Vodacom supports the ThumaMina Good Green Deeds Programme on good waste management principles for communities

East London - In support of the Department of Environmental Affairs’ ThumaMina Good Green Deeds programme, launched by President, Cyril Ramaphosa at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, today; Vodacom has pledged to promote sustainable waste management practices in order to operate in a responsible manner, minimise impact and using technology as an enabler to help drive a low carbon society.

The ThumaMina Good Green Deeds programme was initiated by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, with the objective of changing people’s attitudes and behaviour towards responsible waste management for the benefit of the environment and to help mobilize citizens to take responsibility in keeping their communities clean.  

As part of the programme, Vodacom Sustainability will roll-out waste separation bins at the Vodacom Foundation supported schools, initiating a project that will not only educate the future generation on the importance of reducing pollution but also enable schools to become mini-recycling centers.

Internally, Vodacom has placed waste recycling bins in all our buildings and have eradicated single use plastic at our head office. The company has recycled all redundant equipment and has introduced a battery rejuvenation process in for its network, which extends the useful life of batteries. Vodacom also encourage its customers to return their old devices in order to extract the valuable parts of the devices and dispose of the hazardous non-valuable parts in a responsible manner. Vodacom’s approach in promoting sustainable waste management is aligned to the sustainable values that embrace accountability and responsibility to the environment.  

Vodacom Group Chief Officer for Corporate Affairs, Taki Netshitenzhe said: “Vodacom has pledged to promote sustainable waste management through the Good Green Deeds  programme; in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) Goal 12, that refers to sustainable production and consumption, and Goal 17 that emphasises the importance of partnerships to drive sustainable development’. To further align and promote our adoption of the UNSDGs, we have implemented the waste hierarchy approach that prioritises the importance of waste reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery.

Vodacom thrives to contribute positively to communities and the environment and our aim is to reduce our environmental impact and ensure the promotion of sustainable practices in our operating environment.”

• Other projects where Vodacom has connected elements of sustainability and community upliftment for the greater social good include, the ‘Vodacom Community Power’ project. This project demonstrates our commitment to creating shared value by offering an innovative solution that creates a symbiotic relationship between the deployment of solar power and community upliftment. The roof of a school is used as a large surface for solar deployment that powers both Vodacom’s base station as well as the school premises. Through ‘Community Power’ Vodacom connects rural communities to the network whilst also providing renewable/clean electricity for the school.