Environmental Goods & Services (EGS) News

Fruits Unlimited adds green to Smartie Town - 29 February 2008

Fruits Unlimited, the Paarl-based fruit supply chain manager specialising in the export of top quality fruit, is the first company of its kind in South Africa to offset their carbon emissions by planting trees.

In 2007, calculations and an evaluation of the carbon footprint for Fruits Unlimited Exports (Pty) Ltd and Unlimited Logistics (Pty) Ltd, was conducted using the guidelines set by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. These calculations were based on the financial year July 2006 to June 2007 and carbon emissions associated with all business related travel such as flights and rental car transport, as well as electricity, were measured.

It was found that the estimated carbon footprint for Fruits Unlimited could be offset by planting 204 trees through the Carbon Standard, a programme launched by greening and public benefit organisation Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) in 2006. The Carbon Standard makes it easy and affordable for individuals, corporations, brands, government agencies and more to measure and offset their carbon emissions by planting trees in poor and barren communities throughout South Africa.

FTFA selects sites for the planting of indigenous and fruit trees through its award winning Trees for Homes programme and arranges procurement, transport and delivery of the trees, provides training, some short term employment and organises the planting of the trees with the beneficiary communities and lists the tree funder on the FTFA website. This programme provides many environmental and social benefits, as well as offsetting carbon emissions.

Since the offices of Fruits Unlimited are based in Paarl in the Western Cape, homeowners residing in the nearby government housing initiative affectionately known as Smartie Town because of its brightly coloured buildings, were selected as the beneficiaries of Fruits Unlimited’s 204 trees to offset their carbon emissions.

Source: Cape Business News