Consumption Barometer

The Consumption Barometer - which will show how much waste is being generated and how much water and electricity is being used at the WSSD - will go live on video screens at the Summit, on 23 August 2002.

Bontle ke Botho

The Bontle ke Botho awards for the cleanest ward, town and school, in Gauteng, will be made at the Ubuntu Village on 23 August 2002. Prizes worth about R3,2 million will be awarded.

Imvelo Awards

The finalists for the Imvelo Awards have been announced. The Imvelo - which means "nature" in Zulu - Awards recognises those tourism establishments who have responsible tourism programmes. These programmes are aimed at protecting the environment, conserving natural resources and providing social and economic benefits -- from tourism -- to local communities. The awards ceremony will take place on 22 August 2002. The head of Tourism SA, Cheryl Carolus, will be the guest speaker.

Ubuntu Villlage

The "Greening the WSSD" exhibition was visited by South African President, Thabo Mbeki, who was briefed on the initiative's efforts to ensure that the Summit is organised in an environmentally responsible way.
The exhibition has proved very popular with schoolchildren and is educating them about the necessity of recycling and being environmentally responsible.
The initiative also has "waste monitors" working at Ubuntu Village. Their job is to show people where the recycling stations are and help them separate their waste.

Climate Legacy Project

Certificates will awarded to those delegations that have signed-up up for the Joburg Climate Legacy (JCL) Project, on 30 August 2002, at the Nedbank Building in Sandton. The JCL is an attempt to make the WSSD climate neutral by getting delegates to invest in energy efficient carbon off-set projects. Speakers include: Mary Metcalfe, MEC for Environment, Conservation and Land Affairs in Gauteng Province, John Ohiorhenuan of UNDP; Mohammed El Ashry MD of The Global Environment Facility; and Yolanda Kakabadse, President of IUCN.

Sustainable Development Tours

The "Greening the WSSD" initiative tours to sustainable development project around Gauteng officially start 26 August 2002. The projects show efforts by communities to put sustainable development into action. The tours will go the townships of Alexandra and Soweto and nature reserves in and around Joburg.

Consumption Barometer

There will be a media briefing on the Consumption Barometer - which will show how much waste is being generated and how much water and electricity is being used at the WSSD - on 26 August 2002.
The "Greening the WSSD" initiative has release the eight commandments for delegates attending the Summit. They are:

Do not litter
Separate your waste and place in designated recycle bins
Use public transport to reduce vehicle emissions
Water is precious, so use it sparingly
Buy Johannesburg Climate Legacy certificates to offset
greenhouse gas emissions
Purchase Water Neutral certificates to increase water
distribution to unserviced areas.
Conserve energy by turning your lights off
At all times, reduce, re-use, recycle

Bontle ke Botho

The Bontle ke Botho awards for the cleanest ward, town and school, in Gauteng, will be made at the Ubuntu Village on 23 August 2002. Prizes worth about R3,2 million will be awarded.

Imvelo Awards

The finalists for the Imvelo Awards have been announced. The Imvelo - which means "nature" in Zulu - Awards recognises those tourism establishments who have responsible tourism programmes. These programmes are aimed at protecting the environment, conserving natural resources and providing social and economic benefits -- from tourism -- to local communities. The awards ceremony will take place on 22 August 2002. The head of Tourism SA, Cheryl Carolus, will be the guest speaker.

Bontle ke Botho

Judging of the Bontle ke Botho competition -- to find the cleanest town, ward and school in Gauteng - is underway. The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place late in August 2000. Residents have started campaigning for their communities as the competition heats-up. In Joburg, busses and taxis are sporting Bontle ke Botho stickers - ahead of an expected visit by judges.

Training

WSSD volunteers and other service providers - like the police and tour guides - are being trained in how to protect the environment during the summit. They are learning some of the practical skills of sustainable development, like how to separate waste for recycling and save water and energy. Bus drivers are being trained in responsible driving techniques that reduce emissions from vehicles. The training will run until 16 August 2002.

Sustainable Development Barometer

The first draft of the Phase 1 Monitoring and Evaluation report -- on the use of water and energy and effective waste management, at the major WSSD venues - has been completed. The monitoring and evaluation system to drive the Sustainable Development Barometer - which will show how much water and energy is used and how much waste is generated -- during the Summit. The barometer aims to encourage delegates to be environmentally responsible and conserve natural resources.

Responsible Tourism

The finalists for the Imvelo Awards have been announced. The Imvelo - which means "nature" in Zulu - Awards will recognise those tourism establishments who have responsible tourism programmes. These programmes are aimed at protecting the environment, conserving natural resources and providing social and economic benefits -- from tourism -- to local communities. The awards ceremony will take place on 22 August 2002. The head of Tourism SA, Cheryl Carolus, will be the guest speaker.

Greening the WSSD

The Gauteng Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Agriculture, Conservation, the Environment and Land Affairs, Mary Metcalfe, will brief foreign correspondents on the first attempt to ensure that a UN summit is organised in an environmentally responsible way.
The "Greening the WSSD" initiative is an effort to ensure that the water and energy is used efficiently and no additional waste is generated in Joburg, during the Summit.

Transport Exhibition

The canvas that will be hung as a ceiling drape on the "Fuelling the Future" -- the exhibition stand which will showcase emission reduction technologies and fuels for developing countries - has been painted. The theme of the painting is schoolchildren's perceptions of air pollution, the WSSD, transport, poverty and education. The art-work will be auctioned after the Summit and proceeds will go to a disadvantaged school.

Exhibitions

The Gauteng Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Agriculture, Conservation, the Environment and Land Affairs, Mary Metcalfe, will be visiting the Joburg Eco City in Midrand, on Wednesday 14 August. The Joburg Eco City is one of the exhibition projects that delegates to the WSSD can visit to see how local communities are taking up the challenge of implementing international protocols designed to protect the global environmnet.

Energy

The official switch-on of the supply of green electricity to Nasrec exhibition centre - venue of the Global Forum - will take place on Wednesday 14 August 2002. The Global Forum is the biggest of the WSSD gatherings with over 40 000 delegates expected to attend. Green electricity is produced in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way.

Waste

It is roughly estimated that the 65 000 delegates that will be in Joburg for the 23 days of the WSSD will generate 1,495,000 kg of waste during the Summit.

Calendar

Calendar of Greening the WSSD Events - August - September 2002

Opening of Ubuntu Exhibition

The "Greening the WSSD" exhibition stand will open at Ubuntu Village on 17 August 2002. Even though the WSSD is the largest international conference ever held in Africa, it will leave Gauteng cleaner and greener. This is the first time that an effort has been made to minimise the environmental impact of a UN Summit. The stand will show the many, practical ways this has been done - and what delegates can do to keep the Summit green.

Green Power

The supply of green electricity to the Ubuntu Village will be switched on, on 17 August 2002. Green electricity is power that has been generated in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way.

Green Glass Launch

South African Breweries (SAB) will be launching their Green Glass project at the Ubuntu Village. The project involves the recycling of glass bottles into drinking glasses by members of a community development project. The glasses have the "Greening the WSSD" initiative's stamp of approval.

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