Anhelo:

Spier as a tourism enterprise has adopted the Earth Charter as an approach to environmental sustainable development (Spier Annual Report, 2006). The Earth Charter seeks to inspire a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family and the larger living world. Spier’s environmental approach according to the COO is based on a key ecological principle of creating a cyclical, rather than a linear flow of resources:

...we have developed both an environmental management plan and a land development

policy to ensure an orderly and consistent approach to addressing environmental issues in relation to our business activities...clarify issues of environmental concern and define specific goals and objectives to address them, comply with all environmental

legal requirements...align our approach with local, provincial and national

environmental policies; and support international environmental aims and objectives...”8

According to the COO Spier has undertaken measures to ensure that its environment is conducive for its visitors, as well as its workers This is manifested through energy conservation, wastewater recycling, the safeguarding of its biodiversity and ecosystems, ecological building, environmental education and responsible land use management. Spier has in addition undertaken a number of initiatives to conserve energy use. These interventions include the following:

 Installation of hot water geyser blankets;  Installation of energy efficient bulbs;

 Installation of 30 electrical meters across the estate to ensure that each business unit is charged directly for its respective consumption rate (Spier Annual Report, 2006: 69). All these attempts are to ensure efficient and economical energy consumption rates.

In the domain of water conservation mechanisms, Spier has initiated a range of water conservation initiatives namely:

 As mentioned above, the installation of 22 water meters across the estate to ensure that each business unit would be held accountable for its water consumption and individually for its respective consumption;

 Installation of over 400 water-saving devices on showers, sinks and toilets across the estate.

According to management, Spier uses a combination of septic tanks and rotating biological contactors. The bulk of wastewater is treated using Biolytix filter systems. This is an Australian waste-management system that converts wastewater and solid organic waste into a re-usable water resource. Management also highlighted that Spier has an on-site waste recycling enterprise which collects solid waste – including food waste, paper, plastic, metal, glass and other rubbish which is sorted into separate bins for recycling. Items which cannot be recycled such as food- based waste are given to a local, black-empowered, pig-farming cooperative as feed. All other recyclable material which Spier is not able to recycle is sold to commercial recycling companies.

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Interview with the Chief Operating Officer of Spier in April 2010. She was highlighting the issue of Spier’s

Management also explained that some of the waste papers from the estate are recycled and used to manufacture Spier user-friendly pens.

In addition, Spier has put in place environmental educational programmes to create awareness amongst its workers and tourists. These programmes include, among others, fire fighting/preventive equipment, waste recycling, nature conservation, alien-vegetation clearing, and an environmental conservation communication campaigns aimed at stressing the importance of preserve and to safeguard the environment. Apart from the obvious environmental benefits that these measures and innovative systems represent, they have an added benefit in that many work opportunities are created through these initiatives as well. It is thus clear that Spier has embarked on a twin-blessed policy, taking care of the environment and addressing unemployment in the local communities.

In the area of biodiversity and ecosystems, management explained that Spier takes all measures possible to ensure that their operations do not impact negatively on any highly sensitive, biological diverse environments such as the Cape Floral Kingdom9 to which it belongs. Spier also ensures its sustainable environmental management principle through the design and construction of ecologically friendly and sensitive buildings. In 2006, Spier established a construction policy which requires that when new project are undertaken by any business within the Spier group that it will be done with ecologically sensitive material, renewable energy and will maximize the re-use of any waste material created by human habitation.

In a bid to promote environmental awareness, Spier is hosting the Cheetah Outreach project and the Eagle Encounters – a raptor rehabilitation programme. Spier supported these two project hosted on the estate with free land tenure and electricity. These projects aim to educate and encourage conservation through a participatory approach or model. According to the coordinators of the two projects, the animals and the birds are acting as huge touristism

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Spier is located within the Cape Floral Kingdom which is one of the six floral kingdoms in the world. The Cape Floristic Kingdom is the smallest in the world but the richest with high proportion of endemic and endangered species. The Cape Floral Kingdom “represents less than 0.5% of the area of Africa, but is home to almost 20% of the continent’s flora. It has 9,600 plant species and has been identified as one of the world’s 18 biodiversity hot spot.

attractions. The two projects have created employment for almost 10 people, mostly from a disadvantaged background, according to information obtained from the project coordinators.