Electricity + Control December 2016

ENERGY + ENVIROFICIENCY

ROUND UP

Launch of new global GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards

be more transparent, in an age when organisations are no longer evaluated solely on the money they generate for shareholders, but the shared value they create for communities and the way in which they tackle issues such as environmental protection.” Enquiries: Email Jeff.Isaacson@aurecongroup.com

GRI has launched, in SouthAfrica, its newGRI Sustainability Report- ing Standards. SouthAfrica is just the third country to hold an event launching the new standards, following events in the United States and Brazil.The launch took place at the Aurecon Centre inTshwane. GRI is an international, independent, standards organisation based in the Netherlands. “The GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards give companies a common language for disclosing non-financial information with the goal of enhancing corporate transparency worldwide. The Standards represent the global best practice for sustainability reporting,” says Bastian Buck, Director Standards, GRI. The new Standards, replacing the GRI G4 Guidelines, are a set of 36 modular standards that facilitate corporate reporting on top- ics such as greenhouse gas emissions, energy and water use, and labour practices. The new format allows GRI to update individual topics based on market and sustainability needs, without requiring revisions to the entire set of GRI Standards. Sonja De Klerk, Aurecon ’s Head of Quality, Environment and Sus- tainability, said: “Sustainability reporting encourages companies to Thursday 10 November 2016 was the final of the Low-Technology Innovation competition held inMidrand.The students, in teams of up to three members per team – were challenged to create a low-tech environmentally friendly innovation using natural, recycled, used or new components to provide a lighting solution. The Low-Technology Innovation competition was held in partner- ship with the Schneider Electric Foundation and Nomade des Mers Expedition.The French Ministry of Education initiated the partner- ship between France, the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) and Schneider Electric. Launched by the Low-Tech Lab, the Nomade des Mers expedition is a three-year sailing expedition around the world to promote, test and prototype low-technologies, as well as to develop the interna- tional low-tech stakeholder and user community. Low-technologies, also known as appropriate or frugal technologies, are simple DIY systems that meet basic needs such as access to water, energy and food.

Bastian Buck, Director Standards, GRI.

Sonja De Klerk, Head of Quality, Environment and Sustainability, Aurecon.

Low-Technology Innovation competition

The crew of Nomade des Mers is therefore experimenting with self-sustainability on a boat thanks to those systems. At each stopover the crew organises workshops and conferences to share knowledge about technologies. Each discovered system is then tested on the boat and documented in order to share it online on the Low-Tech Lab website.The final goal is to create a global database of low-tech systems as well as a global community of designers, engineers and handymen to work collaboratively on the improve- ment of existing systems or to solve issues raised by partner NGOs. The winner of the €500 prize was the Flip Lamp byTeam Owl-eye tech (F’SASEC, VUT).This light works as you turn it vertically. Each time you turn it, it lights up for 18 seconds and it is powered by pressure, wooden piston in the pipe. No electricity was used. The material used comprises a two litre plastic bottle, a plastic pipe, wire, wood and a LED light. Enquiries:Thabang Senona. Email thabang@moshatemedia.co.za

Louis-Marie de Certaines, Hugo Daniel and Elina Reynaud (Nomade des Mers Expedition) with Professor Alexandre Sebastiani, representative of the French Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Research and director of the F'SASEC (French South African Schneider Electric Education Centre).

The winning team: Clayton Maartens, Luvo Dubula, and Lafras Magabe with their Fliplamp.

Electricity+Control December ‘16

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