ABSA

The Absa Group Limited (Absa), listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Limited (JSE), is one of South Africa’s largest financial services groups offering a complete range of banking, assurance and wealth management products and services.

The ABSA Towers West project showcases the various strengths that CDM Africa offer their clients and the projects that we are involved with. Currently the ABSA Campus obtains all the electricity it requires from Eskom and the emissions associated with the imported electricity are predominantly from coal. ABSA is implementing gas fired engines to generate electricity in future. The conversion from coal based electricity generation to the use of a less carbon intensive gas results in Greenhouse Gas emission reductions. As an added benefit it is possible to recover waste heat from the engine technology for space and/or water heating to further displace grid electricity. The certified emission reductions generated from the fuel switch and energy efficiency measures will be sold to a Kyoto compliance buyer to provide an income stream to the project over the next 10 years.

Sustainable Development

Environment: The project will address climate change through the lowering of greenhouse gas emissions through the fuel switch of coal to fuel gas. The project will aid in stabilising the supply of electricity in South Africa by relieving pressure on the national electricity grid and assists the ABSA Campus in increasing its energy security during the peak business hours.

Social: Like many cities across the world the Johannesburg CBD would greatly benefit from urban renewal. ABSA’s long-term ideal in terms of an urban framework is to create a unified campus which will include all the buildings that ABSA owns and occupies. Current plans are in place to upgrade the street surfaces, paving, lighting, security and cleanliness. This will result in increased safety and a sense of campus structure in the CBD of Johannesburg.

This CDM Project Activity at the ABSA Campus will form part of the Urban Renewal Project by donating 0,5% of the ABSA Campus’s after tax operating profit to the Absa Foundation, Absa Bank Limited’s community and social investment arm, for disbursement to projects in areas such as education, community-based entrepreneurship, health and community development services in urban, peri-urban and rural areas.

Economic: The project activity will lead to the generation of CER’s. The sale of these CER’s will provide valuable foreign income for the South African economy.

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