As part of its plans to reduce environmental impacts, Babcock Africa partnered with the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA) to conduct resource-efficient and cleaner production (RECP) assessments across selected priority sites in South Africa, focusing on energy, water and waste management. Following this process, the company has embarked on an implementation programme that begins with low- and no-cost interventions, with notable early successes.
In today’s business world, environmental stewardship has shifted from a statutory requirement to a strategic necessity. With this in mind, the Babcock International Group is advancing its ‘Plan Zero 40’ ambition to transition to a net-zero emissions organisation across all operations by 2040. The company is an inaugural signatory of the UK Defence ESG Charter and has aligned with the Business Ambition for 1.5°C Pledge.
As part of this strategy, responsible resource management is now embedded into products, processes and operations. For Babcock Africa, the immediate priority is to drive sustainable performance across three fronts: energy efficiency, water stewardship and waste reduction.
Through its partnership with NCPC-SA - a national support programme that accelerates South Africa’s transition to a green economy through RECP interventions -Babcock Africa has adopted a systematic and integrated approach to resource management and long-term environmental performance improvement.
The partnership
Babcock International recently published a suite of Environmental Commitments that outline the group’s intention to reduce environmental impact and carbon emissions across its global footprint. To better understand its current position and develop clear improvement roadmaps, Babcock Africa approached NCPC-SA for technical support.
NCPC-SA, funded by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and hosted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), supports industrial and selected commercial sectors in adopting sustainable, efficient and competitive operating practices.
Lindani Ncwane, Senior Project Manager at NCPC-SA, explains:
“Our goal is to support industry transition toward green economy through resource efficiency, especially given South Africa’s reliance on coal-based energy. Through our collaboration with Babcock Africa, we provided technical expertise and highly subsidised financial support to conduct RECP assessments at priority sites to identify opportunities to save water and energy and reduce waste generation.”
Kea Tlhapane, Environmental Lead at Babcock Africa, adds that the partnership was established to proactively address environmental impacts. “Water assessments focused on high-consumption sites exceeding 1 million litres, while waste assessments initially prioritised operations generating more than 100 tonnes of waste. This allowed us to focus on the areas with the highest potential for improvement.”
