Sustainable housing could play a significant role in the way the continent tackles its housing deficit. We unpack the ground-breaking innovations, Initiatives and ideations&nbsp;developing&nbsp;the&nbsp;‘green&nbsp;scene’. 



In a village in the Mtwara region of Tanzania, a project borne from the concepts of architectural innovation, sustainability and social responsibility is underway. And it’s just one of many aimed at tackling the demand for environmentally-conscious housing in Africa.



A report from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) states that the continent’s housing deficit is estimated at over 97 million units and “this is expected to increase as the continent’s population grows, and urbanization continues”.



The clinical trial in Mtwara, dubbed The Star Homes Project, was initiated in 2021 by Denmark-based Ingvartsen Architects in cooperation with the Hanako Foundation and, according to the company, was developed by a cross-disciplinary team of architects, physicians, entomologists and social scientists along with local community leaders and stakeholders.



However, Jakob Knudsen, Principal Architect at Ingvartsen, says that the focus of the project, initially, was simply to improve the health of the occupants of the houses.



“The [houses] are made [of ] very light materials. It looks like concrete, but actually it’s a very thin steel profile with a thin plaster, so it has a very low material use. And what looks like glass is basically a net, so we kind of replaced all the walls with netting, and we made this house naturally very cool. We can see that we have lowered the material consumption and CO2 use by 30% to 40% depending on how you calculate it. And that’s because we try to kind of maximize all the components,” he says.



“It actually didn’t start as a sustainability thing. It started as a way to make the buildings cheaper, but we realized, during the process, that actually we are onto something where we’re using far less materials. It also became interesting from a financial side and a material side, and this is what we’re looking at now. We know that these houses are actually working against malaria, we can see that.”



An article from the World Health Organization on Malaria Day 2023 indicates that Tanzania is one of the four countries in Africa that accounted for slightly over half (52%) of all malaria deaths globally in 2021. Further to this, the country alone accounted for 4% of all malaria deaths, and the disease continues to pose a major burden in the northwest and southeastern regions of the country.



As part of the Star Homes Project, the health of the occupants of the 110 constructed homes will be compared to those living in 440 control homes over a three-year period, which is set to conclude this year.



“We conclude by the end of this year, then we have the three- year period. Nothing is published yet, but I can say that we have very promising results already on the malaria [aspect]. There’s a clear benefit from having a new house when you’re looking at malaria. I mean, this is a rural area in Tanzania, so lots of people [have] malaria, and they’re much better protected. But this is one of the first housing projects, to our knowledge, the first time a house has been built and used in this way to demonstrate it.”



Each house also has a 40W solar panel that provides lights in each room and USB charging, and rainwater is collected from the roof and stored in a 2,000-liter tank for clean drinking water. According to Knudsen, based on the materials used, it cost around $9,000 to build at the time.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-does-a-green-future-look-like">What does a ‘green’ future look like?</h4>



The ongoing demand for affordable housing coupled with growing climate change concerns has brought sustainable or green architecture to the fore.



Britannica defines green architecture as a philosophy of architecture that advocates sustainable energy sources, the conservation of energy, the reuse and safety of building materials, and the siting of a building with consideration of its impact on the environment.



A 2023 report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) titled, Building Materials And The Climate: Constructing A New Future, indicates that the buildings and construction sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for 37% of global emissions.



However, herein lies the opportunity. Entrepreneurs and businesses alike have taken up the mantle to innovate, ‘go green’ and make a positive impact on the environment at large.



According to the World Green Building Council’s (WorldGBC) Africa Manifesto for Sustainable Cities and the Built Environment, by 2050, Africa will be home to 1.1 billion more people than it is today, and 80% of the buildings that will exist in Africa in 2050 are yet to be built.



Lisa Reynolds, Chief Executive Officer of the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) and Vice Chair for the WorldGBC’s Africa Regional Network, emphasizes the progress of the collaborative efforts across the continent. 



“We’ve got different sort of levels of Green Building Councils. In Africa, there are two established Green Building Councils – South Africa and Kenya, and the others are mixed between emerging and prospective. Our job, and I include Kenya in it, is really to support the prospective and emerging councils,” she tells FORBES AFRICA.



“Africa has [been] hit by climate events, so there is a huge awareness that, whether it be the Green Building Council or governments, [we] have to do something to alleviate these things,” Reynolds adds.



Knudsen echoes the sentiment on collaboration, stating, “I think one of the sustainability problems I see in Africa is that materials are used in a very inefficient way in many local buildings. You could easily save 30% of the materials if there was better knowledge for the builder who’s doing this, but that’s not something you can expect. We need somebody else who knows how to work with building techniques.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Trash to treasure</h4>



In 2019, the first plastic road was laid down in South Africa’s Jeffery’s Bay, and reports, published recently, indicate that it has lasted longer than traditional tar roads. And the uses for this often-troublesome product seem to only increase from here.



As per the United Nations’ goal 11 of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, entrepreneurs across Africa are tackling sustainable building prac- tices in their own way.



One such example is Kubik CEO and co-founder, Kidus Asfaw. Kubik, an environmental tech company, takes plastic waste and transforms it into low-carbon, low-cost housing in Ethiopia, where the startup is based.



