Project 90 by 2030 was established as a national project of the Goedgedacht Trust in July 2007 in South Africa. The name comes from an aim to effect a 90% change by South Africans in how they engage with earth systems by the year 2030.
Objective: The project’s main purpose is to challenge South Africans to change the way they live and the way that they relate to the environment with a particular focus on lifestyle change that can be measured through carbon footprint reduction.
Project 90 by 2030 refer to themselves as a change-focussed organisation with the aim of inspiring and bringing about significant positive change in how we, as humans, engage with each other and the earth. Their vision is of a world that sustains humanity, where people are value and earth systems are preserved.
The organisation is involved in a variety of activities including:
- Mitigation: Challenging South Africans to become more planet conscious and ‘do their bit’ by voluntarily reducing their carbon emissions.
- Awareness-raising and advocacy: Providing toolkits for taking action on lifestyle change and lucid information for ordinary South Africans so that they can lobby for change to existing laws and policies governing the use of natural resources, with a strong focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy development, transport emissions reduction, sustainable waste management, and water conservation
They have a community partnership programme as well as a young leaders programme where they try to discover and nurture young South Africans to be environment-conscious leaders and decision makers. They also provide online resources for people wanting to know more about what they themselves can do to effect sustainable change in their societies. My particular favourite was the 2050 Pathways calculator that looks at how South Africa could transition into a low carbon economy as set out in its National Development Plan and National Climate Change Response Strategy.
