Green Route, Africa's foremost Destination Management Company, creating extraordinary experiences into six countries.
Tel: +27 (0)21 447 4021 Fax: +27 (0)21 447 4031
P O Box 12999, Mowbray, 7705 Head Office:
170 Lower Main Road,
Observatory, Cape Town,
South Africa www.greenroute.co.za
WE ARE A DRIVING FORCE OF AFRICAN ECO-AWARENESS AND OFFER A WIDE VARIETY OF POSSIBILITIES FOR OUR CLIENTS TO TAP INTO IN ORDER TO TRULY MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Green Route is committed to embracing our Environment, our Communities and our Wildlife as an imperative of our business ethic. This we do under our brand – Green Tribe. The emerging environmental crisis we face inspired our simple credo: Green by Name; Green by Nature. In our many inspiring destinations across 10 African countries, we are the guardians of a pristine, but often fragile and threatened, Natural World. The Green Tribe initiative, will be a champion and driving force of African Eco-Awareness and offer a wide variety of possibilities for our clients to tap into in order to truly make a difference when planning their meetings or incentives.
GREEN TIPS
In The Garden:
Recycle your Grey Water for use in the garden
Run a pipe from your shower/bath drain outlet to water your garden
Recycle your veggie waste into compost for your plants
start a compost bin and/or wormery to enrich your garden
go organic and grow your own veggies
Find alternative uses for your organic waste
Crushed egg shells repel slugs and snails
Tea bags can be dried out and soaked with fuel for use as firelighters
Use grass cuttings as mulch around your garden beds /on the lawn to enrich and protect your plants
On The Road:
Avoid driving your car in peak traffic (less time in the car, uses less petrol and emits less emissions)
Help reduce your petrol consumption by keeping your car tyres properly inflated, have your car serviced regularly and drive under the speed limit
Do your weekly shopping in a single trip
Walk/run rather than drive to the gym (or engage in sports which don’t require you to drive somewhere to do them)
Become part of a “lift share” scheme to save on transport costs and save the environment (one less car on the road)
In The Kitchen:
Fill your dish washer and washing machine with a full load
this will save you water, electricity and washing powder
Fill the kettle with only as much water as you need
Or store hot water in a flask for later use
Defrost your fridge/freezer regularly
It will work more efficiently
Hang out the washing to dry rather than tumble drying it
Or practice “Dual Energy Usage” by drying your washing next to your heater while you are sitting next to it watching TV
Lighting:
Use compact fluorescent light bulbs in place of conventional incandescent light bulbs
A CFL uses approximately ¼ the wattage of an incandescent bulb producing a similar level of illumination, and they last 8,000 to 10,000 hours
Install motion-detection switches or timers for outdoor lighting rather than leaving lights on all night
Install dimmer switches for incandescent light fixtures so you can use less light when less is needed
Take advantage of summer sunlight and leave lights off during the day
Reduce, Re-use, Re-cycle:
Recycle as much of the plastic, paper, glass and cans that you buy as possible
Reduce the amount of rubbish going to our already overflowing waste dumps
Change your consumer habits
Avoid purchasing products with excessive or unnecessary packaging or which are made of a plastic-type which cannot be recycled
Buy products supplied in glass rather than plastic packaging
Save paper
Get your account statements emailed or sms’d to you
Use recycled paper or paper that is produced sustainably
Find inventive uses for containers which cannot be recycled
E.g. make planters for your seedlings, store food, nails, nuts, bolt, paperclips, pens etc.
Save Water:
Install water-saving showerheads, faucets, and toilets
Do not leave the tap running while you are brushing your teeth
Take showers instead of baths as this uses less water
Re-use the (cooled) cooking water in which your eggs or veggies have boiled, to water your plants and give them a mineral boost
To avoid unnecessary evaporation, water your garden early in the morning or in the evening when the soil is cool and air temperature has dropped
Set up a water tank to collect rain water from your gutters for re-use in your garden
Heating / Cooling:
Turn down the heating slightly (try just 1 to 2 degrees C)
Cool a room by closing curtains/blind in the peak of the day to keep the sun out
Try to use natural ventilation instead of air-conditioning
Turn down the water heating setting (just 2 degrees will make a significant saving)
Consider loft insulation / a geyser blanket (to avoid energy loss through your roof space)
Go solar – solar powered water heaters are extremely energy efficient
Other Appliances:
Turn it off when not in use
Lights, TV, DVD player, Hi Fi, Geysers, Computer, Heaters, Aircons etc. all use energy when in standby mode (turn appliances off at the wall!)
Unplug your mobile phone adaptor as soon as your phone has finished charging
Avoid unnecessary energy wastage and potential fire hazards
Use rechargeable batteries instead of conventional batteries
Dispose of used batteries responsibly at an authorised collection depot