Asfaw, who has worked for the World Bank, Accenture, and Google, as well as on technology and innovation initiatives for UNICEF, relays the story of how he got into the trash business. “I helped set up the first-ever circular economy project for UNICEF in Cote d’Ivoire, and we were able to create bricks out of plastic waste. We made over 500 schools using those and my love changed from software to trash, affordability, housing and cities. I did that for about four years,” he says.



“During that time, I learned the issues not just around trash, but a multitude of major challenges that human beings that live in cities are facing, especially on rapidly urbanizing continents like Africa. Alongside poor waste management [which] needs to be addressed, affordable housing is probably one of the biggest priorities in many countries right now. And then, of course, there’s climate change.”



Kubik, which was founded in 2021, produces products that are high in compression strength, non-flammable, non-toxic and modular.



“We’re a business that transforms hard-to-recycle plastic waste into building materials that real estate developers can use at a cheaper price than conventional cement-based materials without compromising the quality or safety of those buildings,” says Asfaw.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kubik-Wall-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-63677" style="width:568px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kubik-Wall-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kubik-Wall-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kubik-Wall-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kubik-Wall-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kubik-Wall-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kubik Wall expression</figcaption></figure></div>


“Part of them doing business with Kubik [is] they’re also reducing the greenhouse gas impact that they bring to building cities like Addis Ababa. In a nutshell, we take all of that very bad plastic that you typically see in a landfill, and we make things like bricks that can make an entire wall, and that wall is as unremarkable as it looks, because it’s supposed to look just like every other building. What makes it remarkable to us is how accessible it is to lower-income communities, price-wise, and how green and sustainable it is within the real estate sector.”



In South Africa, sisters Kedibone and Kekeletso Tsiloane are tackling the plastic pollution and waste management issue through Ramtsilo Manufacturing and Construction, a company they founded in 2013. The business focuses on transforming hard-to-recycle plastics and other waste products into eco-bricks.



Kekeletso, who has a background in engineering, tells FORBES AFRICA about how this passion project turned into a fully-fledged business in a traditionally male-dominated industry.



“We initially started with small construction jobs, so building roads and building small projects, and that’s when we actually noticed that we spent so much money on materials, specifically bricks for us. We went out to look for a woman-owned brick manufacturing company, which we struggled to find. We then started making the bricks ourselves,” she says.



“I am interested in the green economy and what happens to waste and that grew an interest of learning about the afterlife of waste. In our research, we did not know that plastic had different properties and had different values. In terms of money, per kilogram, in the recycling space, it has different prices as well. And with that, we then sought out to make a product that we’re still comfortable with, but is innovative and in the green space.” South Africa, according to World Wide Fund (WWF), produces over 2.5 million tonnes of plastic annually. And while the bricks produced by Ramtsilo reportedly function in exactly the same way as conventional bricks, Kedibone, who has a finance background, states that the company still had to do a fair amount of educating on the product.



“We’re still having to re-educate people. It’s a plug and play solution but it integrates seamlessly into the construction industry. That was one of our biggest value-adds… the fact that people could easily use the product because they had the same look and feel as the conventional brick,” she explains.



“We then realized there’s additional benefits that come with the products – from an installation perspective, from a condensation water absorption [perspective] – because of the use of the plastic. The brick is actually branded so that people know that they’re [buying] an eco-friendly product. We’ve seen from the retailers, that product doesn’t stay in the retail stores and it’s simply because of the quality [and] the performance of the product.”


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="768" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kekeletso-Kedibone-Tsiloane-768x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-63676" style="width:516px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kekeletso-Kedibone-Tsiloane-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kekeletso-Kedibone-Tsiloane-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kekeletso-Kedibone-Tsiloane-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kekeletso-Kedibone-Tsiloane-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Kekeletso-Kedibone-Tsiloane-scaled.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kekeletso &amp; Kedibone Tsiloane (Photo Supplied)</figcaption></figure></div>


According to Kedibone, the bricks can be found at South African retailers like Builders Warehouse and Leroy Merlin in Gauteng. And while Ramtsilo’s business model tends to focus more on partnerships with corporates and retailers – a model that appears to be working well for them – Kubik’s has opted to focus on and develop the company’s relationships with waste pickers.



“We grappled with what our supply chain model should look like for many months. There are thousands of waste pickers in Ethiopia. Most of those pickers happen to be women, over 80% of them, and most of them end up selling their produce for the day to brokers at very low prices that are not economically sustainable for them to pass the poverty line,” he says.



“We wanted our business model to have a supply chain that not only worked at scale and made business/financial sense for us, but ethically is also empowering those that have previously been exploited in this space. We typically would work with city administrations that typically manage landfills. We get into a partnership with them, set up a collection site and we directly source from these waste pickers at prices that are at least three, four times more than what they would normally get from a broker.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-endless-possibilities">Endless possibilities</h4>



A quick search online reveals some of the most commonly-used sustainable materials in construction. Aside from bamboo and recycled plastic, others include recycled or reclaimed wood, cork, Hempcrete and biocomposite cement.



Traditional building practices have also been employed in some parts of the continent. UNEP had published an article about a project at a school in Burkina Faso, where the modules that form the structure for the school are built out of locally- sourced laterite. This is then cut into bricks and left in the sun to harden. The bricks reportedly absorb the heat during the day and radiate it at night.



