Clean drinking water for 18 000 people through Shoprite's support of PlayPumps 

The Shoprite Group is increasing the availability of clean drinking water in rural communities by expanding its support of PlayPumps to 50 sites across South Africa benefitting more than 18 000 people. 

PlayPumps are “merry-go-rounds” that pump water from bore holes into reservoirs as children play on them, providing a reliable source of clean drinking water while also giving children who lack play equipment, a constructive and rewarding way to use their energy. 

The Group also continuously looks at ways to reduce water usage throughout its operations and in the past year, its water consumption intensity decreased by 7.5%. This follows a 6.1% reduction in 2021. 

To better manage its water usage, the retailer installed more than 100 online water loggers connected to monitoring software that assists in real-time consumption tracking and to identify leaks.  In addition, recycled water is used to wash its fleet of over 900 trucks and 1,360 trailers at the Group’s distribution centres.

Only 64% of household in South Africa have safe, reliable access to water. This year World Water Day coincides with the start of the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York (from 22 – 24 March 2023).