape Flats has become a scene of controversy regarding new proposed developments on the sensitive farmland/wetland catchment area of the Cape Flats Aquifer. The Cape Flats Aquifer is a massive integrated groundwater system which is estimated to be 630km2 - enough to supply a third of the City of Cape Town’s freshwater supply.

In rural parts of Nigeria several communities have started building houses made from empty plastic bottles collected for free. The process is as follow: 1) bottles are collected, 2) filled up with soil and compacted, 3) the bottles are then stacked and layered on each other with clay, 4) the necks of the bottles are secured and connected with string 5) followed by a final layer of clay.

Plastic rubbish will outweigh fish in the oceans by 2050 unless the world takes drastic action. This finding was revealed at the World Economic Forum at Davos 2016 by a global study done by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation - a foundation which promotes the circular economy such as recycling.

According to a recent Oxfam report revealed at the World Economic Forum 2016 in Davos, the top 1% wealthy elite now owns more wealth than the entire bottom 99% combined. The report further reveals that only 62 individuals own more than the bottom 50% of the world which is about 3.6 billion people.

Be it extreme droughts, flooding, winds, heatwaves, wildfires, South Africans and the rest of the world are experiencing increasing and more frequent incidents of extreme weather events and consequences.

Rooibos is a household name that South Africans love and take pride in, claiming it as unique species which only grows in the Clanwilliam area of the Western Cape, South Africa.

Over 200 nations have come together in Paris for a common cause - COP21 saw top level participation, as senior heads of state including the US president Barak Obama and China’s General Secretary Xi Jinping participated in the talks.

In 2011 an article by IOL featured a story with a quote by the Environmental and Conservation Association: “by 2015, 80% of South Africa's fresh water would be so badly polluted that no purification process in the country would make it fit for consumption.”

Kevin James from GCX Africa spoke at the annual Green Building Convention about the measurement and matrix of corporate sustainability. The event seems to be gaining popularity with an exponential growth of attendees and rolling out of green buildings. Over 900 people attended this year’s event and a growth of more than 100% of new certified green buildings was announced.

Kevin James of GCX Africa was a speaker at the recent Metro Advance Forum at Arabella on the 3rd and 4th of November. The event was hosted by Nomadic Verve and was attended by predominantly the public sector including several executive mayors.

The Greenbuilding Council of South Africa (GBCSA) hosted its annual convention from the 2nd to 6th of November 2015 at the CTICC. The convention showcased companies doing work in this area and new innovations to lighten the footprint of the built environment.

France and Russia are the latest European countries to opt out of the European Union’s decision to allow GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) to be produced in Europe. This follows Germany, Scotland, Latvia and Greece who have already opted out.

BMW’s Pretoria plant will annually process approximately 40,000 tons of cattle manure and 20, 000 of organic waste. This will be fed into a biogas anaerobic digester from which the methane generated will be used to drive a gas engine

Volkswagen is under fire after news broke in September that they installed software in more than 11 million of their cars that allowed mostly diesel vehicles to perform better when tested for their emissions.

It’s difficult to believe but Stanford University researchers found a common meal worm (larvae of the Darkling beetle) that can safely break down and live off a diet of Styrofoam.

Kevin James of GCX Africa recently visited the Blank Canvas International Summit in Johannesburg and had interesting conversations with senior personalities in the mining sector including Mr. Sipho Nkosi CEO of Exxaro.

The CSIR have issued a warning to Sub-Saharan Africa to expect disproportionate temperature changes due to global warming. This is however nothing new as Africa, specifically Sub-Saharan Africa, is expected to be more susceptible to the impacts of climate changes.

3D printing has become a fascinating buzz word for many in the past 5 years yet little is known of its versatility. An Italian company called WASP has developed a 3D printer which can print simple cost effective houses with natural materials such as mud, water, clay and fibres.

Porsche has released its “Mission E” electric concept vehicle that can accelerate from 0-100kmh in 3.4 seconds.

Professor Tim Noakes believes the only way the World could save itself from a sugar diabetes and obesity pandemic is through a “high fat–low carb” (LCHF) diet.