Another example of innovation at work is the The Wits Flower Hall Examination and Test Centre in South Africa. Ac- cording to a recent release by the institution, the now energy- efficient building has been recognized for its sustainable design and shortlisted in the Creative Reuse category at the World Ar- chitecture Festival, set to take place in November.



“We believe that adaptive reuse is a critical foundation of green sustainable building due to the embodied carbon content of existing buildings. Wits has a great track record of repurposing buildings, for example the Science Stadium,” said Dr Heather Dodd from Savage + Dodd Architects, who worked on this project in 2022, in the release.



The growth of the sustainable or green building space presents significant employment opportunities as well, according to Reynolds.



“The more that certification grows, the more people need to be aware the job opportunities are growing with it. I do a CEO message on all our newsletters; the latest one is talking about job expansion. So, you know, there’s job creation, but there’s also potential for job expansion because we need accredited professionals; we need EDGE experts,” she states. “We did our first certification in 2009. If you think of pre-2009, there were no such things as accredited professionals. Now, small companies are formed just doing certification. It’s a true reflection of job creation and I would try to encourage more and more people to do it. If they’re in the space [and] it’s not job creation, expand your portfolio and go into this space.”

Com_Ingvartsen_Mtwara_StarHomes_C-JulienLanoo_20220907L1034048 copy

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In Its Own Sweet Time: Sustainability And Innovation In South Africa’s Sugar Industry

With Expo 2020 Dubai opening to a lavish and spectacularly starry night in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on September 30, the world fair with the theme, Connecting Minds, Creating the Future and a message on global cooperation and a sustainable future, will be well-represented by the African continent.



The opening ceremony featured stunning visuals and world-class acts, at Al Wasl Plaza, where legendary Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli, enthralled with the song, The Prayer.



Each of the 191 participating countries will have its own pavilion at the six-month event opening on October 1.



To a query from FORBES AFRICA about Africa’s participation, the organizers had earlier said:&nbsp;“For decades, the UAE and Africa have enjoyed strong economic ties. Africa has a lot to offer, and the Expo will provide a platform for African nations to tell their story and promote a continent that is ready to move forward and a secure place to do business. For the first time in the 170-year history of World Expos, every African nation will participate, each with its own pavilion, while the African Union will also host its own pavilion at Expo 2020. Building on the long-standing friendship between the UAE and Africa – one based on mutual respect and a shared vision – Expo 2020 offers African nations the opportunity to showcase their individual visions for the future.”

City skyline in Dubai

‘Every African Nation’ At Expo 2020 Dubai As World Fair Opens

The ‘fast’ fashion industry is responsible for abominable levels of water consumption, pollution, and waste. Enterprising entrepreneurs in South Africa are looking to natural materials and upcycling to make every-day clothing more sustainable. 



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Atlas-Label-Wetsuit-3-730x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-48498" width="313" height="439" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Atlas-Label-Wetsuit-3-730x1024.jpeg 730w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Atlas-Label-Wetsuit-3-214x300.jpeg 214w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Atlas-Label-Wetsuit-3-768x1077.jpeg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Atlas-Label-Wetsuit-3-1095x1536.jpeg 1095w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Atlas-Label-Wetsuit-3-1460x2048.jpeg 1460w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Atlas-Label-Wetsuit-3-300x421.jpeg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Atlas-Label-Wetsuit-3-600x842.jpeg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Atlas-Label-Wetsuit-3-scaled.jpeg 1825w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 313px) 100vw, 313px" /><figcaption>Atlas Label uses material that can be repaired many times over</figcaption></figure></div>



What are you wearing? Examine your outfit as you read this. Maybe a T-shirt or a trendy new dress. Denims, perhaps? Or more likely a stretchy pair of sweatpants and socks now that we&#8217;re all mostly working from home. 



‘Fast’ fashion makes clothes-shopping more affordable but at an increasingly environmental cost. According to a 2018 United Nations report, “the global fashion industry produces 20 percent of global wastewater and 10 percent of global carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping”. Then there’s textile dyeing, pegged as the second-largest polluter of water globally. Did you know it takes around 7,570 liters of water to create a pair of jeans?&nbsp;



Step one in sustainability: Reduce. Then reuse and recycle. One antidote to fast fashion is to shift away from seasons. Pre-pandemic, big-name brands would launch collections between four and six times year, with fashion houses like Zara reportedly introducing more than 20 different collections a year.&nbsp;



Cristina Rovere is the founder of environment-friendly swimwear and wetsuit brand, Atlas Label. “We do not make any seasonal collections&#8230; and we encourage everyone who owns an Atlas Label product to consider repairs as a first option. We believe in making better choices and in taking responsibility for what you purchase. Use it, love it, care for it. Repeat.”&nbsp;



A love for surfing (and thus the ocean) led Rovere to create wetsuits that are better for the planet. “As surfers, we see the amount of rubbish first-hand on the beach. It’s a push to start making better choices,” she tells FORBES AFRICA. Typically, wetsuits are made from a kind of rubber called neoprene, a synthetic polymer derived from petroleum, but her Japanese-inspired suits use limestone neoprene (rubber derived from crushed limestone) instead. “It has incredible technical properties and can be repaired many times over.”  



