The department of environmental affairs has named the 2017 winners of the annual Greenest Municipality Competition (GMC).
The Greenest Municipality Competition (GMC), which has replaced the country’s cleanest town competition, is made up of five main considerations, with participation open to all South African municipalities.

Factors considered by an independent panel of judges include: waste management; energy efficiency and conservation; water management; landscaping, tree planting and beautification; and public participation and institutional arrangements.

The overall winners of the competition will receive R3.5 million, with second and third receiving R3 million and R2.5 million, respectively. This prize money will be given through the funding of infrastructure projects aimed at protection of the environment.

Metropolitan municipality winners

Winners Position Prize
City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality (Gauteng) Overall winner R3.5 million
Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (Free State) First-runner up R3.0 million
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (Eastern Cape) Second runner-up R2.5 million
Local municipality winners

Winners Position Prize
Polokwane Local Municipality (Limpopo) Overall winner R3.5 million
Govan Mbeki Municipality (Mpumalanga) First runner-up R3.0 million
Hessequa Local Municipality (Western Cape) Second runner-up

On 27 May, the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) awarded its one hundredth Green Star SA certification to Growthpoint Properties’ Kirstenhof Office Park in Johannesburg, Gauteng. Aurecon partnered with JSE-listed Growthpoint and acted as the Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) consultant for the 3 837 m² multi-tenanted office park. 

“Aurecon is delighted to be involved in South Africa’s 100th Green Star Rated building and it is a testament to how the industry is changing. The nation’s rapidly expanding stock of sustainable properties shows how multiple stakeholders and industries are working together to transform the performance and quality of South Africa’s built environment,” says Marni Punt, Aurecon’s ESD Consultant for the Kirstenhof Office Park development.

The Kirstenhof Office Park is situated on Witkoppen Road in Johannesburg and it comprises four, two-storey high office blocks that function as a single building by virtue of being connected by a core quad area that covers a single, shared basement. The elegant Cape Dutch designed building is 20 years old and is used for both corporate office space and tertiary education facilities.

As the ESD consultant for the project, Aurecon was tasked with finding ways to improve occupancy comfort levels as well as reduce the energy and water consumption of the building. Some of the green features of the project include energy efficient lighting, flow restrictors on all taps, a storm water management plan to limit the disruption of natural hydrology, as well as a waste management plan that will ensure that more waste is diverted from landfills.

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The Ekurhuleni metropolitan has added a feather in its cap by being announced the overall winner in the Greenest Municipalities competition, walking away with prize money of R3.5 million.

EThekwini was the first runner-up and walked away with R3 million, while the City of Cape Town was the second runner up and scooped R2.5 million.

At local municipality level, Greater Tzaneen topped the category, bagging the R3.5 million prize money. It was followed by Newcastle and Drakenstein, which walked away with R3 million and R2.5 milllion respectively.

The winners were announced by Water and Environmental Affairs Deputy Minister Rejoice Mabudafhasi during an award ceremony held at Marianhill Landfill Site, Durban, on Friday.

The prize money has to be utilised for projects that promote environment related projects and green economy initiatives. A total of 111 metropolitan and local municipalities had entered the completion.

The Greenest Municipality Competition (GMC) started its life as the Cleanest Town Competition (CTC), with a primary focus on implementing the National Waste Management Strategy.

According to the ministry, the competition is premised on reducing, recycling and reusing waste materials. Although these principles are still relevant, other elements related to sustainable development and various greening interventions have been added.

“Our Green Economy Plan emphasizes the implementation of measures to strengthen and expand our economic growth through recycling and enterprise development, so that we can generate and sustain jobs as well as formalise existing jobs in the waste area as part of the economy,” said Mabudafhasi.

The Department of Environmental Affairs has conducted numerous studies that have clearly illustrated the capacity constraints that are experienced by municipalities in delivering waste services in landfill operations, waste collection planning and administration and refuse collection.

In this light, the deputy minister said the department was planning to bridge the capacity gap by involving community members, as partners and ambassadors, in the process of solving the environmental challenges in general and waste challenges in particular.

“The low levels of capacity in municipalities present an excellent opportunity for the creation of jobs, on-the-job training, continuous up-skilling as well as enterprise development for the youth.

“An estimated 3 577 jobs will be created by placing young people in municipalities, where they will work as landfill site assistants, waste collection administrators and environmental awareness educators,” said Mabudafhasi. - SAnews.gov.za

Menlyn Maine is proud to announce the launch of their carpooling website portal.
We have a strong commitment to corporate social responsibility and sustainable
living and are serious about contributing to the wellbeing of our people, the
environment and society as a whole.
As the First Green City in Africa, Menlyn Maine aims to reduce the carbon footprint of the development and its contribution to global warming. As transport is one of the largest CO2 emission sources in the world, numerous reduction & mitigation strategies are being put in place to minimise the effects the development has on the planet.
Menlyn Maine has partnered with FindaLift, the first implementer of specialised ridesharing solutions in South Africa, to provide registered users with a solution that encourages and enables them to get from A to B with the least impact on the environment and their pockets.
This is a secure and private system, limited to employees working in Menlyn Maine. Tenants and occupiers of the precinct can log onto http://menlynmaine.findalift.co.za and register to use the site for free. The database will analyse their travel routes and pair one or more parties to share the ride – effectively halving the costs of the trip, and cutting the carbon footprint of the trip at the same time!
Menlyn Maine is one of 18 worldwide projects working with the Clinton Foundation to help develop a framework for sustainable urban development on a global scale.
Numerous interventions are being put into place to ensure that Menlyn Maine becomes a Truly Green & Sustainable City!
We encourage all occupiers in the precinct to register on the site, and to play a part in this exciting development!