A Quarter to Green - official podcast for the Gree

Podcast No 7: Mike Fincken, Captain of Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior 111 joins us on Podcast No 7 to talk about how “green” the ship is. Join us on Podcast No 7 to find out: What happened to Rainbow Warrior 1 and 11. Learn what makes the Rainbow Warrior 111 green Guest Speaker: Captain Mike Fincken, from Green Peace’s Rainbow Warrior 111. Mike has been a sailor for over 30 years and started his environmental work with KEAG – the Kommetjie Environmental Action Group in Cape Town. He has been a captain for GreenPeace for the last 9 years and recently sailed his first trip as Captain on Rainbow Warrior 111. Introduction and background to the topic The Rainbow Warrior 111 has in early 2015, travelled along the South African Coast and visited the major port cities of Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban. At each port the public were invited aboard to see the ship, meet the staff and learn about the current environmental campaigns. Resources and Links mentioned in this session include: 1. Website for general campaign news: greenpeace.org 2. Rainbow Warrior webcam – updated every minute 3. What makes the Rainbow Warrior Green 4. Facebook link : facebook.com/greenpeace.rainbow.warrior You can also sign up to Green Business Guide Facebook page or Twitter account or to the Carbon Copy – our newsletter with bi-weekly news updates. The post Rainbow Warrior appeared first on The Green Business Guide.

The introduction of carbon tax in South Africa has been delayed until 2016 according Minister Pravin Gordhan. This is a hotly debated topic as it is largely perceived as another punitive tax. Join us on the podcast to find out: What current carbon taxes we do pay in South Africa? What is the proposed carbon tax legislation proposed for 2016? Is the carbon tax as it is proposed a carrot or a stick? Are we as companies and individuals ready for carbon tax in South Africa? Where you can up-skill your staff and build capacity to calculate your carbon footprint and undertake carbon accounting? If any companies are currently reporting their carbon footprints? Can we trade carbon in South Africa – internationally or on the JSE? And what are the government’s policies for carbon offsetting. What the estimated sizes of the carbon markets are and could be in South Africa? Are the renewable energy projects in the REIPP system trading carbon as an opportunity to raise capital for these projects? Resources and Links mentioned in this session include:   www.GCXafrica Courses (use the code GBGPOD5 to get a 10% discount on these courses when booking) Introduction to carbon management course: This course gives the complete business case for carbon management. It enables organization’s to future-proof themselves as the global business community moves towards a low carbon economy. The course covers legislation, investors, risks and opportunities, how processes fit into a company’s existing business strategy, and how to build capacity internally. Carbon Footprint Masterclass This Certificate equips learners with the complete set of skills and knowledge needed to begin work in Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Carbon Management. The certificate uses case studies, real-life scenarios and practical examples to prepare students for working in this field. If you’re interested in carbon footprint assessment, carbon credits, carbon tax, and the global carbon market, this course is for you. Advanced Carbon Footprint Masterclass The Advanced Carbon Footprint Masterclass builds on the knowledge gained in the Carbon Footprint Masterclass Certificate by focusing on the particular challenges experienced when creating a Carbon Footprint report for a large or multinational organization. Carbon Credits Masterclass This course will assist learners who want to develop their own carbon projects or advise others on carbon project development as it relates to costs, timelines and processes. All stages of a carbon project are covered, as well as key decisions that need to be taken along the development cycle to understand the viability of generating carbon credits for trade on the carbon credit exchange. email: kevin@gxcafrica.com Other useful resources: Green Business Guide’s Corporate Carbon in South Africa (2012)– free e-course. Overview on-line course on the Carbon Industry in South Africa – this carbon 101 course is for the total newbie who needs direction and an overview of the industry. A practical foot-printing calculation guide on measuring monitoring, reporting and verification – more up to date and detailed than the Corporate Carbon course. Released in 2014 and produced by Marco Lotz and Alan Brent for Nedbank and in association with the University of Stellenbosch. Case studies included making the document very useful. Article on how the South African government plans to combine carbon tax with carbon offsetting. 2014. The post Carbon Tax in South Africa appeared first on The Green Business Guide.

