Johannesburg - Nedbank is going carbon neutral in order to raise awareness about the environmental crisis and carbon emissions. And it's not all hot air.
The South African bank has been a proponent of green issues for many years and has been recognised for its involvement and achievements through various awards.
"If we are going to continue to lead by example, our next step is to go carbon neutral," Nedbank CEO Tom Boardman said on Tuesday.
Nedbank also consults with its clients to make them aware of their own carbon emissions and what they can do to help the environment in their business practices.
"The path the world is taking is not sustainable. Individuals and companies need to reduce their carbon emissions. We only have one planet, we can't emigrate," Boardman said.
He said South Africa needs to push harder on finding alternative energy forms while also acknowledging that 90% of our electricity is generated by coal and we cannot step away from that overnight.
In the future, Nedbank may make calls on whether or not to finance projects and businesses based on their carbon emissions and their willingness to make environmentally-friendly choices.
Carbon offsets
Boardman said the amount of electricity Nedbank has saved over the past two years would be enough to supply 75 000 houses with electricity.
But despite lowering its carbon emissions, Nedbank acknowledges that it is impossible for a company not to have emissions and the way to become carbon neutral is to buy carbon offsets.
A carbon offset is a financial instrument aimed at a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Offsets are achieved through financial support of projects that reduce carbon emissions. Many of the projects focus on renewable energy such as wind turbines and solar energy.
Carbon credits are currently sold on a market which regulates itself according to supply and demand.
Boardman said Nedbank would resort to a combination of buying credits from the market and honing into specific projects, mainly in Africa, to neutralise its carbon emissions.
"Currently there are not enough registered companies in Africa for all South African companies to buy credits from," Boardman said.
Nedbank is working with its conservation partner the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) to identify projects in Africa that are sustainable to invest in and won't have any long-term ill effects on local communities.
Nedbank has identified projects locally and in other African countries such as Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon which it wants to fund.
Boardman said all the best intentions in the world would not be enough to turn the situation around unless climate changes becomes a law.
Nedbank is looking to the United Nations Copenhagen Climate Conference 2009 to set tough targets for 2050 to reduce the world's carbon emissions by 80%.
The conference also needs to address concerns that the market of carbon credits needs to be regulated.
"We need to put a price on high carbon emissions. But at the same time we need to make sure companies don't just buy the credits to hide their sins," Boardman said.
He said on the local level, South Africa as a developing nation has a large role to play in environmental change. The government has already made great strides towards committing itself to reducing carbon emissions, Boardman said.
Nedbank is currently building an extension onto its offices which it hopes will get a 4-star award from the South African Green Building Council. The new block will boast a 30% saving on energy usage.
- Fin24.com