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NORMS AND STANDARDS FOR PROMOTING SOUND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Meeting mitigation targets will require South Africa to implement a range of policies and measures. To give effect to its Constitutional mandate of protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development, the department has over a period of time developed comprehensive environmental management legislative/regulatory framework. This regulatory framework, apart from acts of Parliament (environmental laws) and regulations; consists also of policies, norms and standards and other tools.
CYCLING | NON MOTORISED TRANSPORT (NMT)
BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINE:
CYCLING ACADEMIES
OCTOBER 2023 [PDF - 41.65 mb]
The cycling academy at the most basic level is a safe space where children and adults can learn to ride a bicycle. The cycling academy model provides an opportunity to start having conversations about alternative means of transport. It's an opportunity to introduce cycling to youth when they are still at a very impressionable age and an opportunity to make difference in a community. While the impacts may seem small at a local community level, the ripple effects of small things can create significant impacts. This guideline aims to inspire you to take those first steps.
SUMMARY » Afrikaans | English | Sesotho | isiZulu [PDF - 3.5 mb]
SUMMARY » Folding guide [PDF - 2.5 mb]
THE NON-MOTORISED TRANSPORT (NMT)
FEBRUARY 2015 [PDF - 78.31 mb]
The vision for NMT is that it is also seen as a desirable mode of transport because of its convenience and safety. When given a meaningful choice among different possible modes of transport, NMT should be selected with a sense of comfort and pride. Cycling or walking in and around communities is both safe and reliable, for school children, leisure cyclists and those commuting to work on a daily basis. For each commute, wherever the destination or purpose of the commute, it is possible for NMT to be the mode of choice.
GREEN BUSINESS | FINANCE
GREEN BUSINESS GUIDELINE:
SMALL, MEDIUM AND MICRO ENTERPRISES, START-UPS AND ENTREPRENEURS
NOVEMBER 2022 [PDF - 1.3 mb]
Green businesses, also called sustainable businesses, seek to balance profit with the health of the planet. Green businesses incorporate principles of sustainability into their business decisions in order to reduce their negative impacts on the global or local environment. They do this by selling environmentally friendly products.
TECHNICAL HANDBOOK:
ISSUANCE OF SUSTAINABLE MUNICIPAL BONDS IN SOUTH AFRICA
MARCH 2022 [PDF - 2.97 mb]
The handbook sets out detailed, accessible, practical steps involved in sustainable bonds issuance and discusses the associated tasks and activities for South African municipalities. It enables them to have a view of the comprehensive process for the preparation, issuance, and management of a sustainable bond.
CARBON BUDGET METHODOLOGY DOCUMENT
MAY 2021 [PDF - 1,507 kb]
This document sets out scope of mandatory carbon budget implementation and details frameworks to be used to calculate and allocate carbon budgets. download doc
BIOGAS GUIDEBOOK FOR SMME SCALE INDUSTRIAL BIOGAS PLANTS
OCTOBER 2021 [PDF – 2.1 mb]
Purpose of this guidebook is to promote biogas technology to SMMEs. download doc
SA - NDC | SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT | ADAPTATION
SOUTH AFRICA'S FIRST NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTION (NDC) UNDER THE PARIS AGREEMENT
SEPTEMBER 2021 [PDF - 1,333 kb]
By this communication, South Africa updates and enhances its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement (PA). South Africa's intended nationally determined contribution was submitted on 25 September 2015 prior to COP 21, and became our first NDC (RSA 2016), following our ratification of the PA. This document is not our second NDC – this will be communicated in 2025.
NATIONAL STRATEGY:
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION
AUGUST 2020 [PDF - 6.6 mb]
The National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS) provides a common vision of climate change adaptation and climate resilience for the country, drawing from the National Development Plan, the National Strategy for Sustainable Development, the adaptation commitments included in its Nationally Determined Contributions, sector adaptation plans, provincial adaptation plans and municipality adaptation plans.
GENERIC ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME (EMPr):
OVERHEAD ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION / DISTRIBUTION
FEBRUARY 2018 [PDF - 1014,9 kb]
The objective of this generic EMPr is to prescribe and pre-approve generally accepted impact management outcomes and actions which can commonly and repeatedly be used for the avoidance, management and mitigation of impacts and risks associated with the development or expansion for overhead electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure.
NATIONAL FRAMEWORK:
CLIMATE CHANGE MONITORING AND EVALUATION (M&E)
MAY 2015 [PDF - 1.79 mb]
The NCCRP and NDP highlight importance of understanding SA's progress in moving towards envisaged climate resilient and lower carbon economy and society. Both policies call for setting up mandatory national monitoring, evaluation and reporting system for climate change information. Objective of this document is to present a description and framework of South Africa's climate change response monitoring and evaluation system.
NATIONAL STRATEGY:
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ACTION PLAN (NSSD 1)
NOVEMBER 2011 [PDF - 2.8 mb]
The NSSD 1 presents an understanding of sustainable development and explains the route that is being taken. It presents an action plan and indicators for the implementation of the strategy. It is not prescriptive, but is enabling in orientation and will be used to review sustainability programmes. The strategy calls for an interdependency approach across sectors and action on sustainability.
