South Africa is ranked as the 30th driest country in the world. The latest drought experienced in the Western Cape was testament to the country’s vulnerability to water scarcity. National and municipal interventions were introduced to reduce water consumption and relieve pressure on the Western Cape Water Supply System by urban, agricultural and other water users. However, there are still parts of the Western Cape that are experiencing drought conditions, largely in the Central Karoo.
Improved collective dam levels and reduced municipal water usage has since provided tariff relief for water users in the Cape Town area. Currently, Level 3 water and sanitation tariffs apply for City of Cape Town water users (applicable as of 1 March 2019). GreenCape assists businesses with adapting to the reality of regional water scarcity under current water restrictions. Business water users are encouraged to continue their pursuit of water resilience with the help of GreenCape’s Sustainable Water Use Journey which is a guide with proposed steps for achieving business water sustainability.
GreenCape has utilised the Sustainable Water Use Journey with businesses across various industries as a key feature of the Drought Business Support Programme to assist with business drought adaption through water resilience. Many Western Cape-based businesses have made a significant effort to reduce their water usage and strive towards water-conscious business practices across a variety of industries.
GreenCape has compiled a series of business water resilience case studies to profile innovative methods of water saving and water efficiency best practice. The case studies contain insights on the different behavioural, operational and technological methods that were applied by each business with their respective water savings, and return on investments:
Click on the Western Cape-based business below to learn about how they saved water:
Textile Industry
Hospitality and Tourism Industry
Retail Industry
Food and Beverage Industry
Manufacturing Industry
Construction Industry
Office Premises
Pharmaceutical and Health Industry
GreenCape is available to develop and share best practice business water resilience investments. To have your business water resilience journey developed into a case study by GreenCape, please contact us. Business case studies are uploaded onto this webpage, disseminated at industry-related events, and shared via various media platforms.
