Page 68 - Gondwana Collection Namibia Value Creation Report 2021

HOW WE MAKE AN IMPACT v

PLANET How we protect the environment In our 25 years of business, conservation has been core to our installations across our lodges. SolarSaver charges us for the
company’s purpose. We implement strict environmental policies
solar energy we use, but is more affordable than NamPower.
throughout the company and ensure that each lodge adheres to This initiative has resulted in significant cost savings and a lower
its environmental plan. environmental impact.
Efficient energy use and innovative
Human and economic health is inextricably linked to the health of our planet. energy solutions Green energy and energy efficiency We aim to have solar installations at all our lodges and to have
Saving nature is really about saving ourselves. Renewable energy is always our first choice to power our 80% of our power generated by solar by 2023. We will also
focus on the increase of capacity at all exiting solar energy
Sparing use of precious water lodges. With more than 300 days of sunshine per year, Namibia plants. The only lodge without a solar energy plant is Zambezi
Our environment is our greatest asset is ideally suited for solar energy generation. Excess power from Mubala Camp, due to operational constraints.
our plants is fed into the main grid, operated by Namibia’s
national power utility, NamPower. ○ 18 lodges have solar power plants: Three owned by Gondwana,
Travellers visit Namibia to experience its incredible natural environment. These natural resources are under increasing pressure from population growth, unsustainable farming practices and climate and 15 run by SolarSaver
change. Low water quality, soil erosion and desertification are perennial problems. In a largely arid country, water is scarce and needs to be protected. Responsible waste management Four years back, Namib Desert Lodge had our only solar ○ In 2021, due to budget constraints, we did not expand our
power installation. In 2018, we partnered with SolarSaver,
Travellers are increasingly environmentally aware and want to support destinations and providers that share their eco-sensibilities. Gondwana can play an important role in representing Namibia as a solar energy production capacity.
country that takes its environmental concerns seriously. Importantly, we can also showcase how their support benefits the environment and the communities that depend on us. a southern African solar specialist firm, to complete solar
Sustainable construction methods
Gondwana owns about 1 400 square kilometres of private conservation land. This is approximately twice the size of Singapore and two-thirds the size of Mauritius. This is equivalent to 0.4% of Namibia’s
total conservation land of 340 000 square kilometres. Namibia is ranked 14th by Indexmundi.com of countries with the largest percentage of terrestrial land protected for conservation. The proof of our success

Environmental education Energy 2019 2020 2021
Total energy usage (kWh) 2 977 700 2 491 604 3 071 117
Impact of Covid-19 on natural resources Efficiency (energy usage per person per day) 11 20 15
There is a misperception that nature is ‘getting a break’ from humans during Self-sustaining supply of food
Covid-19. Instead, many rural areas face increased pressure from land encroachment,
deforestation and poaching. People who have lost their employment in cities return to Solar energy production 2020 2021
their rural homes, further increasing the pressure on natural resources. Areas that are Energy production 1 987MWh 1 913MWh
economically dependent on tourism face reduced resources as tourism has come to a A commitment to nature conservation 1 149 barrels
halt, resulting in a rise in bushmeat consumption in Africa. Oil saved 1 194 barrels
CO saved 2 047 tonnes 1 970 tonnes
2
Across the world, Covid-19-related job losses among rangers, reduced anti-poaching Trees saved 5 464 5 216
patrols and environmental protection rollbacks have undermined nature conversation Eco-friendly lodge activities
efforts, according to a collection of new research papers published by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature. Savings from solar (N$) 2019 2020 2021
In Namibia, the economic hardship has been exacerbated by climate disasters such 329 121 935 583 849 501
as the ongoing drought in the north-west. Over the last two years, human-wildlife
conflict, poaching, deforestation, and depletion of other finite natural resources have We aim to reduce daily energy consumption to 4kWh per person per day by 2023.
been especially evident.
Key appliances still needed to run despite limited occupancy on the properties, unfavourably slanting our energy efficiency
Gondwana’s restricted budget meant few cash-intensive conservation projects measures.
could be executed. Environmental and Social Impact Team members joined other Tourism plays an essential
departments and lodge operations to fill vacant positions. This hampered the We however had a significant improvement in energy efficiency from 2020 to 2021.
role in providing a steady Gondwana has saved over N$2 million since we started using the solar saver plants.
efficiency of the department and meant that initiatives needed to be postponed.
income stream to fund our Related SDGs and targets

conservation initiatives.

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