Winner — Companies and organisations with the most improved environmental practice: Wesbank
The Japanese philosophy kaizen (improvement) epitomises Wesbank’s decision to reduce consumption and promote efficiency in the workplace.
Kaizen was first implemented in several Japanese businesses during the country’s recovery after World War II and has since spread to businesses throughout the world.
”It has helped us to evaluate our processes and look for meaningful ways in which the consumption of resources such as paper and ink cartridges can be reduced,” said spokesperson Pauline Govender.
Staff at Wesbank — a division of the FirstRand Banking group — have access to a general environmental awareness programme. They are encouraged to implement their practical ideas and to participate in in-house communications.
Management adopted three innovative energy-saving ideas from employees: an SOS (Switch Off Something) sticker to remind people to save energy; time-delay switches that turn all unnecessary lights off between 11pm and 4am; and motion detectors linked to timers that switch all lights off in an area when they are not in use.
The bank integrated these ideas into the recent development of a new office block in Fairland, Johannesburg. Here it had the opportunity to start from scratch with the implementation of an environmentally friendly construction.
The Fairland building has more than a hectare of glass and a sunscreen design evolved from a community outreach programme. Local schoolchildren were invited to submit designs carved on to potatoes to illustrate the idea that ”knowledge is light”, a concept introduced to them by architect Kim Fairbairn.
The sunscreens, as well as solar reflector panels, work with air conditioning and other electronics to insulate the building and allow in natural light. The use of energy-efficient light bulbs and solar energy to heat water also saves energy.
Water is recycled from air conditioning units for irrigation of the new grounds. Storm water flows into an attenuation pond to prevent flooding of the local Jukskei River and soil erosion in the catchment area. Toxic items such as ink cartridges are recycled to prevent them polluting water sources.
All contractors on site at Fairland received induction training to avoid storm-water contamination and the use of toxic chemicals. ”Our approach was first to identify internal activities that had an impact on the environment and minimise those before aiming to influence customers, suppliers and other parties,” said Govender.
Customers are encouraged to choose electronic copies of their bank statements, instead of printed versions. Govender said that the company allocated funds towards ”sustainable thinking projects” that create employment through efforts such as recycling.
Indigenous trees are planted in surrounding community areas on the bank’s annual Super Series race days to offset carbon emissions from the racing vehicles.
Wesbank is calculating the extent of its carbon footprint and participates in carbon disclosure projects. It is voluntarily adopting the international standards of the Equator Principles to manage environmental and social risk in its project finance transactions.
It has adopted the UN Global Compact — with 10 universally accepted principles centred on the environment, human rights, labour and anti-corruption — as a guide to coordinate long-term planning.
The Greening the Future judges noted that the company embarked on an evolutionary process to reduce its environmental footprint. ”If I was a shareholder in Wesbank, I would be pleased by its approach,” said one of the judges.