Sustainability
Sustainability at Rhulani Safari Lodge
We at Rhulani Safari Lodge are continually working to improve the impact we have on people, nature and communities. We are committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, to protecting and supporting biodiversity and to live in harmony with the wild nature that surrounds us and with the nearby communities from which the majority of our employees come.
Our current goals
Long-term goals
We set ourselves a target of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions from energy, water and waste by 30% before the end of 2030. The main focus is on the optimal use of the solar system (to reduce diesel consumption from the generator) as well as monitoring the development of electric safari vehicles and a changeover as soon as the technology is sufficiently advanced.
We will continuously increase our support in "Conservation & Community" with concrete projects. We will involve our guests more in order to create awareness and obtain additional financial resources.
All these initiatives aim to live in peace and harmony with our environment, preserve biodiversity in the Madikwe Game Reserve, and provide education and employment opportunities for the local population.
2025 Short-term goals
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
We want to achieve a reduction by 5% by 31 December 2025. The following measures are taken to ensure this goal:
- Further reduction of generator usage from 10% to 8% through further system optimization and (depending on recommendation) increase of battery capacities
- Better understanding and optimization of the waste removal methods of our external suppliers
- Reduction of the use of natural gas
Conservation & Community
We increase visibility in the lodge through the possibility of donations for activities in wildlife conservation or in the communities.
We will financially support at least two wildlife conservation measures in the Madikwe Game Reserve and at least one new project in the communities.
Past achievements
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
We have successfully implemented the following measures along our goals to continuously reduce greenhouse gas emissions
2024
- Monitoring of solar system and optimization of the KPI’s by adjusting the system and the operational routines at the lodge in order to reduce the use of the generator as a back-up and so to reduce diesel consumption. We have successfully achieved our target to get at least 90% of our energy demand covered by solar.
- Introduction of easily implementable best practice recommendations to reduce water and electricity consumption and communicated to both our guests and our own employees, with special focus on lights, pool heaters, geysers, air-conditioners and shower use.
- We have eliminated the small plastic bottles for shampoo, body wash and conditioner in the bathrooms of the guest chalets and replaced them with containers permanently installed on the wall.
- As part of the Global Sustainable Tourism Control (GSTC) certification process, we have begun closely tracking our greenhouse gas emissions and defining an action plan to further reduce them in the future.
2023:
- Installation of a solar system, which makes us independent of the public power grid. We have not received any state electricity since October 2023.
2021
- Elimination of plastic bottles by using reusable glass water bottles during dinner times, installation of filtered water stations in the main area of the lodge, as well as introduction of aluminium water bottles as a gift for all our guests to take water with them during safaris
- We have started to replace all light bulbs with energy saving bulbs and all electrical appliances have since been replaced with appliances with the best energy rating
2020
- Installation of rainwater collection from the roofs in our Staff Village for water to be used for garden irrigation and as a reserve for fire fighting
Conservation & Community
In cooperation with the Madikwe Game Reserve, we have provided financial support for various animal protection initiatives, partly thanks to donations from our guests as well. The priority was on protecting the rhinos against poaching (“rhino notching”), tracking and ensure the reproduction of the cheetah population (“cheetah collaring”) and protecting the wild dogs (medical care, when needed).
Our support to the surrounding communities was mainly focused on improving the infrastructure and repairing the roofs and toilets in the primary school in the nearby village of Supingstad. Thanks to a collaboration with Mr. Pule Puleyane in the newly created role of "Community Liaison", we have created the basis for improving communication with the communities and getting to know their needs. The support to the communities should also involve our guests in order to offer them a "cultural exchange" by respecting the local traditions and heritage.
For an overview of our concrete activities in Conservation & Community, please refer to the publications in our Blog Section here
