Close to 40% of the world’s total of 663 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa live without access to clean water. Access to safe water is defined as “safely managed drinking water service,” and is accessible on the premises, as and when needed, and free from contamination.
However, the current dire water conditions in Southern Africa, including South Africa has made matters even worse, with the city of Cape Town still trying hard o recover from the worst drought ever in over 100 years.
The combination of poor water and drought sets off a vicious cycle from which many malnourished children could never recover.
And as experts have warned, our survival from many of these crises is dependent on the actions taken today. As such this calls for a fresh review or regulation of the use, flow and control of all water by all; the government, citizens and businesses.
Liberty Two Degrees (L2D) shares its water saving initiatives
The property group owns a portfolio of premium retail properties including the Sandton City, Melrose Arch, Eastgate and Nelson Mandela.
L2D is therefore cognisant of how important it is to converse and optimise the use of natural resources for the day-to-day functioning of its businesses.
“As part of our commitment to environmental sustainability, we have developed a water efficiency policy that commits the portfolio to continuous water performance monitoring and assessment,” said Jonathan Sinden, chief operations officer of L2D adding: “We have set ourselves ambitious targets to implement alternative water sources such as recycled greywater, onsite water treatment and rainwater harvesting to reduce the portfolio’s water consumption.”
Leading by example
L2D has implemented the following initiatives across its portfolio:
- In the Western Cape, Liberty Promenade and Liberty Century City have had aerators installed in all restrooms, drastically minimising water consumption across both properties.
- Furthermore, a reverse osmosis plant at Liberty Century City, is currently being commissioned. This plant will take the water needs of the entire building off the municipal water grid, by treating supplied greywater to class zero drinking water.
- A rainwater harvesting and treatment solution at Liberty Promenade was commissioned at the end of 2018 to be, able to deliver non-potable water to toilets and urinals in bathrooms.
Commenting on the importance of sustainable investing, Sinden said: “Managing scarce resources is everybody’s responsibility. We have therefore integrated this into the way that we do business. It is embedded as a strategic pillar of striving to future proof our assets. Decisions which require financial capital today contribute to the long-term sustainability of the business and are key to driving growth.”
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