Environment report
Operating in an environmentally conscious and responsible manner
In the execution of its business strategy, Motus aims to operate in an environmentally conscious and responsible manner and adopt practices that support the growth of the economies in which it operates. This is clearly articulated in our values.
Overview
Electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid vehicles are the future, with well-established vehicle manufacturers and new entrants introducing these offerings to their product portfolios. As an importer and dealer representative of original equipment manufacturer (OEMs) products, we have limited influence on EV and hybrid vehicle production. We also have limited influence in terms of changing national policy and infrastructure (charging stations and a stable supply of power) needed in South Africa to support these offerings; however, Motus acknowledges that its business of selling vehicles that produce emissions has a major impact on the environment, and we engage with our stakeholders to find solutions.
Automotive products and services that assist environmental improvement.
Our business model is not a direct carbon or water-intense business. We do use a fair amount of water to wash vehicles in our dealerships and rental branches. Customer test drives, vehicle rentals and the delivery of aftermarket parts are key activities in our operating model that consume fuel, and we focus on our electricity consumption given the supply concerns facing South Africa. The responsible disposal of hazardous waste oil generated from the servicing of vehicles and equipment is also a key part of our environmental management. We measure our environmental performance and the effectiveness of our projects to maximise operational efficiency against clear resource consumption targets.
Strategic priorities
Our values require us to be conscious of environmental impacts when making business decisions and investments. Our environmental priorities are to:
Find responsible recycling opportunities, working with small businesses and reputable business partners.
Work with industry bodies to contribute to policy development that supports electromobility in South Africa.
How we measure our performance
An accredited sustainability management system collates and tracks environmental and emissions data monthly from all business sites, covering owned, partially owned and leased sites in Africa, the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is used to calculate our carbon footprint, using the operational control boundary.
Data quality checks take place at head office level as well as by external assurance providers. Ongoing refresher training is delivered for users of the sustainability management system to reinforce the importance of accurate and timely reporting.
As our previous environmental targets set in F2019 came to an end in June 2021; this year we set new targets for the next three years to F2024 based on F2019 activity. These targets are more robust and relevant than our prior targets, which aimed to reduce the overall reduction of resource consumption.
In 2020, we secured a £120 million financing facility co-ordinated by BNP Paribas and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, among others. The three-year facility, recently extended for an additional year, links preferential interest rates with pre-agreed targets to reduce water and fuel consumption (a flat range reduction relative to prior year consumption). The loan was successfully secured due to the many years of measuring our environmental performance and our ability to meet targets. Our loan-related targets are set annually.
We work to continually improve the quality of our data to support transparent reporting and better decision making, and to enable more robust target setting. Our guidelines and frameworks ensure that all businesses are aware of their responsibilities in terms of environmental reporting. Guidance is also provided by the Group risk and sustainability function. We are focused on improving the usefulness and accessibility of our environmental reporting to provide our stakeholders with the information they need to make an accurate assessment of our environmental performance.
In the UK, our commercial vehicle business is one of the largest DAF truck dealers globally, and is International Organization for Standardization (ISO)14001 certified1 - the international standard for an effective environmental management system. To maintain certification, our practices, policies and processes are reviewed annually and audited every three years.
As we realise our strategic objective to rationalise the dealership footprint in line with OEM strategies and a contracting vehicle market, as well as the increasing use of online platforms to search for and research vehicles, the multi-franchise model will reduce our physical footprint in the vehicle import and retail businesses. We are accelerating our multi-franchise strategy and now have over 40 sites. We recently extended our footprint to dealerships located in Bedfordview, Edenvale, Klerksdorp Polokwane, Rustenburg, and Tzaneen. Our biggest multi-franchise business yet will open in Menlyn (Pretoria) early in 2022.
There were no incidents of non-compliance with environmental regulations and/or voluntary codes within the reporting year (F2020: none). One environmental incident was recorded as disclosed on waste.
Governance of environmental impact.
1Mackworth Vehicle Conversion Specialists is located at the same premises and covered by the ISO certification.
Stakeholder engagement
During the year, discussions were held with all business segments to drive a consolidated approach to resource consumption, with a commitment made to investing in projects that address ageing and inefficient infrastructure, or decreasing reliance on the electricity grid and municipal water in South Africa.
We use training and awareness campaigns to influence employee behaviour and gain support for key environmental performance indicators. As an example, in South Africa the Motus Water Awareness pledge encourages employees to conserve water, report water wastage and leaks, and educate others on using water sparingly. In Financial Services, the installation of tap flow restrictors (aerators) was supported with an employee communication campaign to raise awareness around how to save water in the office. In the UK, 1 266 employees (42% of the workforce) completed environmental awareness training during the year.
From F2022, Kia plans to include training on environmental aspects in its induction programme for new employees, Car Rental intends to include environmental issues in its quarterly newsletters, and towards the end of 2021, we will roll out a climate conservation awareness campaign across our dealerships in the rest of Africa.
- Poor municipal and national infrastructure in South Africa resulting in water supply interruptions, burst pipes and water leaks, and in East Africa, inconsistent water supply.
- Absence of accurate and timely municipal water readings in South Africa and East African operations, which hampers our ability to accurately assess progress against the water target.
- Poor municipal and national infrastructure in South Africa resulting in load shedding (intentional power cuts). This requires the use of generators at a higher cost to ensure business continuity.
- The quality of fuel in South Africa does not match that of grades sold in first world markets, limiting our ability to build a fleet of vehicles or sell vehicles with the most modern engines and lowest possible emissions.
- Ensuring that waste is segregated correctly and removed from sites timeously in line with government's strict new gazetted rules to increase recycling and reduce the amount of waste that enters landfill sites.
- Setting targets during COVID-19 given the uncertain business activity levels.