African Design Magazine November 2016 | Page 39

Carl Pretorius : Just Trees ( Pty ) Ltd Medium Business : Entrepreneur of the Year ®

The annual Entrepreneur of the Year ® competition is sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS / PARTNERS , and this year there were 213 entries . The 2016 Award for the Medium ( sized ) Business : Entrepreneur of the Year ® was awarded to the founder of Just Trees wholesale nursery , Carl Pretorius .
The tree nursery which supplies specimen container grown trees to the landscaping industry throughout South Africa , and does some exporting , is based in Northern Paarl in the Western Cape . The nursery opened officially in 2005 by which time it had a good inventory of well-established trees to offer customers .
Just Trees exemplifies the founder ’ s personal values – courage , enjoyment and compassion – and the importance he places on both people and the environment . The Entrepreneur of the Year ® judging panel of five maintained that Just Trees was a very relevant and vision orientated business in terms of environmental awareness – something that many other business models were lacking . According to the panel , Just Trees illustrates green engineering at its best .
“ Pretorius has managed , very effectively , to merge his personal values with those of his business and , as a result , has set himself up for a long-term career of fulfilment and success ,” commented the judges .
The judges chose him as a winner because he stood out amongst other competitors as a businessman with a clearly defined target market and clear knowledge of a product that meets the needs of his target market , which largely comprises landscape architects and landscape contractors . Repeat business makes up about 75 % of his nursery ’ s orders . In the opinion of the judges , his environmentally friendly business practices , the care he takes of his employees and his contribution to society , raised Pretorius above other entrepreneurs .
Pretorius has taken into account that trees build natural and social capital in communities , while offsetting the carbon footprint of the nursery . The business started measuring its carbon footprint in 2009 and was certified as a Carbon Neutral company by The Carbon Protocol in 2010 ... the first nursery to be certified in South Africa . There are over 150 000 trees of 58 species on the 42ha farm , sold in a variety of bag sizes from 40L to 1000L . All the trees are watered and fertilized in a responsible manner using sustainable methods . Solar power provides electricity for the pumps that draw water for the irrigation of the trees and , since the solar system was installed , 66 % of energy savings has been achieved .

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