The National Foundry Technology Network (NFTN) will host a dedicated session for the metals castings sector at the upcoming Sustainable Industries Conference to be hosted by the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA) on 11-12 September 2024.

The Sustainable Foundries Workshop will address the rising challenges facing the industry around environmental and carbon reporting requirements. One of the topics will focus on the effects of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism or CBAM on the metals value chain in South Africa, and how it can be navigated.

The European Union (EU) is one of South Africa’s key trade partners. The EU implemented a global climate change policy, the European Green Deal (EGD), to achieve its carbon neutrality ambition. CBAM is an implementation mechanism of the EGD that will create daunting trade barriers for carbon-heavy economies such as South Africa.

Companies in the identified sectors that export products to the EU must report on their carbon footprint to continue trading. In addition, the South African government is expected to announce the implementation of its Climate Change legislation in the coming weeks. This will further exacerbate the challenge for companies to report against their carbon and environmental footprint.

According to the NFTN and NCPC-SA Director, Ndivhuho Raphulu, policy makers and researchers agree that the South African economy is one of the world’s most carbon intensive due to its dependency on fossil fuels, particularly electricity generated from coal, with the metals and aluminium sectors being the hardest to abate. The conference will discuss these topics and concepts and provide case studies and methodologies to address the challenges.

“The NCPC-SA has been hosting its green industry conference every two years since 2013. This year’s two-day conference will allow companies to discuss the most pressing challenges about decarbonisation while providing practical solutions in the face of mounting regulatory pressure,” said Raphulu.

The metals casting workshop will take place on the second day of the conference, and other topics for discussion will include the challenges of air quality and issues surrounding localisation and local content as a tool for economic growth and sustainable development. Companies are encouraged to attend for both days, as the event will cover topics pertinent to all industry, over-and-above the carbon issue, including energy and water efficiency, green finance and the use of data and digital tools in the transition to a green economy.

“One of the roles of the NFTN is to ensure that industry stakeholders are aware of developments such as the CBAM and remain profitable and competitive. I would urge the sector to take full advantage of this free conference and workshop,” concludes Raphulu.

The NFTN and NCPC-SA are industry support programmes funded by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and hosted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

The conference is free to attend but registration is essential. Delegates can show interest or pre-register here. 

Enquiries can be sent to ncpc@csir.co.za