Servest Delivers Green Print for Sustainable Business Practices

February 11, 2014 - Johannesburg, South Africa – In 2012, Servest partnered with Future Group to deliver a one-day "MBA in Planet Management" under the banner of The Greenest Event. Last year Servest again participated as the headline sponsor to deliver what has been termed the most important gathering of environmentally conscious business experts since COP 17.

The Greenest Event gathers 400 of the countries' leading business delegates, scientists and consultants to address major environmental issues in South Africa. The objective: to create a Corporate Green Print for the year ahead.

In 2013 the facilities management group (Servest) tackled three crucial topics for South African businesses: Fracking and the subsequent energy future, concerns of an imminent "Zero Growth" paradigm and the National Planning Commission's vision for the next decade.

The key speaker line-up promised and delivered challenging opinions and diverse information. It included legendary environmentalist, Dr John Ledger and Chief Policy Advisor in the Department of Environmental Affairs, Dr Peter Lukey (who provided overviews on South Africa's environmental challenges); energy expert, Chris Yelland who touched on energy challenges; the president of the CFA, Philip Knibbs who discussed how to make money from a zero growth future; Dr Chris Hartnady and Dr Maarten de Witt who raised our attention to fracking, while author Ivor Vegter gave insight on people's sometimes emotional responses to environmental crisis.

"As custodians of this planet, it is our duty to protect it. We must realise the importance of planetary boundaries and prevent ourselves and others from overstepping them. The earth's resources such as oil, fresh water and forests are scarce and we need to place limits and find sustainable alternatives now," says Alex Berndl, Business Development Director, Servest Group.

The Greenest Event took place on 5 June 2013 (World Environment Day) at the Sandton Sun Hotel. For tickets, exhibition bookings and highlights of this now annual conference visit www.greenest.co.za.

About Servest
Servest is a leading service provider in the South African and UK Facilities Management sector offering catering, cleaning, interior solutions, integrated solutions, maintenance, water, landscaping, turf, energy management, security, parking, pest control, hygiene, waste management, marine transport and support services to businesses in all sectors. Based in Johannesburg, the business employs more than 35,000 people and has a turnover of R 3.5 billion.