It’s no secret that the health of the environment is teetering on the edge of destruction as human impact continues to take a dire toll on the only home we have. Despite this, many people and businesses are doing phenomenal work to correct the imbalances that have been commonplace for far too long and those efforts must be celebrated and applauded.?It’s #WorldEarthDay and Cars.co.za is proud to be positively contributing towards improving the health of the environment and society at large.

With South Africa and indeed much of the world in lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, perhaps now, more than any time in human history, is the time for deep, critical reflection on the relationship we share with the Earth, this planet we call home.

Today is World Earth Day and we are celebrating the environmental milestones we have achieved thus far to make a positive impact, not only within our own business but also for society at large.

Cars.co.za’s aim is to be a carbon-neutral business and as such, we have launched various initiatives to help us achieve this goal. We are embracing an electric car future andwerecently installed an Electric Vehicle (EV)charging station at our Head Office in Johannesburg where we will be able to effectively conduct testing on electric vehicles within the South African context and we will be installing a charging station at our Cape Town office in the near future. To date, we have lived with theall-electric Jaguar I-Pace and we are currently testing the electric Volkswagen e-Golf.

Here are some of the other environmentalinitiatives that Cars.co.za has been spearheading.

Extensive Recycling Program

Our offices are equipped with recycling stations and we are actively reducing the use of single-use plastics.

Waste recycling is an important component in Cars.co.za’s fight to conserve and protect the environment. Our offices in Johannesburg and Cape Townare currently home to 55employees and if you consider that the average personcan generate as much as 1.2 kgof waste every day, that equates to about 66 kg of waste generated per day across our businessand amountsto about 17tons of waste per annum.We, therefore, view it as our duty and responsibility to manage that waste through recycling.

As such, Cars.co.za has rolled out an extensive recycling program in its office spaces and proactively encourages positive behaviour change to ensure that our waste is effectively recycled. Our offices are equipped with the necessary recycling facilities to ensure that the program is effective and more than this, our employees further contribute by establishing recycling habits within their own homes.

Cars.co.za is also actively reducing single-use plastics by equipping our team with reusable coffee cups and package-free fresh fruit. Our offices make use of Gudsheet toilet paper which is made from 60% sugarcane and 40% FSC wood pulp which contributes towards sustainable afforestation while also being supplied in plastic-free packaging.

Every bit helps and the best part is that you can do it too!

Drive for Trees

Cars.co.za has planted over 7 000 trees to date to help offset our carbon footprint.

At Cars.co.za, we are as passionate about cars as we are about protecting the environment and while we admittedly have an indirect hand in putting cars on the road (which inevitably have a negative impact on our environment), we have taken it upon ourselves to be the change we want to see in the world and have made great strides to offset our carbon emissions by getting our hands dirty and planting trees.

The Cars.co.za team has directly contributed to the planting of trees through an in-office fitness program that plants trees based on individual exercise performance. Put simply, the more we exercise the more trees we plant!

In partnership with Greenpop and Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA), the Cars.co.za Drive for Trees initiative has to date planted over 7 000 trees!

More than this, we have taken this inspiration into our communities and visited Mbonisweni Primary School in Tongaat, KwaZulu-Natal to assist learners and teachers to plant 30 trees that will provide much-needed shade and beautify the school for generations to come.

The Drive for Trees initiative is expected tooffsetapproximately 152 tons of CO2 per annum!

Solar Energy Project in Port Elizabeth

Our solar project in Port Elizabeth is our latest initiative to harness the power of the sun and to supply energy to those in need.

In an effort to further entrench our environmental efforts and to enhance our contribution towards a more sustainable and energy-conscious future, Cars.co.za looked up to the sun.

In 2019, Cars.co.za, in partnership with FedGroup, invested R3-million in the installation of 730, 1 330W solar panels at the Buffesfontein Village facility which is part of the Algoa Bay Council for the Aged in Port Elizabeth.

This old-age facility is home to 399 residents who mostly rely on a state pension to survive and the installation of the 238 kWp solar system not only supplies much-needed energy for the old-age home but energy is also fed into the national energy grid which powers the surrounding communities. This project went live in December 2019 and is expected to offset approximately 355 tons of CO2 per annum!

You are the solution, inspire change

By taking individual responsibility and working together as a team, we can achieve anything and everything. Happy World Earth Day!

By being proactive and committing to sustainable, long-term solutions, maybe, just maybe, we can help turn the situation around and create a world that our children will be proud to call home.

We want to inspire change and Cars.co.za remains fully committed to ensuring this outcome and we encourage each and every person alive today to do their bit, however small, to protect the environment that continues to sustain us. Whether this is achieved through recycling your waste at home, picking up litter at your local beach or helping an animal in need, doing good is always the right thing to do! There is, after all, no Planet B and this Earth is all we have…

Happy World Earth Day!