Podcast 4: Mr. Dirk Odendaal, Director of the Uyilo E Mobility Programme, NMMU, is addressing e-mobility – taking an idea associated with electricity as an energy source for moving people around right through the its commercial application. Join us on podcast no 4 to find out Are electric cars more energy efficient? Is it cheaper to drive an electric or petrol car? What is e-mobility? Will we buy or lease batteries? How far is the “range” of an electric vehicle? Are there charging points in and around South Africa? How long does it take to charge an electric car? What business opportunities exist in this changing car industry? Will there be enough electricity in South Africa for electric cars? Introduction to the topic Electric cars are becoming more and more common these days. In South Africa the Joule project – where a local company was looking at producing a viable electric car for the local market ended in mid 2012 due to lack of further funding. In 2013 we see the Nissan Leaf penetrating the market place having developed a relationship with the Department of Environment to pilot, test and demonstrate the feasibility in South Africa. Nissan has also created partnerships with Eskom and the Technology Innovation Agency and is currently meeting with local municipalities to discuss the possibility of creating more charge stations across the country. Some background on the Nissan Leaf: It is one of the world’s first commercially available electronic vehicles and became available in the South African market in October 2013.  Over US$ 5 billion has been spent on the development of the car’s 24 kWh Lithium ion battery pack. They have a range of up to 195 km’s and it takes 8 hours to charge the battery from zero to full. The Leaf also comes with a solar panel integrated into the roof spoiler, which helps to minimize the drain on the main battery pack.  However, if you find yourself running low in the middle of the day you can drive to one of the designated Nissan dealerships in Pretoria or Johannesburg (more fuelling stations will be launched around the country as the Leaf is rolled out to Cape Town and KwaZulu Natal in 2014) where their quick charge stations can juice you up from zero to 8-% power in just 30 minutes – and free of charge. Anyone with solar panels installed at home can literally drive for free. The Leaf has sold 87 000 units worldwide to date. Resources and Links mentioned in this session include:  www.uyoilo.org.za email: dirk.odendaal@nmmu.ac.za Nissan article referred to in the podcast:  Text by Nicky Furniss – Charging Ahead – the Nissan Leaf, Indwe SA Express February 2014. Image courtesy of Victor Habbick/Free Digital Photos . net The post The electric car in South Africa appeared first on The Green Business Guide.

Podcast 3: Hayden Hill, owner of GreenTech Bio-fuels in Port Elizabeth, joins us on Podcast No 3 to talk about an alternative fuel that is accessible to the man in the street. Join us on  podcast no 3 to: Understand the environmental aspects and benefits of bio-diesel Find out where to buy bio-diesel Find out if biodiesel is cheaper than normal diesel and by how much? What changes do I need to make to your vehicle? Is there an overall strategy by the South African government to support a bio-fuels industry Are there lots of suppliers in South Africa and is there a business opportunity in this sector. Resources and Links mentioned in this session include: 1) Website:  www.biofuelsgt.co.za 2) YOU TUBE video on Why use biodiesel? 3) Bio-fuels in South Africa – where do we stand – an article – The ‘food versus fuel’ debates of biofuels certainly raise questions about the future of staple food crops when biofuel production is a more lucrative prospect for farmers. In South Africa, the government is planning to place a quota and require that at least 25% of the feedstock used to fill the country’s upcoming ethanol and biodiesel-blending mandate, must be supplied by small-scale farmers. This could affect up to 28,800 small-scale farmers. For the biofuel blend, which will require an estimated 576,000 tonnes per annum, small-scale farmers will have to supply 144,000 tonnes from 57,600 ha. It raises questions though whether this is possible given current lack of infrastructure, farming knowledge, production efficiency, economic sized farming units, and general support structures of small-scale farming. Also, one questions whether there really is enough productive underutilized land to grow sufficient amounts of alternative crops and at the same time not effect staple food production and prices. Why not just plant more maize and put a quota limit to the use of maize for biofuel production based on the actual quantities harvested and staple food needs during a specific year? At least provide an additional outlet for excess maize and prevent it from unnecessary leaving the country. 4) Download the BioFuel Industrial Strategy for South Africa 5) Contact details: Hayden Hill – 082 3785 979 Image courtesy of  www.popularmechanics.co.za The post Fuel Alternatives appeared first on The Green Business Guide.