Regarding nuclear energy, Kevin James gives us an update as well as his current thoughts on the South African government’s quite controversial nuclear energy procurement:

Interesting trends are emerging in the global energy mix where renewable energy is now the second biggest generator of electricity globally. It seems like the clean energy wave is growing and not slowing down any time soon. Here is what Kevin James had to say:

On the subject of food waste, two Canadian filmmakers have made a movie called ‘Just Eat it – A Food Waste Story’, where they commit to only being allowed to eat rescued food that was destined for landfill for a period of 6 months. Kevin James gives some insight:

A damning article was published in the Mail and Guardian last week giving some insights into the state of the country’s more than 800 water treatment plants and by association, the state of our natural water systems. Kevin James gives us the overall message:

In South Africa there seems to be much hype around the government’s new pet project, named ‘Operation Phakisa’, which aims to unlock the ocean economy. Kevin James gives us his thoughts on this initiative and whether he believes it will indeed be as beneficial as they are claiming:

With COP21 climate negotiations taking place in Paris in November, there has been a hive of climate change related activity in the USA with both government and business committing to deep cuts in coal use and significant investment into renewables. It also seems to be quite a big topic in the upcoming US presidential elections. Kevin James gives us an update:

Ocean debris and more specifically plastics finding their way into the ocean is a massive challenge for so many reasons. Here is an update on this issue as well as some of the initiatives being put in place to reverse this trend?

The iconic toy company, LEGO, is committed to moving toward more sustainable materials in the production of their products. This is quite a turn around after the story covered a little while back about LEGO.

13 more renewable energy project bids have been successful, and have been added to Round 4 of South Africa’s REIPPP program that was announced in April. Back then there was some doubt that this would happen, so this is good news indeed.

A damning research report published by three top US universities have confirmed that the Earth is officially entering its 6th extinction phase, with many species – including our own - being threatened.

Pope Francis warned today that a variety of human activities - from a blind worship of technology to a reliance on fossil fuels - risk irreparably ruining the planet, stealing its stunning beauty and rich diversity from future generations. This situation, the pope said in a sweeping and sharply worded manifesto, can no longer be met with irony and distain. Climate change is a reality and it’s getting worse…

We’re heading towards that time of the year again - the annual climate negotiations or COP21, this time scheduled for November in Paris. There are big expectations for this year’s event…

China is sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest trade partner, which seems to have clear benefits for the region. As time goes on, however, some real sustainability risks are emerging.

While treasury looks at the implementing a carbon tax in 2016, let’s examine another environmental tax, the plastic bag levy. How has it fared since its introduction back in 2004, and are there lessons to be learnt?

The French government has passed a law that every commercial building in the country needs to develop their rooftops into gardens and/or solar panels. This seems like an emerging global trend, but would it make sense in South Africa?

In an effort to curb waste across the food supply chain, France has introduced a new law that now makes it illegal for supermarkets to throw away edible food.

The IMF just released a report revealing that the fossil fuel industry is still benefitting from direct and indirect subsidies from world governments, to the tune of $5.3 trillion.

Toyota this month launched the Toyota Mirai, the world’s first mass-market, hydrogen-cell powered electric vehicle. The competition is heating up in the alternative vehicle market…

Listen to the Interview Michael Avery had with Raldu Nel (CEO of BCI) on Classic Business on 7 May. Learn more about the exciting topics of this year’s Sustainability Summit 2015 and how industry and academia can participate in the conversation.

The concept of a solar road emerged last year, and now one has been piloted in the Netherlands that is producing more energy than expected. Will solar roads become the way of the future?

A fly farming facility in the Western Cape is recycling food waste into animal feed. This is a game changing business, home grown by local entrepreneurial brothers, Jason and David Drew. They have been doing research and development over the last five years at their Stellenbosch test facility, where they were processing 10 tonnes of food waste a week into animal feed.

The 200 biggest oil, coal and gas companies seem to be finding more coal, gas and oil reserves ready for extraction. In contrast to tech companies, the fossil fuel sector is pursuing the same growth model rather than innovating for a sustainable future.

Energy storage remains one of our biggest challenges in the modern age. But tech companies are responding positively to what could be one of the biggest commercial opportunities of our time.