Marlinie Kotiah is a nutritionist, scientist and business leader with nearly three decades of experience. She holds a bachelor of science in dietetics, a postgraduate diploma in hospital dietetics and has received global leadership training in Paris, Luxembourg and Senegal. She also managed to complete an MBA while raising her two children, something she considers to be among her proudest accomplishments.

As the general secretary director of Danone Southern Africa and the vice- chairperson of the Food Safety Initiative of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa, she provides leadership and strategic guidance on sustainable business practices. She’s built a purposeful career by highlighting where food, wellness and responsible manufacturing intersect.

Recently, Kotiah’s focus has been to champion the repurposing of plastic into desks and lightweight bricks to build school infrastructure. In doing so, her work encourages regenerative agriculture while reducing food waste and the overall carbon impact of the factories and brands she oversees. In 2019, Danone converted every single Nutriday 1kg tub from polystyrene (PS) to polypropylene (PP). Thanks to her leadership and sustainable business decisions, the company successfully diverted 700 tonnes of plastic from landfill.

In her 27 years in the industry, she’s consistently enhanced the equity and image of the companies she’s been involved with and driven their competitive advantage. She has essentially fulfilled the dual economics of doing good business while being a force for good.

Kotiah is a firm believer in the power of community and our collective responsibility to respect our natural environment, which she hopes more South Africans will embrace. She says: “Being smart does not equate to being successful. Working successfully with people drives success. Natural resources are limited; use them respectfully, nurture them and educate others to do the same.”

Natural resources are limited; use them respectfully

Julie Hay, founder and executive director of Singakwenza Early Childhood Education, has carved out a unique space in the early childhood development (ECD) realm by establishing a sustainable preschool programme which requires merely a pair of scissors, a marker pen and disposable household packaging.

Singakwenza, meaning “we can do it”, is situated in Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal, and was born from the desire to grant less fortunate children the benefits of early childhood learning. Hay began her career in ECD in 2000 and has dedicated herself to creating workshops, training practitioners, writing training manuals and designing toys.

Singakwenza has used its key philosophy of “sustainable change” to equip parents, caregivers and practitioners on a grassroots level with the stimulating and educational tools for preschool children in 64 under-resourced crèches. The aim is to develop their basic learning skills through play, using resources made solely from recycled materials. Hay says that she has accomplished far more than she had ever aspired to: “I’ve learned that we have some incredible, resilient and caring women in really tough circumstances who want to make a difference for the children they care for.”

When asked about what she wishes all South Africans knew about the natural environment, Hay replies: “Most people don’t see the bigger picture of how one piece of rubbish or single bin bag contributes to the massive pollution problem that we’ve created that affects our health, our access to clean water and our very existence.”

To emphasise this point, the practitioners at Singakwenza have designed their educational tools entirely from household rubbish. This sustainable approach to ECD is simple and cost-effective, and it creates ecological awareness for children in their foundational learning phase.

Most people don’t see the bigger picture of how one piece of rubbish contributes to our massive polution problem

Every so often, someone comes along who manages to generate a proper impact on ground level. Kanyisa Mancunga, the founder and director of Kanyisa Mawethu Pty Ltd, spearheads an innovative approach to recycling plastic signboard waste.

Mancunga’s business recycles plastic to manufacture weatherproof school and utility bags, and supplies children with recycled rice bag plastic to cover their school books. Her motivation behind the initiative is to promote awareness among fellow South Africans of our deteriorating natural environment — and the significant impact this decline has on our lives — and to help less fortunate schoolchildren “My wish is for society to learn more ways of green living,” she says.

Born in Willowdale in the rural Eastern Cape, Mancungu attended high school in Idutywa (now called Dutywa) before completing a diploma in marketing at Vaal University of Technology in 2010. She was raised by her mother, a teacher who supplied less fortunate pupils with clothing and food.

Through Mancungu’s projects and interaction with employees and sponsors, she has learned the patience required to bring a project to fruition. As an entrepreneur, her marketing background features strongly in her current role.

In addition to its environmental benefits, the school bags she distributes provide big corporations with the opportunity to sponsor change in the lives of rural communities. The bag has a built-in solar torch for studying at home and walking to school in the dark, reflective tapes, a rain jacket and a sanitary towel pouch. Each corporate sponsor’s logo is embroidered on the side.

In 2022, the Kanyisa Mawethu Foundation was one of the winners of the Indalogrow Programme-SiAGIA. The Indalogrow Enterprise Award and Support Programme is hosted by Indalo Inclusive and powered by Nedbank.

My wish is for society to learn more ways of green living