20 March 2015 – Shamwari Game Reserve, part of Shamwari Group, in conjunction with key partners - South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI-Electric Nissan Truck supplier), Powertech (ATV battery supplier), Tracker (Vehicle telematic equipment supplier) and Imperial Green Mobility (ATV fleet supplier) have unveiled their first electric safari vehicle, which is hoped to help make the safari experience greener and more sustainable and also support Shamwari Game Reserve’s anti-poaching initiatives.  

An electric Nissan truck and an electric vehicle platform provided by SANEDI, will be placed at Shamwari Game Reserve for use by the Conservation Experience Programme. This 20 seater truck will be used to host and transport students as part of Shamwari’s behind the scenes experiences, which expose guests to several management tasks and projects in conservation, wildlife, ecology and community incumbencies.   The ‘quads’, electric all-terrain vehicle platform provided by Imperial Green Mobility, will be used by the rhino anti-poaching programme and possibly a mobile film unit.  

The deployment of a dedicated car port housing a solar array at Shamwari will provide the ideal renewable source of energy for charging the vehicles and will provide a completely off-grid solution for a ‘green’ game reserve experience.   The multi industry partnership forms part of uYilo’s activities to pool together various companies and organisations towards introducing e-mobility and its technologies in to South Africa. The intent is to create awareness, test performance of EVs in different roles and determine the feasibly of e-Mobility for the safari industry.  

The research and development focus will be on the feasibility of developing a fully South African designed and engineered EV for the safari industry and its potential to champion several other rural industries.   Comments Joe Cloete, Group General Manager for Shamwari Group, “This is yet another remarkable initiative that helps us in our pursuit to conserve a vanishing way of life and be more self-sufficient whilst offering guests something truly unique. This type of support will be groundbreaking in the fight against poachers. The research and development will help in developing and testing the technology at Shamwari Game Reserve for the safari industry of the future. ”   

​In partnership with Power Construction, the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government Habitat for Humanity is calling on all active citizens to come together and join them in their Desmond Tutu International Build Week in Pelican Park from the 2 – 6 March.  Responding and putting into action the request in the words of their patron Archbishop Desmond Tutu “Do your little bit of good where you are - it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world’.  

Teams from as far afield as the USA and Ireland will be joining the build event together with 18 of  ​Habitat's International Board of Directors from across the 70 countries in which Habitat operates as they have chosen Cape Town as their venue for their Board meeting this year.   Funding provided by the event helps provide valuable funding for Habitat’s Social Facilitation Programme as part of Habitat’s community development work in the Pelican Park project.     

Through their Social Facilitation Programme in partnership with the communities and galvanising the support of active citizens and other stakeholder partners, communities are empowered to take ownership of their communities through leadership, skills development and self-belief to become the champions of their own developments and their communities.  

“Our five-year goal through our community development process is to meaningfully transform the lives of at least 100, 000 fellow South Africans living in communities across South Africa.  Help us achieve this by joining our team build event, helping to build homes, communities and hope” said Adrienne Burke, Habitat’s Marketing Manager.  If you or your company are interested in getting involved contact Habitat’s Head Office on 021 657 5640.    

Editors notes

Founded in 1996, Habitat for Humanity South Africa is the national organisation of Habitat for Humanity International and part of Habitat’s Europe, Middle East and African region. Habitat South Africa is entirely self-funded and works in partnership with all stakeholders to serve the poor and marginalised in our country. Based on the firm belief that decent shelter provides the greatest opportunity for families to break the cycle of poverty, Habitat works with all people to give a hand up in building homes, communities and hope.    

This press release has been distributed on behalf of our client, Habitat for Humanity South Africa.  

Top tips for saving and celebrating a greener Christmas 

Load shedding is a fact of life for the foreseeable future in South Africa and a little planning and creativity can alleviate a lot of the unpleasantness during the holidays. This is according to Evan Schiff, event director of the annual African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa conference and expo in Cape Town.

He says furthermore that higher electricity prices in South Africa have become an increasing strain on consumers’ monthly expenses and that “Christmas is a great time to introduce energy saving habits into a household as many easy and simple changes in the way we live can end up putting extra money into your pocket.”