Podcast 2: Brent Hardick, LED technical expert from Rhino Lighting joins us on Podcast No 2 to talk about his experiences and understanding of modern LED’s, which have a good, bad, and indifferent reputation in the local market place where incandescent bulbs, are due to be banned in South Africa. Join us on podcast 2 to: Understand what LED lights to use in what applications both in the home and in industrial and commercial applications See if LED’s do last the 50 000 hours they are reported to be capable of Hear what the typical installation issues there are with LED’s Understand dimming issues and how to overcome them Listen to some solutions for dual switching and home automation systems Learn what are the measurement units to specify an LED Retrofit or re-design of the lighting layout – which you should use when? Introduction to the topic LED’s stands for Light Emitting Diodes and these lights are over 90% energy efficient over existing and traditional lighting. As energy costs increase the need to save becomes paramount and lighting is one way to do this in our homes, commercial and industrial applications. However, LED’s are getting a bad reputation in South Africa as the market is flooded with cheaper versions of high street and high end named brand products and there is no or little customer support. Rhino Lighting expert Brent Hardick talks to some of these issues and challenges and how to overcome them and enjoy the possibilities that modern electronic lighting can offer in terms of energy efficiency, light quality and color options for various settings and uses. Resources and Links mentioned in this session include: Rhino Lighting – part of the Rhino Group of Companies specialize in LED lights. On the website is a list of products and a sign up for a newsletter that will keep you updated on LED products, legislation and installation challenges. On the site there is also links to seminar’s that Brent runs in the major centres of South Africa – Port Elizabeth and East London, Cape Town and Durban each quarter to allow you to keep up to date in the LED industry. The post LED’s – the good, the bad and the ugly appeared first on The Green Business Guide.

Podcast 1: Howard Harris, energy consultant and CEO of Structatherm joins us on Podcast No 1  to talk about his experiences and understanding of the requirements of the SANS 10 400XA regulations, which address energy efficiency in buildings.     Join us on podcast 1 to: • Understand what aspect’s of a building are to be considered in assessing the energy efficiency of a building • Learn what the 3 routes to compliance are • What software is recommended when modeling the energy usage of the building and what accreditation is necessary for the software • For architects learn how to optimize the energy efficiency aspects of a building for ones clients so they get the “biggest bang for their buck” • Model benchmark buildings for energy efficiency • The best route to compliance for commercial and institutional buildings • Understand what the role is of a competent person • Is an energy efficient building more expensive to build and operate   Introduction to the topic Under Section 17 of the National Building Act, the Minister of Trade and Industry has made regulations known as the National Building Regulations (NBR’s). The NBR’s are a component of building legislation with which all buildings must comply, and is arranged in 23 parts. Parts AZ 1 – 4 and part A deal with administrative issues. Parts B to X deal with a specific aspect of building Environmental and sustainability matters are specifically addressed in Part X. Part XA deals with Energy usage in buildings and includes a number of general functional requirements for a building to be considered energy efficient, and one prescriptive requirement: XA1 provides guidance regarding the purpose of the regulatory measure, its scope and the required functional performance in general terms; XA2 is a prescriptive requirement for the provision of hot water by renewable means; and XA3 is a clear statement of the alternative that will comply with the regulation. A future part XB will address water usage. Resources and Links mentioned in this session include: SANS 10 400XA Courses in and around South Africa – see the calendar link on this site to see the next course in your city. Handbook for the application of the amendments to the National Building regulations for energy usage. Authored by Howard Harris Bsimac software for modeling energy use in a building Design Builder software for modeling energy use in a building   Howard C Harris B.Sc, C.A. (S.A), M. Eng. (Mech.) C.E.M., CMVP, has been involved in the writing of the standards since their inception, and is a former Chair of the SABS Technical Committee that developed the standards. His involvement has allowed him to see the intent of the SABS Technical Committee and the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications, who has framed the regulations. The post Sustainability, SA building regulations and SANS 10400XA appeared first on The Green Business Guide.

This show is the introductory show for the Quarter to Green Podcast – where we explain how it came about, topics we plan to cover and how frequently we will be publishing the show.     The post Introduction to the Quarter to Green Podcast series appeared first on The Green Business Guide.