“Sustainability impacts the bottom-line, and all industries ought to be acutely mindful of how they do business on a planet with fewer and fewer natural resources.”
This and other important concerns were raised by GIBB General Manager: Environmental Services Sector, Dr Urishanie Govender, who was invited to discuss the implications of the Consulting Engineers of South Africa Sustainability Framework at a CESA Gauteng South Branch breakfast meeting at the end of February.

Govender assisted in mandating the Sustainability Framework, which was introduced by CESA in November 2013. It is aimed at guiding and assisting CESA member firms with sustainability monitoring and reporting. She said that by reporting on sustainability, engineering firms can see where they are making a material impact. “Importantly, reporting should not merely be about the action of compiling a report or a tickbox tool. Rather, it needs to be a structured medium to guide firms on sustainability - how to define it on a firm-by-firm level and how to understand and manage the identified material aspects.” GIBB understands the impact the engineering industry has on the communities and environment in which it operates in. In addition, it is aware of its role as a major job and employment creation driver in South Africa. GIBB has created its own sustainability service line within the Environmental Services Sector and developed a practical and informative sustainability model, which can be applied on a project level. The purpose of the model is to highlight the various tasks and outcomes relating to sustainability that need to be considered from an early project stage.

Sustainability Manager at GIBB, Karien Erasmus, said sustainability in engineering terms is all about achieving balance. “There are a number of key issues on South Africa’s development agenda that need to be addressed. Sustainability is not just about environmental and resource conservation. The social component is becoming increasingly important as it relates to community development, social upliftment and skills transfer. “The fact is, to contribute effectively to South Africa’s National Development Plan goals and objectives and achieve sustainability on a national level we need to, amongst other things, get electricity and water to people. We also need to ensure that education and jobs are created. Sustainability is not just about conservation, it is about allowing growth, but doing so, in a responsible and future-considering manner. “The engineering sector needs to understand the impact it makes with every project it undertakes. In addition, it needs to establish how it can contribute to the developmental agenda through the work it does,” said Erasmus.

Many of the projects GIBB is currently involved in fit the sustainability bill. “One of our current projects relates to renewable energy and linking it to grassroots skills development and sustained job creation, which are key considerations at the moment, especially in a country such as South Africa where coal resources are running low,” said Erasmus. Legislatively speaking, said Erasmus, South Africa will be rolling out carbon tax in 2015. “This will have a major impact on the transport and logistics sector. It will also impact the way we do business. If we do not take carbon emissions into consideration and look at international best practice, the cost of business will continue to rise.” Africa is a dynamic business space, one in which GIBB sees major opportunities. Govender said a number of international best practice policies govern the way GIBB does business in Africa. “There are several externally developed charters and sets of principles such as the Equator Principles (2007) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) Best Practice principles that will become entrenched in the next 10 to 15 years. So, it makes good business sense to align ourselves with them now.”

“Ultimately, the planet cannot sustain the way we are developing at the moment. It’s a bottom line fact. We have to find ways to develop sustainably. We need to acknowledge our past in South Africa and the way it has impacted our development. We need to find ways to give everyone access to equal services and an improved quality of life. This means we need the development, but we need to take cognisance of the way we develop,” commented Govender.