• Electrolux invests R16 million in new 1 MW solar system at Benoni factory.
• Carbon footprint to be slashed by 40% through solar energy.
• Green energy powered electric forklifts to replace diesel in three years. 

Electrolux South Africa has embarked on its journey to exit the national electricity grid and move to renewable solar energy, cutting the organisation’s carbon footprint at its local Kwikot water heater (geyser) manufacturing plant by an impressive 40%.

Ughard de Clercq, lean engineer at Electrolux South Africa said the organisation was expected to complete the development of a major 1 MW solar energy system at its Benoni factory by November 2021. The company has invested R16 million in the solar system which it started building in July 2021. 

“We plan to be climate neutral by 2030 in all our manufacturing operations. So far, we have implemented a 112 kWp solar system for our offices in 2020 and have saved over 96 tons of CO2 just this year. We expect that the 1 MW solar system will reduce our manufacturing CO2 footprint by 40%,” said de Clercq. Once completed, the solar system will comprise 1278 solar panels that will power the factory during the day, supplying as much as 80 to 90% of the plant’s energy requirements. The organisation also intended exploring the possibility of purchasing renewable energy from Eskom, to meet its night time electricity requirements when the parastatal is ready to offer privately produced green energy as an option said de Clercq.

“We did not develop more than one megawatt due to the roof space and current regulations limiting the amount of electricity generated via a solar system, but the government is looking to increase it,” he added. 

When limits were increased to 100MW or more, Electrolux would also investigate extending its solar system so that it could sell power back to the electricity grid. “If the local law and infrastructure allows it, we would want to sell the excess green electricity back into the grid. We would like to be able to make a contribution to other organisations by supplying them with green energy,” he said. Electrolux would likely also explore installing smaller solar energy systems at its geyser distribution centres around South Africa. 

“We plan in the next two to three years to start reducing the consumption of our fossil fuels by switching from diesel to electric forklifts that can be charged by our solar system,” said de Clercq.

“We are also investigating how to reduce our water consumption in the future by harvesting the rain water to reduce our environmental impact even further.” This latest investment in solar energy at its local factory was part of the organisation’s global strategy to achieve its ‘better living’ 2030 goal of zero carbon emissions, partially by using renewable energy in production. The investment also follows similar solar systems installed at the company’s plants in China, Thailand and Australia.

“We strive not only to manufacture sustainable products such as our appliances, but to manufacture them in a sustainable way. It is important to look after the environment and do our part for future generations to come,” commented Murray Crow, Electrolux South Africa’s Managing Director.

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Distributed by EchoSquare on behalf of the WWF. For more information, please contact Kerry Webb at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 082 496 0713 

Further recognition of the City Lodge Hotel Group’s commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility

Johannesburg, June 27, 2014

The City Lodge Hotel brand within the City Lodge Hotel Group has been certified  by the Green Leaf™ Eco  Standard, acknowledging the significant improvements that have been made in the important areas of energy efficiency, water efficiency, waste management, responsible procurement and staff and guest awareness of environmental responsibility issues.

While the certification  initially applies only to the City Lodge Hotel brand, the group has largely implemented the same technology and procedures in its Courtyard Hotel, Town Lodge and Road Lodge brands.  Green Leaf™ Eco Standard is an initiative of the Wilderness Foundation, aimed at enabling and certifying the balance between business and nature.

Over the past three years, the City Lodge Hotel Group has rolled out a group-wide energy efficiency initiative across all four of its brands with the emphasis focused on the installation of LED lighting (around 40,000 bulbs) and heat pumps and the monitoring and reduction of energy consumption. The group is also a member of Eskom’s 49M energy efficiency campaign which commits partners to a 15% reduction in electricity usage.

Concerted efforts also focused on water efficiency and responsible waste management 

More recently, the group has embarked on a water efficiency programme across the City Lodge Hotel brand, focusing on efficient flow technology on shower heads and taps, dual-flush toilets and the re-using of towels.  The intention is to roll this out across the other three brands.

Attention has also gone into improving waste management as part of the certification  for the City Lodge Hotel brand. This has included the separation of different types of waste on site, the transport of waste to recycling centres and the transport of non-recyclable waste to landfill sites

.According to Clifford Ross, the group’s CEO, “We’re proud of achieving this latest certification  as it recognises the serious attention we have paid to reducing our carbon footprint and maximizing our effective use of electricity and water and responsible disposal of recyclable and non-recyclable waste,” said Ross. 

“Standards for responsible tourism have also been incorporated into the certification  we have received, further demonstrating our commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility in our operations,” he added.Andrew Phillips, CEO of Green Leaf™ Eco Standard said: “I have had the pleasure of witnessing the leadership group of City Lodge initiate a responsible tourism mind-set change throughout its hotel brands and to now formally sign-off on core certification under the Green Leaf™ Eco Standard certification programme is recognition well deserved.”    

Significantly, City Lodge’s Green Leaf certification  ideally complements the City Lodge Earth Day initiative, which was launched on social media platforms at the beginning of June.The core message of this campaign is that every day is Earth Day. The pay-off line is “no planet no you; no you, no us.”Marketing collateral is being developed to communicate this messaging to guests within hotels enabling them to participate in the campaign in a practical way.

{pp}The Green Building Conference and Exhibition will again welcome property owners, regulators, built environment professionals, academics and representatives from all facets of the construction industry as delegates to the conference and visitors to the exhibition, which will open to all consumers for the full two days.

{pp}The Green Building Conference and Exhibition will again welcome property owners, regulators, built environment professionals, academics and representatives from all facets of the construction industry as delegates to the conference and visitors to the exhibition, which will open to all consumers for the full two days.

{pp}Green building has grown over the year’s from strength to strength as property owners, investors, blue chip tenants (public and private) have realised the importance and the possibilities of building for a sustainable future.

At this year’s Green Building Conference, high-levelled local and international professional speakers from different sectors will be sharing their knowledge and experience of ‘green’ building.

{pp}The Natural and Organic Exhibition held their expo at the CTICC this year with a, according to reports, over 30% increase in visitor attendance. The venue was filled to the brim with ‘green’ products and services ranging from a variety of sectors, including shopping centres, beauty products and fashion items. What excited us was that amongst all the natural and organic products and services on display, where friendly faces from the built environment, including; solar technologies, low VOC paints and waste water management systems.

{pp}Green Building Media has installed a video component to their website, expanding the multimedia experience to the built environment in South Africa, involved in green building.

Currently they are streaming in podcasts globally and are hoping to expand their selection to cover conferences and events, with speakers and experts presenting useful information on green techniques, designs, construction, and materials and products that are environmentally friendly.

{pp}Pooran Desai of BioRegional will speak at the Green Building Conference, to be held at Wits University 21 and 22 August this year. Pooran Desai is not a new name to the built environment industry, having established himself both in the practical and academic fields of the sustainable development sector.

{pp}Green Building Media held their first Retrofitting Seminar on the 10th of April, 2008. The purpose of the event was to bring together key stakeholders to share knowledge about energy efficiency in the built environment and reach consensus on the best way to accelerate the initiation of retrofitting projects with a view to easing the energy crunch in South Africa and mitigate against climate change.