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-2-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-48499" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-2-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-1-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-48505" width="346" height="518" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-1-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-1-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-1-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-1-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HempLove-1-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 346px) 100vw, 346px" /><figcaption>HempLove uses natural materials for its garments.</figcaption></figure></div>



Generally speaking, natural materials are better for the environment, but it’s not a straightforward argument. Cotton, for example, is not a prominent pollutant but has downsides in terms of labor and land. Lorè Botha co-founded HempLove in April 2019. “Based on our research, hemp requires ten times less the amount of water and half the amount of land than cotton. Our slow collection entails that all the garments and textiles are dyed using plant waste sourced from farmers and restaurants in South Africa.”&nbsp;



Such natural materials are not new on the fashion scene, but they are increasingly being used from head to toe. Launched in 2014 by a family of milliners, Simon and Mary hats are made from 100% wool felt and hemp. (They are also part of a tree-planting project with South African reforestation organization, Greenpop and use rainwater to save roughly 30,000 liters per month). 



Laduma Ngxokolo has also been using local mohair, and merino wool since 2012 for luxury knitwear brand, Maxhosa Africa, and Davie Hutchison founded bamboo-blended Sexy Socks in 2014. “Sexy Socks was, I think, one of the first social enterprise brands in the South African market, and we have always been eco-conscious.” The colorful socks are not only made from sustainable and biodegradable materials but also have social impact. For every pair of Sexy Socks bought, one goes to a child in need. 



When natural materials aren&#8217;t used, clothing clogs the system. According to American Vogue, “an estimated 50 million tonnes of clothing is discarded every year, and most of it will not biodegrade in a landfill”.&nbsp;



Makhosazane Rosa Sekgwama, has come up with an innovative way to combat such fashion waste. “We use recycled materials from the local clothing industry that would otherwise be discarded. Local factory offcuts become the yarn that we use to crochet all our products,” Sekgwama tells FORBES AFRICA.&nbsp;



Her brand, ROSA Handmade in SA, made The V&amp;A Waterfront&#8217;s ‘100 Beautiful Things’ list and consists of woven rugs, lovingly-made baby baskets and handbags. However, being green comes with its challenges. &nbsp;



“We rely on yarn wholesalers who directly source from the clothing factories making upscaling impossible as there is a limit of each color we get from them. We also avoid dyeing materials ourselves, which would enable us to make more products of the same color range but pose an environmental hazard.”&nbsp;



Back in Cape Town, growing interest in Atlas Label wetsuits led Rovere to investigate a more affordable offering for ocean-lovers. “Our swimwear is made of Econyl, regenerated Italian nylon made from post-consumer waste, including ghost fishing nets removed from our oceans. Econyl is a certified product, and we have a signed communications agreement with them, which keeps us in constant contact and sets us apart from many other businesses.”&nbsp; &nbsp;



Nombuso Nomzamo Khanyile from Afrikan Passions Designs tells FORBES AFRICA that footwear also springs from waste. “We upcycle discarded car tyres and use them as sandal soles, reducing car tyres as environmental pollutants. The majority of our customers are attracted to us mainly because we upcycle.”



Indeed, this kind of thinking is no longer niche. Sekgwama says: “The competition is high. Both new and existing retailers are changing to be more eco-friendly, attract discerning consumer attention and gain preference. The scourge of Covid-19 [also] opened more eyes to the need to support local businesses and authentic products manufactured locally.”&nbsp;



Rovere agrees and says “South Africa is still catching up, but with the internet being such an open asset to everyone, the global movement for consumerism has definitely shifted towards more conscious purchases. We even see changes in the companies that used to create fast fashion, so overall knowledge around sustainability is increasing”. &nbsp;



South African Fashion Week (SAFW) has 600 local designers on the database, according to the event’s founder and director Lucilla Booyzen. “There are a lot of grey areas around sustainability for our SA Fashion Designers. None of them, as far as I know, are fully sustainable, as it is very difficult for any company to be fully sustainable.”&nbsp;



Zippers, underwires, buttons and packaging can all hamper sustainability efforts, but has there been a rise in eco-conscious clothing on the runways? “Yes, definitely,” Booyzen says. “This season, all the designers at SAFW are showing what we call slow fashion collections based on up-cycling, recycling and no waste&#8221;.&nbsp;



Likewise, the winter collections of more accessible household brands prove traditional retailers are catching on too. Both K-Way and Woolworths revamped their fashionable puffer jackets, filling them with recycled plastic fibers instead of duck down. Buyers at K-Way note, however, that the adoption rate to sustainable wear in South Africa is generally lower than the rest of the world and recycled synthetic has had a slow start.&nbsp;



Conscious fashion has become increasingly important in South African retail, and waste reduction on a large scale would help to close the loop and create a better circular economy. If local fashion can become more sustainable and effectively reduce the load on South African landfills, all the better. Especially given that the City of Johannesburg’s Environmental, Infrastructure and Services estimate the city has three years before landfill sites reach full capacity.&nbsp;



“Once you dip into sustainability, it becomes a part of your life,” says Rovere, likening the movement to a continuous journey. “It&#8217;s about making better choices. One item of sustainable clothing might just lead to better choices at the supermarket. It leaves a lasting impact on your purchasing decisions going forward.”



