Sustainability review 2009
Environment
The Capitec business operations have a very limited impact on the environment. The business strategy of Capitec Bank, the main operating company in the Capitec Group, is to focus on providing individuals with accessible, affordable, simplified and personal service. Our lending and investment strategies are thus centred on individuals and therefore Capitec funds are not used, directly or indirectly, in a way that materially impacts on the environment.Capitec Bank does not own the properties in which its branches are situated. All of these properties, including currently the premises where our head office and regional offices are located, are rented. Land has, however, recently been acquired to develop a head office for Capitec Bank in the future. This property is in an unpreserved area that is already much disturbed by developments and surrounding farmland, thus will not significantly disturb any natural environment. Construction of the property will be aligned with environmentally friendly construction processes to the extent that it does make sustainable business sense.
Our business is to the greater extent centrally managed due to our highly modern banking platform. For this reason, our branches do not have back-offices; on average, seven employees are employed per branch resulting in reduced floor space required to service clients, and also reduced demand for air conditioning, lighting and other energy-consuming functions. Due to the advanced level of technology used by the bank, paper usage is limited. Branch and helpdesk employees generally make use of public transport to commute to work. All those reduce our carbon footprint.
At Capitec we realise, however, that the financial wellbeing and prosperity of any business is closely interwoven with the health and sustainability of the world we live in. As such it is important to ensure that the management of the Capitec Group is closely aligned with the forces working towards a turnaround of the deterioration of our planet to ensure continued progress and affluence for all stakeholders. For this reason an environmental policy has been established to ensure that environmentally friendly management processes are followed and to inform all employees regarding the approach of Capitec towards responsible and environmentally friendly usage of resources. This policy also provides guidelines that have to be considered when decisions are made regarding designs and procurement, to ensure that environmentally friendly alternatives are considered and, where possible, implemented.
The policy highlights the following:- Reduction of paper usage by implementing and promoting efficient technology and practices
- Recycling of paper and signage
- Car-pooling when travelling for work purposes as enforced by the travel and accommodation policy
- Location of branches close to public transport routes, thereby promoting the use of public transport among employees. This, combined with our longer banking hours, also reduces the amount of travel that clients have to do to perform their banking activities.
- Technology, such as virtualisation to reduce the need for electricity and to reduce the carbon emissions produced by computer facilities
- Use of energy-saving components such as energy-efficient light fittings and globes, centrally controlled air conditioners and air curtains to improve the efficiency of air conditioners
- Eco-friendly cleaning products
- Reporting of company usage of natural resources such as paper, water, electricity and fuel to the management committee and the board
Use of scarce resources such as electricity, water, paper and fuel is reported to management on a monthly basis and to each board meeting. Used paper is recycled quite successfully.
| 09 | 08 | ||
| Number of branches | 363 | 331 | |
| Number of clients | 1 835 487 | 1 371 176 | |
| Number of employees | 3 414 | 2 800 | |
| Paper usage (reams*) | 81 016 | 84 804 | |
| Electricity usage (R) | 7 816 834 | 5 770 702 | |
| Fuel (L) | 475 757 | 425 718 |
Notes:
* A ream equals 500 pages.
The paper that is being recycled includes all types of paper-based material brought into the company, be that office paper, magazines, newspapers, books, etc.
Employees are required to dump all disposable and recyclable paper in special bins provided for this purpose. Shredded paper is similarly recycled.
