Eastern Cape Business 2023-24
The 2023/24 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 16th edition of this successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Eastern Cape. The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) is supporting this issue of the journal, both in providing up-to-date information for editorial use and in sharing information about its activities. It will also distribute the journal through its regular channels. The Eastern Cape’s multi-faceted approach to the challenges and opportunities of sustainability are explored in a special feature. From caring for agricultural land through partnerships between farmers, wool brokers and fashion houses, to solar panels and improved lighting and water systems, companies are finding ways to incorporate sensible and profitable solutions into their business models. The Nelson Mandela Bay Development Agency celebrates a significant milestone this year, it being 20 years since it began operations.
The 2023/24 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 16th edition of this successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Eastern Cape. The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) is supporting this issue
of the journal, both in providing up-to-date information for editorial use and in sharing information about its activities. It will also distribute the journal through its regular channels.
The Eastern Cape’s multi-faceted approach to the challenges and opportunities of sustainability are explored in a special feature. From caring for agricultural land through partnerships between farmers, wool brokers and fashion houses, to solar panels and improved lighting and water systems, companies are finding ways to incorporate sensible and profitable solutions into their business models. The Nelson Mandela Bay Development Agency celebrates a significant milestone this year, it being 20 years since it began operations.
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A land regeneration project has been launched by a fashion house in collaboration with sheep farmers<br />
and wool suppliers. Credit: Mark Sampson<br />
Restoration and Regenerative Land Management<br />
plan currently involves about 80 farmers who<br />
have pledged to encourage biodiversity and assist<br />
farmers in regenerate the land in a sustainable way.<br />
The wool industry has its own Responsible Wool<br />
Standard and H&M sources its wool mostly from<br />
RWS-certified farms.<br />
Sustainable energy<br />
The town of Cookhouse is in the Blue Crane Route<br />
Local Municipality. Neighbouring town Bedford is<br />
the site of the 134MW Amakhala Emoyeni Wind<br />
Farm but all the power produced by that facility is<br />
sent to the national grid. However, the erection of<br />
solar street lights in Cookhouse represents not just<br />
a positive thing for the residents of that town, but<br />
also illustrates a sustainable solution.<br />
The company that built the wind farm, Cennergi,<br />
together with the Amakhala Emoyeni Community<br />
Fund Trust, erected 30 battery-pack streetlights with<br />
the aim of preventing crime and promoting safety.<br />
The contractor who erected the lights, ZP Energy,<br />
hired 14 local people to assist with the project.<br />
The Coega Development Corporation (CDC)<br />
is positioning the Coega Special Economic Zone<br />
(Coega SEZ) as a preferred location for energy<br />
projects. Coega has a mix of wind farm investment<br />
projects planned with an overall capacity of 183 MW,<br />
a 12MW photovoltaic (PV) solar farm, and possible<br />
bioenergy projects in the pipeline. The Coega Solar<br />
Rooftop Project aims to instal solar panels on the<br />
industrial buildings in the Coega SEZ and Nelson<br />
Mandela Bay Logistics Park.<br />
The 57.5MW Coega Wind Farm, built by<br />
Electrawinds, was the first commercial wind farm<br />
built in South Africa. Having built that first wind<br />
farm, the Belgian company has become a tenant of<br />
the Coega SEZ, part of a group of other renewable<br />
energy sector companies such as Absolute Wind, a<br />
company which transports equipment on flatbed<br />
trucks, and HimoinSA, a Japanese firm.<br />
Rhodes University has Africa’s first and only Chair<br />
of Environmental Education that is recognised as<br />
a United Nations Centre of Expertise in Education<br />
for Sustainable Development and Environmental<br />
Learning Research Centre. The university announced<br />
in <strong>2023</strong> a new partnership with UK firm ElimiNOX.<br />
A R300-million fund will invest in carbon-reducing<br />
projects to enable investors to claim tax allowances.<br />
Rhodes University and ElimiNOX will collaborate to<br />
assess projects for investment purposes and provide<br />
educational and practical support to emitters.<br />
As part of the agreement, Rhodes University<br />
will use ElimiNOX environmental-fuel conditioner<br />
in its fleet of vehicles and generators as part of its<br />
contribution to reduce its carbon footprint. ■<br />
Solar street lights have been erected in<br />
Cookhouse because of the presence of a wind<br />
farm. Credit: Cennergi
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