By Melanie van Zyl

AfrikanPassionDesigns_NiamhWalsh-Vorster-1

Conscious Couture: Swimwear From Fishing Nets And Soles From Tyres

In Johannesburg, city-dwellers like Linah Moeketsi have taken the future of sustainable farming into their own hands. Where land is becoming scarce, they look to the skies. 



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Doornfontein is one of Johannesburg’s older inner-city
suburbs with decaying buildings and dingy alleys that wear a dour, monochrome
look. 



Daily commuters and street surfers jostle with delivery vans and mountains of metal scrap but the grey of the concrete city makes it hard to believe that there could be a patch of green in a most unlikely location.



READ MORE| <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2019/09/16/no-seat-at-the-global-table-for-indigenous-cuisine/">No Seat At The Global Table For Indigenous African Cuisine</a>



Above the humdrum of life here is a rooftop hydroponics farm
looking down on the city, but upwards to a new route to restoration and urban
preservation. 



Atop the eight-floor Stanop building – offering a
breath-taking view of the city and the landmark Ponte Towers in the distance –
one woman has made it her mission to turn a grimy grey terrace into a green
lung on the city’s skyline.



“City life is taking on a totally new direction… even people who think they couldn’t one day farm, find themselves on rooftops,” Linah Moeketsi tells FORBES AFRICA.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="681" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42474" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0057.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Moeketsi grows herbs, used to treat non-communicable diseases (NCDs), in a 250m x 500m greenhouse on the building’s terrace. But her rooftop farm is sans any soil – it uses a hydroponics system.



“I think because we are in the city and we would like to produce for people in the city, hydroponic farming is one of the answers because you can actually harvest more than twice the produce, and the growth rate is quicker and there is produce that you can have throughout the year that people demand because it is in a controlled environment,” she says.



On a windy Wednesday morning in October, we meet Moeketsi at
her aerial green facility, a couple of days before she is to send some of her
plant produce to the market.



She talks about her journey as an offbeat farmer. It all started when her father fell ill in 2013, when doctors failed to correctly diagnose his disease.



“They couldn’t see that he was diabetic. He didn’t show the signs of diabetes, but he had this foot ulcer that just wouldn’t go away,” she says.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">&#8220;The future of city farming is great simply because we have more and more young people getting into this space. Even though it&#8217;s farming, they are looking at it from a very different angle. </blockquote>



Moeketsi decided to do her own research, so she read up
books on African medicinal plants and used some herbs that belonged to her late
mother, who had been a traditional healer.



“It took me a good eight months to help my dad and I
actually saved him from having an amputation.”



The news of Moeketsi curing her dad’s diabetes using herbs
spread. Sadly, her father died in 2016, at the age of 87. But she is proud to
have helped prolong his life.



“So he passed away in his sleep, not sick, nothing, he was just old. But he was always grateful; he was like, ‘even when I die, I’m going to die with both my limbs’, so we would make a joke about it.” 



 READ MORE| <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2019/09/04/businesses-at-the-heart-of-a-greener-future/">Businesses At The Heart Of A Greener Future</a> 



After her father’s demise, Moeketsi rented some land and
turned her knowledge on natural herbs into a fully-fledged farm. However, when
the owner of the land returned, she was forced to vacate.



Land was always going to be a problem in the city. But instead of giving up, Moeketsi looked to the skies.



“Because of this passionate drive for an answer, I found
myself researching what’s happening outside Gauteng and South Africa, and I saw
in Europe, they were farming on rooftops,” she says.



In 2017, her dream became a reality when she secured a deal with the City of Johannesburg as part of an urban farming program, and started the rooftop project a year later.



When we visit her greenhouse, we are welcomed by the sweet
lingering scent of herbs. It’s hot and humid, and two fans whir away to cool
the air.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="681" height="1024" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-681x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42472" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-681x1024.jpg 681w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-300x451.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-600x902.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-768x1155.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043-1022x1536.jpg 1022w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0043.jpg 1277w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px" /></figure>



Moeketsi walks around the greenhouse wearing dark glasses and a white jacket, with a syringe in hand – she could easily pass off as a medical doctor.



She elaborates on the hydroponics system. There are four pyramids, each attached to their own reservoirs of water. On each pyramid, different plants, ranging from spinach, lettuce, sage, parsley, basil and dill, rest on beds with pipes connecting them to the reservoirs. Moeketsi plucks out one of the pipes and inserts the syringe; water spouts out of the tube and she returns it to the bed.



“Twice a day, you have to check that water is actually going
through the pipes, because that’s how the plants get water and nutrients,” she
explains, as she unblocks a pipe using the syringe. She says it’s one of the
best ways to farm using little water.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="681" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42473" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0083.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



“When you put in certain plants in the greenhouse, you know
you are guaranteed sustainable farming because you can produce those plants and
harvest them,” she says.



Moeketsi adds that this allows her produce to stay
consistent season after season.



“So, from that point of view, it makes the city more sustainable in terms of food produce that is easily accessible and cost-effective for the consumer because not everyone around here can afford the high prices of food but they can at least afford what we sell, whether it is at R10 ($0.5) or R15 ($1).” 



