Environmental sustainability is an important part of Sun International and Sun City Resort’s future.
According to Sun International sustainability manager, Lwazi Mswelanto, when it comes to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, the group is one of the leading hotels at achieving sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting in South Africa’s hospitality industry.
Mswelanto said that Sun City Resort is aligned with global ambitions to achieve a reduction in carbon emissions and is way ahead when it comes to achieving its sustainability goals.
“We are aligned with achieving net zero and we won’t wait for 2050. We usually set our strategy for five years and when we achieve our goals, we then set another milestone for the next five years but I can assure you, it won’t take us until 2050,” said Mswelanto.
He said the resort’s main focus is on green energy and zero waste to landfill with the aim that each unit at Sun International has 90% of its waste generated recycled by 2025.
“Sun City is currently sitting at an 82% average. We will get there. We still have 2024 and 2025, you see it is possible,” said Mswelanto.
So how does the resort achieve this? Well, according to the sustainability manager, in a number of ways. The resort focuses on the basic principles of reducing, reusing and recycling.
Mswelanto revealed that the group has a tracking system that allows it to know how much waste each hotel produces.
For instance, water is important when it comes to the resort’s sustainability management.
According Mswelanto, the resort consumes close to 5m litres of water on average per day as most of the water goes to its water features including its lake and the Valley of Waves, which also get evaporated.
He revealed that the resort is not dependent on the municipality and has its own water treatment works and a water monitoring system that can alert them on water leaks at the resort.
“But the good thing about Sun City, which is different from many of the resorts or hotels in South Africa is that we have our own wastewater treatment works. We don’t depend on the municipality to treat our wastewater, we do it ourselves.
“So all the sewer water that is coming from the hotels, it ends up at our wastewater treatment plant where we actually recycle it, not to fresh water but to grey water,” highlighted Mswelanto.
He said that the resort recycles close to 2m litres of grey water a day, which is in turn used to irrigate the resort’s two golf courses making it the good part of its water conservation efforts.