Netcare has won the prestigious 2019 Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Sub-Saharan Africa Region Corporate Energy Management Award, which was presented to the Group at a ceremony held in Washington DC in the United States, earlier this week.
The AEE is the leading certification body in the international energy industry and their awards are regarded as the ’Oscars’ of the energy industry. This is the first AEE award presented to a healthcare group from the African continent, and closely follows the four highly esteemed international Climate Champion Awards – three gold and one silver – that were presented to Netcare in August this year as part of the 2020 Health Care Climate Challenge organised by Global Green and Healthy Hospitals (GGHH).
“These awards are a historic and significant achievement for us, as they provide international acknowledgement of the leading role our Group is playing in environmental sustainability not only within the South African healthcare sector but also globally,” commented Dr Richard Friedland, chief executive officer of the Netcare Group.
Pic: Netcare’s energy engineer, André Nortje (second from right), pictured with (from left to right): Lori Moen, president of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE); Dr LJ Grobler, director of the AEE Sub-Saharan African region; and Bill Kent, executive director of the AEE, after it was announced that Netcare won the prestigious 2019 AEE Sub-Saharan Africa Region Corporate Energy Management Award.
The AEE is a professional society and certification organisation with over 18 000 members in more than 100 countries. Netcare was nominated for the celebrated international AEE award after last year winning two awards from the South African Energy Efficiency Confederation (SAEEC), which is the local chapter of the AEE. These were the SAEEC Commercial Corporate Company of the Year Award and the Commercial Energy Project of the Year award.
The four GGHH Climate Champion Awards won by Netcare included three golds in the categories Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction, Climate Resilience and Climate Leadership, and a silver for Renewable Energy.
According to Dr Friedland, GGHH represents a network of more than 1 200 members, and these Climate Champion Awards place Netcare in second place amongst the more than 36 000 member hospitals and healthcare centres. Netcare was also recognised with two gold and two silver Climate Champion Awards from GGHH in 2018.
“On Tuesday, 24 September, South Africans celebrated Heritage Day, which invariably also focused attention on how the legacy we leave will be judged by future generations. There is no doubt that our current actions – as corporates and as individuals – will have a lasting impact on the environment for generations to come.”
“Netcare’s considerable success in environmental sustainability demonstrates our forward-thinking, innovative and disruptive approach, not only in the way we deliver healthcare, but also in terms of future-proofing our operations to play our part in a cleaner, healthier environment for all the people in our country.”
“Every member of the Netcare family has contributed towards these achievements. I would like to congratulate the operational and technical teams, as well as the staff members at all of our facilities for the support of the various environmental projects we have undertaken around the country. We especially thank our sustainability team led by Theuns Langenhoven, Johan Durand and André Nortje for their guidance on our environmental sustainability journey and for keeping the Netcare and South African flag flying high.”
Dr Friedland says the Netcare sustainability team not only had the honour of being invited to the AEE award ceremony in Washington DC, but the Group’s energy engineer, André Nortje is also attending its World Energy Conference and Expo. This is one of the largest energy efficiency conferences in the world, and takes place from 25 to 27 September.
According to the AEE, the Corporate Energy Management Award is presented to a private sector corporation, agency, or organisation for outstanding accomplishments in developing, organising, managing and implementing its corporate energy management programme, and for superior service to the Association.
“No company in the world today can afford to ignore the environmental impact of its operations and, as a responsible corporate citizen, Netcare has invested significantly in green technologies and more environmentally friendly and sustainable practices,” notes Dr Friedland.
“It is most rewarding that Netcare’s efforts to help secure a ‘greener’ future for our country have been recognised internationally. We remain fully committed to environmental sustainability, as we believe our initiatives are a critical investment in the future of our communities and country,” he concluded.
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Issued by: MNA on behalf of Netcare
Contact: Martina Nicholson, Graeme Swinney, Meggan Saville or Estene Lotriet-Vorster
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