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As Moekesti continues to tend to the plants, a farmer she works with walks in and begins filling up the reservoirs. 



Lethabo Madela has known Moekesti for almost six years.



“When you look around Johannesburg, there is no space, so
rooftops have saved us a lot, especially those of us that love farming,” says
Madela. “I’m learning a lot and I think she [Moekesti] changed the whole concept
of farming for me because I used to farm vegetables. I didn’t know culinary
herbs or medicinal herbs.”



Moeketsi speaks of other farmers around the city who have taken to the rooftops to farm plants such as strawberries, lemon balm, spinach and lettuce.



READ MORE| <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2019/07/08/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-future-of-pesticides-and-bees/">Everything You Need To Know About The Future Of Pesticides And Bees</a>



In a suburb called Marshalltown, a 10-minute drive from
Moeketsi’s farm, Kagiso Seleka farms lemon balm also using hydroponics.



He produces sorbet and pesto from his produce which is then
used to make ice cream.



“It [hydroponics] is great for farming sensitive plants in
terms of temperature. Lemon balm does not like frost. But it’s better to grow
even out of season so you can set a higher price,” he tells us.



However, he says hydroponics farming is a luxury not many
farmers can afford.



“It [hydroponics] does have a bit of a higher capital upfront, but you get a higher yield and higher quality, so people are willing to pay more. Hydroponic planting saves about ninety five percent of water soil farming in a water-scarce country,” says Seleka. 



READ MORE| <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/health/2019/03/15/local-solutions-can-boost-healthier-food-choices-in-south-africa/">Local Solutions Can Boost Healthier Food Choices In South Africa</a> 



“We do have water shortages, and I know people are on the
whole ‘organic trip’ but, is it more important to have an organic plant versus
a water-saving environment?” 



The Program Coordinator for Agriculture at the City of
Johannesburg’s Food Resilience Unit, Lindani Sandile Makhanya, says there
certainly are more rooftop farmers in Johannesburg now than ever before.



Converting idle terraces into avenues of profit is becoming
a norm. There are new rooftop farms being set up every day, offers Makhanya. 



He regularly visits Moeketsi’s farm to check on the progress
and collect produce to sell.



“Urban farming in Johannesburg is rising, mainly because the
idea of producing our own food is very important because most people are moving
to urban areas and therefore it stands to reason that we have to try to produce
as much as possible,” says Makhanya.



“[There is growth] even in animal production, although we are moving away from the bigger numbers, but we are involving the smaller ones; because of the space issue, they are increasing overall.” 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="681" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42476" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/DSC_0088.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



For Moeketsi, her farm has changed her life and given her
hope for a better future. In addition to the teas, tinctures, ointments and
medicinal products she processes from her plants, she plans to include more
by-products such as syrups in the future.



“The future of city farming is great simply because we have
more and more young people getting into this space. Even though it’s farming,
they are looking at it from a very different angle,” she says. “That is why the
city is changing and rooftop farming is going to get bigger and bigger.” 



Clearly, farming in Africa is covering exciting new ground.

DSC_0093

Green-Sky Thinking

With every day that passes by it becomes more apparent that the Earth is deteriorating and time is running out to save it. Scientists have estimated that we have less than a decade to save the planet before it is irreversibly damaged, mainly due to climate change. 



Businesses claim the largest percentage of global emissions (at approximately 70% since 1988, according to The Guardian) which is an alarming statistic, especially in a time when the planet’s well-being is being compromised. 



Many large business corporations are hastily coming on board with operating sustainably by transforming their practices and placing business ethics at the forefront of their priorities.



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="The Most Sustainable Companies In 2019 (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2019/01/23/the-most-sustainable-companies-in-2019/" target="_blank">The Most Sustainable Companies In 2019</a>



 Last week, a round table discussion was held at the Fairlawns Boutique Hotel, Sandton hosted by Environmental Resources Management (ERM) &#8211; the world’s largest sustainability consulting firm. Their aim was to discuss how imperative it is for African businesses to get on board with sustainability. 



“We have been talking about how to be
sustainable for a long time but now it is time for us to do sustainability,”
says Thapelo Letete, Technical Director of ERM. 



An engaging and thought-provoking panel
discussion ensued with representatives from ERM and mining companies, Anglo
American and Gold Fields. They emphasized the importance of sustainability
being recognized by investors, especially in mining and oil companies that rely
solely on Earth’s natural resources.



Civil society has a colossal role to play in ensuring the sustainability of businesses. Due to the law of supply and demand in production, consumers are being urged to be mindful of their buying habits and to make sustainable decisions. These are as simple as minimizing the utilization of plastic straws by replacing them with metal or paper straws and reusable shopping bags and by recycling selected items. 



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Challenging The Gender Divide (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/opinion/2019/09/04/challenging-the-gender-divide/" target="_blank">Challenging The Gender Divide</a>



“Research
suggests that socially and environmentally responsible practices have the
potential to garner more positive consumer perceptions of (businesses), as well
as increases in profitability,” according to an entry in Sage Journals published in May. 