NATIONAL FRAMEWORK:
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA (NFSDSA)
JULY 2008 [PDF - 580 kb]
The national framework for sustainable development seeks to build on existing programmes and strategies that have emerged in the first 14 years of democracy. It aims to identify key, short, medium and long–term challenges in our sustainable development efforts, sets the framework for a common understanding and vision of sustainable development; and defines strategic focus areas for intervention.
EMISSIONS | GREENHOUSE GASES (GHG)
METHODOLOGICAL GUIDELINE:
QUANTIFICATION OF GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) EMISSIONS
AUGUST 2022 [PDF - 420 kb]
The purpose of the methodological guidelines is to provide additional guidance and commentary to assist data providers in estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for reporting on the GHG reporting module of the National Atmospheric Emission Inventory System (NAEIS). Guidance is provided to reporting companies on methodologies to apply when quantifying GHG emissions from activities listed in table 5:2 of this guideline.
draft FRAMEWORK:
SECTORAL EMISSION TARGETS
JUNE 2021 [PDF - 864 kb]
The purpose of this framework is to outline an approach that DFFE would follow when coordinating the process towards allocation and implementation of sector emission targets (SETs) with the line sector departments, provinces and local governments. This framework document is for stakeholders who are interested in understanding how sector emission targets will be developed to fulfil the government's GHG emission reduction ambitions.
ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK:
NATIONAL CLIMATE RISK AND VULNERABILITY (CRV)
JUNE 2020 [PDF - 5.49 mb]
This framework, provides a holistic focus on the full spectrum of adaptation measures, plans and strategies thus constituting a new approach to vulnerability assessments. The framework is aimed at any actor in South Africa setting out to assess CRV. It provides a flexible yet structured sequence of steps and set of options that ensures that, whichever CRV assessment context, scale or focus, a standard set of concepts and questions have been taken into consideration.
IMPLEMENTATION OF CLIMATE SMART AGRICULTURE (CSA) IN SOUTH AFRICA
ACTIONABLE GUIDELINES:
VOLUME 1
OCTOBER 2020 [PDF - 5.3 MB]
The CSA enabling environments are inclusive of agriculture marketing, climate information services, indexed-based insurance, CSA knowledge dissemination, gender and social inclusion. A detailed background to the CSA guidelines in the form of a situation analysis is given in volume 1 of this report. It provided a basis for the development of the actionable CSA guidelines.
ACTIONABLE GUIDELINES:
VOLUME 2
OCTOBER 2020 [PDF - 4.8 MB]
Volume 2 of this guideline report describes actionable guidelines for CSA practices whose implementation would contribute to the rolling out of CSA in South Africa. The CSA practices included soil and water management, crop production (cereal production, sugar production, fruit and viticulture production), urban agriculture, rangeland management, and agroprocessing.
ACTIONABLE GUIDELINES:
VOLUME 3
OCTOBER 2020 [PDF - 3.6 MB]
Information on enabling environments for climate smart agriculture (CSA) is given in volume 3 of the guideline report. Information in volume 3 is targeting policy makers responsible for formulating policies that will create a conducive and supportive environment for the speedy implementation of climate smart agriculture in South Africa and thus accelerate the greening of the country, inclusive of agriculture marketing.
In the agriculture sector, climate smart agriculture (CSA) is now widely accepted as the best approach for addressing the effects of climate change in agriculture. It is defined as agriculture that sustainably increases productivity, resilience (adaptation), reduces/removes greenhouse gases (mitigation), and enhances the achievement of national food security and development goals. CSA promotes the transformation of agricultural systems and requires the transformation of agricultural policies to increase food production, to enhance food security, to ensure that food is affordable (low input-cost) while ensuring sustainable natural resource management and resilience to a changing climate.
ADVANCED WASTE TREATMENT FOR SOUTH AFRICA (AWSSA)
KNOWLEDGE PRODUCT 1:
OVERVIEW OF AISWM SERIES
[PDF - 4 MB]
A series of five knowledge products (KPs) have been prepared to support capacity building on the subject of AISWM. The KPs aim to provide clear, concise and factual information to support decision-making on AISWM and AWT, so that municipalities and their partners can plan and implement the next generation of facilities.
KNOWLEDGE PRODUCT 2:
APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY FOR AWT
This document is aimed at senior municipal waste service managers and operators with grounding in waste management issues who want to expand their knowledge on technical components of different waste treatment processes.
1: overview [7.9 mb] | 2: concepts [3.8 mb] | 3: options [9.8 mb] | 4: promising technologies - short term [16.7 mb] | 5: potential technologies - medium term [28.3 b] | 6: potential technologies - long term [19 mb] | 7: conclusion [11.1 mb]
KNOWLEDGE PRODUCT 3:
RECOGNISING THE INFORMAL WASTE SECTOR (IWS)
[PDF - 3.8 MB]
This document covers a wide range of issues, from understanding the working conditions of informal waste re-claimers to recognising their benefits, and possible suggestions for municipalities to include the IWS in advancing SWM practices and reducing dependency on landfill.
