Built environments are human-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging from buildings, parks and roads. The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting an opportunity to make improvements to our living spaces while shifting the focus to sustainability for better use of natural resources.
Most people want to live as well as their parents and they want their children to enjoy similar, if not better, opportunities. The same logic applies in business—most managers want their business to be at least as profitable as in the past and, ideally, for-profits to grow.
Says Morgan Fraud, the author of The Thinking Corporation, “Given that we are all capable of contributing new ideas, the question becomes how do you successfully generate, capture, process and implement ideas?” Becoming an organization capable of answering this question can benefit in a number of ways
I often have the ‘Why Sustainability?’ debate with owners of small businesses. In these days where the phrase, ‘Bora Uhai’ is common among many Kenyans, many owners of small businesses have their hands full just trying to survive. Often this means they have little time for strategy
A couple of years ago, Assaad Razzouk, chief executive of renewables firm Sindicatum delivered a sobering but hilarious reality check to the sustainability community at the Eco-Business “Will businesses drive the SDGs?” event in Singapore when he suggested: It’s very clear that businesses are fast asleep at the wheel [with regards to sustainability] and that …
Sustainability Reporting and the Sixth Innovation Wave Read More »
I am a naturalist! And proudly so. I belong to a worldwide movement of women of African descent who do not use artificial chemicals on their hair. It is interesting how a seemingly insignificant thing like the choice of hair products can cause such furor. However, for about ten years, thanks to the Internet, a …
Biomimicry: Sustainability of Drawing Examples from Nature Read More »
What does ‘Sustainability’ really mean? I personally love the word and the effect it has on people when I tell them that I am a consultant in the field of sustainability. Their eyes glaze over and they nod meaningfully, taking on a somber demeanor. Somehow ‘sustainability’ bigger and more important than your regular old consulting. …
Shared Value: The New Meaning for Sustainability? Read More »
Is there a Xhosa word for climate change? Mitigation in Luganda? In Yoruba? And what of ‘my carbon footprint’ in Shona? These are the opening lines from the beautiful Mbali Vilakazi’s thought-provoking poem. This poem speaks to the heart of Sustainability Marketing Africa’s purpose: creating an African context and narrative for sustainability. In other words, …
The UNCTAD14 conference ended in Nairobi last week on a triumphant note when the close to 5,000 delegates who gathered in Nairobi from different parts of the world came up with an ‘azimio’ – a Kiswahili word for an accord or declaration. The delegates who represented 194 member states reached a consensus giving a central …
Cape Town’s Sustainable Brands event was the first of its kind in Africa. Hundreds of thought leaders, brand innovators, designers, and global business leaders gathered to explore various topics and issues pertinent to sustainability over a period of 4 days. Brands such as Procter and Gamble, Nedbank, SAB Miller, and BASF were represented. The event …
Highlights from the Sustainable Brands Africa Conference 2016 Read More »
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