Nicole Solomon is the AECI’s social responsibility and sustainability manager. The AECI Group Corporate Social Responsibility Fund has established a partnership with Petco to address waste management as a revenue stream for unemployed women and youth. When the unemployed youth blossom into skilled entrepreneurs and when women gain access to the economy through coaching and skills development. This is what motivates Nicole, who specialises in change management, transformation, strategy and diversity and inclusion. The AECI has invested more than R5 million in the past two years to strengthen and build informal waste management micro enterprises in communities around its operations. This investment includes providing waste-pickers with roadworthy trolleys and personal protective equipment, equipping buy-back centre staff with training, capacity building and financial management skills, and providing equipment such as generators, points of sale, scales and bailing machines. Along this entire value chain, income is created for both the waste-pickers and buy-back centres, which sell their sorted waste to wholesale recyclers. The AECI has now supported more than 15 of these projects in the Free State, Limpopo, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and the Western Cape. Each buy-back centre employs up to 10 full-time employees and 50 waste-pickers. Altogether this programme has created more than 500 jobs and recycled over 14 000 tonnes of waste, killing two birds with one stone — job creation and environmental conservation. An upcycling business has also been established to create various items such as bags, book covers and other goods from the plastic, which generates more income and more jobs.
What’s been your/the organisation’s greatest achievement in your field?
2018: Winner: Trialogue Strategic CSI awards
2019: Winner: Gender Mainstreaming – Empowering women in communities
2020: Winner: CSI Ubuntu awards
Winner: Gender Mainstreaming
*Investing in Young Women
*Economic empowerment of women
Winner: Top Empowerment awards: Job Creation
2021: Gender Mainstream Awards: Winner
*Economic empowerment of women
*Empowering women in communities
* Investing in Young Women
2022: Winner: Overall Gender Mainstreaming Champion for Southern Africa
*Economic empowerment of women
*Empowering women in communities
2023: Winner: CSI Legacy Awards, Category: Best Corporate
*Beyond Awards: Finalist, Best initiative
*Beyond Awards: Finalist, Best Sustainability Report
*CAIA Responsible Care award, Runner-up
*Ecologic awards: Silver Winner
Please provide specific examples of how your organisation’s practices and work have a positive effect on the environment
Environmental stewardship is embedded in our BIGGER Values [Bold, Innovative, Going Green, Engaged and Responsible].
Environment conservation and stewardship is embedded in our values as an organisation.
Our organisation has a safety, health, environment and quality working group and committee committed to improving, driving and embedding environmental stewardship across the group.
Strategy and programmes are drafted at group level, but rolled out at a business level. The group has an environmental manual called the Green Gauge, which serves as a guideline to drive best practice.
Biodiversity and land management:
The Umbogavango Nature Reserve, on the South Coast, was developed around two flood attenuation dams. The area is recognised by the KZN Ezemvelo Wildlife as an area of “conservation significance”. AECI Property Services aims to ensure that conservation areas are protected and well maintained by managing the company’s environmental impact responsibly and promoting and driving environmental solutions. Green spaces such as Umbogavango provide a habitat for a variety of bird species and small mammals. A portion of Umbogavango is used to host environmental programmes for primary schools and other interested stakeholders. Some of the interventions to maintain conservation areas include: alien vegetation management; water quality monitoring; wetland assessment; and planting of indigenous species in areas where alien invasive plant species have been removed.
In 2021 the AECI executive committee approved capital expenditure for phase one of a four-phase solar programme, which aims to generate 14 313 927 kWh a year of solar powered electricity for selected group operations in South Africa. Specialists were appointed to oversee construction and commissioning of the installations at three sites. Phase one was 90% completed in 2022 and it is projected that the initial generation of solar-powered electricity will come online soon.
We pursue Better Water by striving to achieve three outcomes: securing the availability of potable water for our surrounding communities; improving water conservation by using alternative water sources; and lowering effluent discharges through our re-use solution.
Climate action is a key focus area of our social responsibility programmes. This focus area aims to drive programmes that address climate action and to educate and create awareness around environmental stewardship. Our group invests in key programmes around water conservation, waste management and renewable energy.
We also use key United Nations celebratory days to drive initiatives to create awareness among our employees and communities such as World Water Day, Environmental Day, World Clean Up Day and Plastic Free Day.
What are some of the biggest environmental challenges faced by South Africans today?
- Climate change
- Water scarcity
- Poor waste management
- Inequality and poverty
Our theme this year is Celebrating Environment Heroes. What do you believe could be the repercussions for millions of people in South Africa and the continent if we do not tackle problems exacerbated by climate change, encompassing issues like drought, floods, fires, extreme heat, biodiversity loss, and pollution of air and water?
- The repercussions are massive. These natural disasters impact our most vulnerable communities in the most severe manner. Our country’s infrastructure suffers severely when such disasters occur. We have a huge task to empower and educate our stakeholders around climate action and the impacts it has on the most vulnerable members. For example, look at what devastating impact the floods had on the poorest in KwaZulu-Natal.
- Educating and empowering all necessary stakeholders with the knowledge and understanding of climate change and its consequences is key. This should start at the grassroots level and include all members of society. Once there is an understanding of the problem, we need to equip our people with the necessary recycling facilities, renewable energy sources, water management tools and resources.
- Education and awareness is power and I do think it needs to be taught more aggressively in schools. Children are a huge influence in the household and would encourage recycling, waste management, rain water harvesting and other key initiatives that households can take to address these challenges.
Example of key programmes that can be done on a national scale are:
- Waste management programmes that generate jobs and create an income can be scaled to make a massive impact on waste management.
- Renewable energy programmes that empower unemployed youth to develop skills in solar installation and in biogas.
- Driving key programmes around water management and leaks, including water stewardship programmes.
- Looking into a greener infrastructure for transport that will reduce carbon emissions.