The advancement of science, artificial intelligence and the rapid growth of the technological industry make it an undeniable fact that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is underway. Many businesses across the globe seem to be well prepared for this change. However, businesses in Africa seem to be vulnerable.&nbsp;



“It is difficult to say that all
businesses in Africa are prepared for it. It is not a country specific thing
but it does vary across corporations. There will be businesses that are well prepared
and businesses that are not so well prepared,” says Keryn James, CEO of ERM. 



A large part of
sustainability also relies on empowerment and equality. Sub-Saharan Africa has
the highest number of female-owned businesses who contribute a large amount of
money towards their respective countries’ GDPs. However, most of these
businesses struggle with the issue of scaling. 



“Women sometimes underestimate their ability and they don’t necessarily&nbsp; have the confidence that they should have about the value that their businesses present. Women often take less risks than men,” says James.



“The issue of scaling is one that we see globally. One of the issues are access to funding to support in the investment and growth of their businesses.”



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Mastercard: Diligent About Digital In Africa (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/cover-story/2019/09/02/mastercard-diligent-about-digital-in-africa/" target="_blank">Mastercard: Diligent About Digital In Africa</a>



Going forward, the availability of mentorship programmes and skills development opportunities for women, especially black women in business should be encouraged. 



According to a study done by the UN Women’s organization, an average of 3 out of 7 women score higher in performance when they are placed in senior managerial positions. Additionally, if more women work, the more countries can exponentially maximise their economic growth. 



Women will be empowered
when given the correct skills and opportunities to be able to run their own
businesses independently which would ultimately lead to the scaling of
female-owned businesses in Africa and sustainable development. 



The Nedbank Capital Sustainable Business Awards aim
to recognize the efforts of businesses that operate sustainably and to encourage
other corporations who intend to adopt more sustainable strategies into their
practices. Initiatives such as these prove that business value also depends on
how sustainable they are. 



It is clear that the prioritization of sustainability and accountability in businesses is the only way forward in the midst of this global crisis. With a combination of will and the rigorous work that African businesses have put into sustainability initiatives and strategies, it is easier to be optimistic about our planet’s wellbeing. 



-Buhle Ntusi

Keryn

Businesses At The Heart Of A Greener Future

Modernization, mechanization and regulation are some of the key aspects that need to be looked at for South Africa to build a globally competitive and sustainable mining industry.
Earlier this year, the mining sector experienced a five-month crippling wage strike. It follows the 2012 unprotected wage strike outside Lonmin’s Marikana mine, where 34 miners demanding a wage increase, were shot dead by police. Strikes pose risk and uncertainty for investors. It is often perceived, when long protracted strikes take place, that conversations about mechanization comes to the fore.
Mechanizing mines is seen as a solution to securing a steady stream of revenue and could cut significant costs for mining companies.
Speaking at the Joburg Indaba on mining, Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi says strikes are not a uniquely South African phenomenon.
“But when they run into periods exceeding five months; that should raise attention to all stakeholders. It puts the efficacy of regulatory institutions into question,” says Ramatlhodi.
“The cost to the industry and economy has been beyond words with recent figures revealing that in the first quarter, sales of total minerals declined by 24.7 percent. This narrowed to 9.6 percent in the
second quarter.”
He says the cost to the industry and economy has been beyond imaginable proportions.
Chairman of Anglo American Platinum, Valli Moosa, says that the recent strikes in South Africa are more of a major social uprising and revolt than purely labor relations disputes.
“We can say that it was a result of educators from the ultra-left influencing workers… but workers would not have gone on a five-month strike without pay, unless they wanted to send us a serious message. I feel ashamed that miners did that,” says Moosa.
“Workers want a fundamental change of what is happening in this industry. They didn’t achieve that much in as far as their demands are concerned.”
Moosa added that there needs to be a fundamental change and questioned whether mechanization could be the silver bullet to drive the future of South Africa’s mining industry. He believes that the country needs to move to a higher degree of modernization because it will improve productivity.
The rest of the world has experienced unprecedented growth of their economies following mechanization.
“We should not take ourselves back to the dark ages. Technology will be the biggest driver of growth in South Africa in the foreseeable future,” says Moosa.
The Chief Executive of diversified miner, Exxaro Resources, Sipho Nkosi, agrees but notes that education is critical.
“We need to go back to educate our people in the correct areas. And if you look at technological areas around the world, its mind boggling,” he says.
Industry experts say that the mining sector is a sunset industry, but Nkosi says that we cannot focus on that. He believes that government must be clear on its policy and that the industry needs to know what its role is in helping to grow the economy.
But trade unions fear that mechanizing the mines will result in massive job losses. Moosa believes that where there’s a reduction in the labor force, mining bosses have a responsibility.
“We have a moral responsibility for that. Unless we take responsibility we will not get to where we want,” says Moosa.
Norman Mbazima, Chief Executive of Kumba Iron Ore, says mechanization does not necessarily result in job losses as perceived by many, especially labor unions.
“Unlike before, when we solely relied on labor, now due to mechanization we rely more on planners who might incorporate even injured miners,” says Mbazima.
Chief Executive of Lonmin, Ben Magara, in support of Mbazima, says unlike what is generally perceived, no mine could retrofit as every mineral deposit had an appropriate method.
“If we achieve mechanization within 10 years, we could have achieved it in the shortest term possible, 20 years would be medium term and 30 years long term,” says Magara.
To have a stable economy, South Africa needs to grow at 6%. In September, the International Monetary Fund lowered this year’s growth to a mere 1.4%.
All stakeholders must come together and find solutions that make sense.

