How Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront is racing to protect the planet
Cape Town’s iconic V&A Waterfront, which has hosted teams during 12 editions of The Ocean Race, has long been lauded for its top quality restaurants, shops and entertainment, but, in recent years, it has added another string to its bow, by emerging as a leader in sustainability.
The harbour, which is the gateway for teams to the mighty Southern Ocean leg, has become a pioneer on the continent for its efforts to support the environment, which includes energy efficiency, water savings, recycling and providing food for the local community.
Since 2010 the V&A Waterfront has significantly reduced its carbon emissions through a range of tactics, including solar panels on the roofs of many of its buildings and electric car charging points, while water - a precious commodity in South Africa - has been sourced by alternative supplies, such as a district cooling plant that uses seawater to cool buildings, and alternate groundwater sources in the form of boreholes for flushing of toilets and irrigation purposes resulting in a 61% reduction in water consumption.
The Waterfront promotes inclusive and sustainable economic growth and has created urban food gardens and partnered with community initiatives to feed those in need.
One of the biggest wins has been in managing the huge amounts of waste that is produced across the 123-hectare site. The onsite recycling centre has helped save 1,595 tonnes of waste from heading to landfill each year.
The V&A Waterfront is also committed to slashing single-use plastic after being triggered to take action by the 2017 edition of the Race, which hosted a Summit during the Cape Town stopover dedicated to tackling the problem of plastic pollution in the ocean. At the Summit, the Waterfront’s CEO, David Green, made a pledge that by the time the Race came back to Cape Town, the Waterfront would be on its way to becoming a plastics-free precinct. Since then, the V&A has engaged many of its tenants on ways to reduce their single-use plastic and trialled alternatives, such as testing out a reusable cup system at the Oranjezicht City Farm Market. The V&A Waterfront became a member of South Africa‘s Plastics Pact in 2020, committing itself and its tenants to driving circularity, cascading best practices and sharing expertise to help identify solutions.
“The V&A Waterfront has long been committed to addressing the challenge of problem plastics and we aspire, ultimately, to be a plastic-free precinct, through incrementally working with partners across our ecosystem to find realistic, cost-effective, achievable alternatives”, says David Green, CEO of the V&A Waterfront.
Ocean Live Park - the dedicated event space created during The Ocean Race stopovers to enable visitors to experience the Race firsthand - also has sustainability at its heart. In Cape Town, the Race worked closely with the V&A Waterfront to ensure that waste in the Park was measured and recycled and to help spread the word to the thousands of visitors around the need to protect the ocean.
Meegan Jones, Sustainability Advisor at The Ocean Race said: “The V&A has gone above and beyond in its efforts to make its iconic site sustainable. Its innovative approach to reducing its impact can inspire businesses and events across the country - and beyond - to follow their lead. We’re delighted to have a partner onboard that shares our vision of creating a positive legacy, together we can have an even greater impact.”