Coega’s role in pioneering sustainable development in South Africa has been recognised by the awarding of ISO 14001 environmental certification to the Coega Development Corporation for the responsibilities that it covers. “This means that we have international recognition for the way we are going about managing environmental issues. It is independent recognition that the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) is approaching the project from a holistic point of view,” says CDC executive manager environment, John Raimondo. One of the unique aspects of Coega is that the project takes into account all aspects of the environment while creating Africa’s prime investment destination. Coega planners are taking into account the possible effects of the project on the natural, social and business environment of the entire Nelson Mandela Bay area, as well as the rest of the Eastern Cape. In order to qualify for the ISO 14001 certification, the CDC had to draw up a wide-ranging list of measurable objectives. “We looked at the possible impacts of the development on all aspects of life in the zone itself, as well as in the metro. From that we have devised and are implementing plans to prevent any of the potential problems arising,” he says. Potential problems range from air pollution to the loss of business opportunities in the existing Nelson Mandela Bay area. “Our policy is that there should be no net loss of economic activity in the surrounding area,” he says. A potential shift of shipping traffic from the existing harbour to Ngqura would, for example, be counter-acted by increased opportunities in tourism and leisure activities. Air pollution is being controlled through ground-breaking planning. “We have been monitoring the quality of air in and around the zone for the past three years. As a result, we can forecast the effects of potential fallout from any new investor in the zone.” Standards will not be compromised, says Dr Raimondo. Potential investors have already been turned away in the early stages of their feasibility studies because of unacceptable pollution risks. Independent organisations are constantly monitoring the CDC’s compliance to the environmental standards that have been set for the project. Raimondo says the CDC has to meet stringent requirements to retain its ISO 14001 certification. Coega is subject to regular independent audits to ensure that the CDC, the contractors and future investors all meet the environmental standards. In addition to the audit, there is an independent environmental control officer whose duty it is to ensure that the CDC and the National Ports Authority, which is building the port of Ngqura, meet over 100 conditions set out by the government when granting the licence to Coega to proceed. The environmental officer reports to an Environmental Monitoring Committee which is headed up by an independent chairperson. The CDC is employing additional environmental officers to ensure that standards are met and maintained in the zone. “One of the problems that has been identified is that we do not have enough people on the ground to help educate and police the contractors who are working in the zone.” While all contractors have to submit environmental plans before going on site, the implementation of these plans has sometimes not met expectations. “It is not that the contractors are wilfully ignoring the regulations. We are setting new standards for environmentally-sound construction practices. They have no previous experience of working under these conditions. “However, we are confident that the contractors will take the standards and systems developed at Coega and apply them to other projects in the Eastern Cape and further afield,” says Raimondo.