Earth is our home and we all need to contribute more to its global sustainability. Being an active contributor to the community via ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) is an important part of the ROGZ DNA. Our ROGZ Academy has been effective for just over 10 years involved in Education, Youth Development and Nutrition and is, and always will be, a big part of our ESG goals at ROGZ.
SOLAR POWER AT ROGZ HQ
At ROGZ HQ, we were excited to introduce solar power in 2023. Now in 2024, a year later, we have 65% reduction in Grid energy use! Not only is this environmentally important, but with South Africa’s electricity crisis, it is extremely significant. We are now a net exporter of energy which means our ROGZ HQ supplies more electricity to the Grid than it takes – how awesome is that! Our goal from a year ago:\ “While we are in the early stages of this process, we are well underway to realising the full benefits of switching over to solar energy. One of these benefits is the ability to produce energy in excess. This means that the power generated by these solar panels and not used by our facility will be fed back into the South African electricity grid.”
The installation of solar panels has helped us to not only play our part in reducing our own carbon footprint, but has also contributed to the energy supply of South Africans in our community. OUR ESG PRACTICES ROGZ has been actively changing the way we do business to ensure a brighter, cleaner future for all. The ways that we contribute to sustainability are:
Upcycling: We always look for innovative ways to dispose of our unwanted items. When it came time to dispose of old banners, we creatively turned them into laptop and tote bags for our Roggerz. For Mandela Day 2024, ROGZ used 100 recycled Melrose Cheese jars from the ROGZ Academy Bristin Food Project, to make Appreciation gifts for the teachers we assist in the 4 schools in Dunoon and Joe Slovo..
ROGZ Urban Farm: The pavements outside ROGZ HQ have been transformed into an urban vegetable garden, benefiting both the surrounding communities, as well as the bird and insect life. We make our own compost from all the organic material from the farm and park and put it back in the soil to grow the vegetables.
Every year in October, we plant sunflower seeds harvested from the previous year’s crop, in the ROGZ Urban Farm on the pavements outside ROGZ HQ so that when staff return from Summer Holidays in January, they are greeted by happy beautiful sunflowers growing outside with bees and insects happily around them. It creates such a wonderful work environment. ROGZ Academy: A Non-Profit Organisation: Giving back to the community has always been at the heart of ROGZ. The ROGZ Academy was formed in 2013 as a dedicated arm to empower local communities through education, youth development and nutrition.
Local is Lekker Supply Chain: With most products being designed and manufactured at ROGZ HQ, our carbon footprint is being reduced in our local SA sales market.
Packaging: We have reduced our plastic packaging usage by 60% over the past twelve months by using thinner plastic for our packaging, and will continue to source other solutions.
We have also partnered with a packaging print supplier who aligns with our sustainability outlook. Our packaging supplier uses an inline water base coating as part of a recyclable and sustainable printing solution.
COMMITTED TO ESG
In May 2022, ROGZ became the first African company to join the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC). This membership helped us formalise our ESG plan as we continue to get education, inspiration, and implementation support around sustainability.
We are proud to do business with those that share the same values as us. Australian Distributor, TimePet, have recently become a Certified B Corporation, and we congratulate them in their perseverance to achieve this goal. ESG is at the core of our business strategy. Rogz is committed to changing our behaviour to improve our carbon footprint and energy efficiency, while also contributing to and uplifting our communities. Because there is more to business than just doing business.