Practical tips to plan for and cope with load shedding this holiday:
•    Be prepared, keep a regular eye on websites with information on load shedding schedules and print these out.  http://www.loadshedding.eskom.co.za/
•    Create a Whatsapp group for your neighbourhood and keep each other informed.
•    Make sure that there are enough candles, matches, torches, batteries and so forth for load shedding periods after dark.
•    Be ready for it! Make sure all cellphones, tablets, laptops and toys are fully charged before the lights go out. This way you can keep the kids entertained with a movie, or at least be able to use the phone.
•    Have fun activities ready for when the lights are off such as board games and family time around the barbeque.
•    Keep a gas burner as a back-up in the kitchen to be able to heat water and do essential cooking.   

An energy efficient holiday season
“There are a variety of ways we can use a lot less electricity this holiday season”, says Schiff, “such as using LED* Christmas lights which use 90% less electricity than regular Christmas lights. Consider investing in solar powered outdoor lights which can also be used on the Christmas tree and only come on at night.”

He continues: “up to 40% of all batteries are purchased during the holiday season so try to buy toys and gifts that don't use electricity or batteries. Gifts made of recycled material are also a great environmentally friendly gesture.”

More handy energy saving tips for the holiday season:
•    Don’t use the tumble dryer unnecessarily – it is summer, so take advantage of solar powered drying.
•    Turn off the room lights when the Christmas tree lights are on.
•    Set a timer to Christmas and outdoor lights to limit the time they are on.
•    Create a romantic and intimate atmosphere by using candles instead of lights.
•    Enjoy the weather and celebrate the holidays outside with a braai instead of cooking on a stove!  Or enjoy cold meats and salads during this summer season – it’s healthier and saves on power.
•    If you’re going away, turn off/ the geyser, empty and unplug the refrigerator.Advice for improving energy efficiency in your home during the year:
•    Invest in a geyser blanket. Unless the geyser is properly insulated, switching it off does not save electricity.
•    Insulate the roof to make the house cooler in summer and warmer in winter and thereby saving on seasonal heating and cooling.•    Switch off appliances at the wall plug when not in use.
•    Replace CFL (compact fluorescent lamps) bulbs with LED.
•    Use cold water to do laundry, it saves electricity and is better for the clothes.

Gathering thousands of energy professionals
For the past 14 years, the African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa conference and exhibition has helped to reduce the energy consumption of commercial and industrial large power users and has assisted in African utilities providing electricity and water to all of Africa. The event brings together thousands of utility professionals from across the globe to learn, share knowledge and debate the key topics that will secure the future development of Africa’s power industry. These include energy efficiency, improved service delivery, renewable energy, collaboration across the continent and investment in new power projects. South Africa’s state utility Eskom has been a key partner for many years.

The 15th edition of African Utility Week is expected to again attract more than 5000 attendees and feature 250 exhibitors, 190 speakers, eight conferences, free technical workshops on the expo floor, three high-profile plenary sessions and the coveted industry awards gala dinner. Stakeholders from across the industry and continent are represented, from Ministers of Energy through to power and water utilities, municipalities and regulators to investors and technology and service providers.  

Attending the African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa exhibition is free when registering in advance and it showcases energy saving technologies and services for the industry and features hands-on demonstrations and workshops on the exhibition floor.

*LED=light-emitting diodes

Eskom’s 49M campaign encourages all South Africans to take the 49M pledge to save at least 10% electricity.  http://www.49m.co.za

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa are organised by Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and the African office of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK.

The dates for next year’s African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa are:  
Exhibition & Conference: 12-14 May 2015
Industry awards: 13 May 2015
Site Visits: 15 May 2015
Location:  CTICC, Cape Town
Website:  www.african-utility-week.com, www.clean-power-africa.com 

Contact for interviews:
Event director: Evan Schiff
Mobile: +27 83 415 3534
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Communications manager:  Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone:  +27 21 700 3558
Mobile:  +27 82 562 7844
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.african-utility-week.com/pages/detail/15725

{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}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.