KNOWLEDGE PRODUCT 4:
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF AWT
[PDF - 9 MB]
KP 4 focuses on financial aspects of developing and operating different types of advanced waste treatment facilities. This KP provides an overview of financial implications of moving away from landfill and towards AISWM systems. Benchmark cost ranges and breakdowns are provided for different technologies.
KNOWLEDGE PRODUCT 5:
OPERATOR MODELS & BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
[PDF - 6.36 MB]
This knowledge product provides guidance on the management and contracting arrangements for AWT facilities and services. It identifies and classifies the different contractual approaches relevant to the AWT technologies, identified in KP2 and KP4 as being the most appropriate.
EVENTS GREENING
NATIONAL GREENING FRAMEWORK:
FOR EVENTS MANAGEMENT AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
The National Framework for Greening of Events and the Built Environment has consolidated a set of perspectives on how to achieve greener results for both events management and the built environment across an array of sectors. This perspective includes an appreciation of the policy and legal environment that lends itself to the greening of events and the built environment. It presents objectives in relation to each sector that affects these greening efforts and some practical suggestions on how to achieve these objectives. It also contains a set of appendices that provide guidelines for the greening of events and the built environment.
context [43 mb] | policy and legislation [38.3 mb] | the built environment [37.6 mb] | event greening [84.6 mb] | greening procurement [ 64.2 mb] | communication and awareness [18.44 mb] | conclusion [6.4 mb] | appendices [72.2 mb]
EVENT SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FOR THE GREENING PROGRAMME:
HOSTING THE UNFCCC COP17 AND CMP7
[PDF - 20.37 mb]
South Africa hosted the 17th session of the Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Seventh Meeting of the Parties (CMP) to the Kyoto Protocol (UNFCCC COP17/CMP7, commonly referred to as COP 17/CMP7) from 28 November to 11 December 2011. South Africa committed to hosting a low carbon event by calculating the emissions associated with the event and avoiding, reducing and offsetting these emissions through the implementation of various greening initiatives. This report documents the approach to hosting a low carbon event and the outcomes of the initiatives put in place to contain carbon emissions associated with the event.
GREENING LEGACY:
COP17/CMP7 DURBAN 2011
[PDF - 2.47 mb]
The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the methodology, aims and objectives involved in ensuring the hosting of 17th session of Conference of Parties (COP) of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and seventh Meeting of Parties (CMP) to the Kyoto Protocol (UNFCCC COP17/CMP7, further shortened as COP17) is done in a sustainable manner. The event hosted in Durban, South Africa from November 28 to December 9, 2011. The work reflected in these guidelines offers much hope for the future. We have it within our power to keep our planet, ourselves and future generations alive and well.
NATIONAL LEGACY REPORT:
FOR GREENING OF THE 2010 WORLD CUP
[PDF - 23.2 mb]
The 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup™ provided an unprecedented opportunity for South Africa to move the sustainability agenda forward across a broad range of sectors – from sustainable transport to energy efficiency, form biodiversity to water efficiency – to ensure long term sustainable legacy for Africa's World Cup. The 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup™ offered South Africa the unique opportunity to demonstrate to the world its commitment to responsible environmental management, while improving the living environment and livelihoods of South Africa 's people. In response to this opportunity, the development of the National Greening 2010 Framework, which was published in 2008 following a number of national workshops with key stakeholders.
A VOLUNTEER’S GUIDE:
GREENING OF LARGE EVENTS
[PDF - 8.2 mb]
As a volunteer, you will find that this guideline provides you with a brief summary of various environmental issues in South Africa, a description of the challenges, some interesting facts that enable people to relate environmental challenges to their sporting world, and some suggestions of best practice that you can pass on to the spectators, teams, and anyone else you work with.
NATIONAL FRAMEWORK:
GREENING 2010
NOVEMBER 2008 [PDF - 918,97 kb]
This document provides a clear indication of the areas on which we need to focus and the actions we all need to take in order to achieve our objectives in these focus areas. It is a precursor to a more detailed document that outlines specific greening requirements for official venues. The document on greening requirements sets targets to be met in a particular venue and greening measures that will lead to attainment of these targets.
COME PLAY GREEN WITH US:
GREENING OF LARGE SPORTS EVENTS, WITH A FOCUS ON THE FIFA WORLD CUP™
[PDF - 72.2 mb]
South Africa’s Greening 2010 programme is a demonstration and contribution to the quest to raise awareness, minimise waste, diversify and use energy efficiently, consume water sparingly, compensate our carbon footprint, practice responsible tourism, and construct our infrastructure with future generations in mind.
hese greening initiatives look beyond the actual timeframe of the sporting activity and include concerns for post-event, environmental, social and economic impact of the event on the immediate and extended environment. This guideline will provide a brief reflection of our approach and thinking on the key elements of the greening programme. It is based on the lessons learnt from the greening of several international or large sporting events.