Machines OVER MEN?

Looking out from the fiftieth floor of a skyscraper in the Dubai Marina, with the prismatic city lights bouncing off every reflective surface from the water to the mile high glass buildings, the view seems more like the backdrop of a George Lucas film than someone’s private balcony. The Western world’s perception of Dubai is one of excess and extravagance. Dubai is known around the globe for its soaring skyscrapers, long, sandy beaches, and colossal shopping malls. So when I arrived in Dubai, I expected nothing less than the biggest, the tallest, the most expensive, and the most luxurious. And that’s exactly what the experience has been. I visited the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, Palm Jumeira, and a number of other man-made wonders that are screaming testaments to modern technology and innovation.
<div id="attachment_1476" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1476" class="size-medium wp-image-1476" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/dreamstime_l_24381041-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" />Burj al Arab</div>
However, after every tour, every drive, and every elevator ride, the one question that I found myself constantly asking was: How? How is this kind of gargantuan development possible? And more importantly, how does this unprecedented infrastructure sustain itself, year after year? Without a doubt, the most eye-opening and noteworthy aspect of my Dubai experience was witnessing the amount of innovation and research that goes into trying to lessen the environmental impact of limitless luxury.
Naturally, as an eager tourist, one of my first sight-seeing stops during my stay was a trip to the top of the legendary Burj Khalifa. After weaving my way through the queues and metal detectors, I made my way towards the surprisingly ordinary looking chrome elevators. My fellow tourists and I were corralled and herded like cattle (as tourists often are) as we awaited the lift to take us up. As we entered the elevator, the attendant pushed the almost comically labeled ‘124’ button and sent us on our way. The moment the doors slid shut, the walls of what I had called an ordinary looking elevator lit up into a polychromatic symphony of moving colors, videos, and facts. Just as my eyes began to adjust and focus on the iridescent words that had unexpectedly appeared on the lift walls, the ride was over. The 10 meter per second elevator trip probably had lasted little over a minute, and we were at the top.
The view from the observation deck was surreal. Jutting out from the flat desert floor, the clusters of shiny skyscrapers combined with the dusty afternoon haze made the city look like something out of a video game. I lingered for a few minutes, taking the obligatory tourist pictures, marveling at the engineering feat that I was standing on.
What amazed me more than the view, the lights or the streamlined design, though, was something called the Burj Khalifa Condensate Collection System. According to the tower’s website, the Condensate Collection System stores the water that is collected from the surface of the Burj, day in and day out. Due to the intense desert heat and the high humidity, a significant amount of water collects on the cool glass surface of the constantly air conditioned goliath tower. Allegedly, about 15 million gallons of water are collected each year through this method and are used to help water the 11 hectares of meticulously manicured greenery at the base of the tower. To me, this is an extremely creative and innovative step towards more environmentally conscious developments. Massive amounts of waste and unregulated consumption are a natural result of building the world’s tallest tower and any attempt at conservation is a much needed step toward sustainability.
Of course, in one of the most visited cities in the world, my exploration and accidental discoveries did not end with the Burj Khalifa. The next stop on my Dubai must-see list was Ski Dubai, located at the Mall of the Emirates shopping center. Though I am no stranger to snow, coming from the northern United States, seeing the famed desert ice-box was too intriguing of an opportunity to pass upon.
The physical structure itself was fairly uninspiring and for someone who spends eight months out of the year buried in the white stuff, the snowy inside was not particularly astonishing either. What was truly amazing to me, however, was how a feat like this was even possible.
The idea of creating an isolated environment that is the polar opposite of Dubai’s natural climate would inevitably take massive amounts of water and energy, to be consumed simply for novel entertainment. To find out how the resort maintains its snowy climate throughout the blistering Arabian summers, I had to do a little research. What I found, however, was once again a testament to the innovative potential of the city. According to Ski Dubai, the walls of the structure are layered with different types of insulation that help maintain the cool inside temperatures. The roof and the ceiling are separated by an empty five meter space of air. The air in this space serves as a cheap and effective means of insulating the ice-box from the scorching sun outside. While it takes endless amounts of energy to keep the industrial coolers running each day, the insulation method helps maintain these cool temperatures at a low cost.
I came to Dubai knowing that I would see luxury and extravagance that I had never been exposed to before. I knew I would be awestruck and amazed by the lights and the sounds and the simple grandeur of every desert gem that makes up the Dubai skyline. What I was not expecting, however, was to be impressed by the engineering and technology that went into building these colossal tributes to wealth and excess. It is clear that Dubai is slowly making the move towards a greener economy. Steps are being taken in places one would least expect in order to make sure the city can indefinitely maintain its glitz and glamour at a realistic cost.
When it comes to building the biggest and the greatest, I learned there are two inevitable byproducts: expected wastefulness, and unexpected innovation. Many of Dubai’s most famous attractions pioneered new and unheard of technologies. Because of this, I have no doubt that Dubai will eventually make the shift from a city of inconceivable extravagance, to a city of sustainable superlatives.

Tag: Sustainability

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