PPL designs everyday routines to reduce waste and embed sustainability in high-volume operations

Pepkor Payments and Lending (PPL) supports two dynamic businesses within the Pepkor FinTech segment: Capfin, which offers unsecured credit and Tenacity Financial Services, which provides store credit solutions. These Cape Town-based businesses employ more than 600 people at Capfin and over 1 000 at Tenacity.

Daily staff routines include structured lunch breaks, busy canteens and a steady stream of tea and coffee across offices, call centres and shared spaces. Tenacity operates 365 days a year, including weekends and public holidays, to support retail operations. The call centre environment is highly scheduled, with team members typically allocated 30-minute breaks during rotating shifts. These time constraints, combined with high foot traffic, made canteen takeaway packaging a practical necessity for many, particularly Styrofoam containers, which were widely used for convenience and speed.

Styrofoam, although cost-effective, is not recyclable and has a lasting environmental impact. In FY25 alone, the Tenacity and Capfin canteen used more than 8 145 Styrofoam containers, a volume driven by operational scale and the structure of working days.

A shift made possible through partnership
The move to eliminate Styrofoam was made possible through a collaborative effort between PPL and TsAfrica, the catering partner serving both sites. TsAfrica provides turnkey corporate dining solutions, including full-service canteens, bespoke events and executive suite services. Together with PPL, they reimagined what a more sustainable, functional and staff-friendly approach to meals could look like, without disrupting the speed and service requirements of a high-volume environment.

From product selection to canteen workflow design, the partnership focused on embedding sustainability into day-to-day operations. The solution included two key options for staff:

1. Meals served on glass plates, with in-house dining encouraged
2. Biodegradable takeaway containers, available for a small fee

This dual-offering approach was intentional. It maintained the flexibility that staff needed, while introducing cost-conscious nudges to drive behavioural change. Paying a nominal amount for a container encourages pause and reflection, nudging a shift from automatic takeaway to considered consumption.

Preparing staff for the change
Ahead of the transition, PPL rolled out an internal communications initiative to prepare employees and encourage uptake. Clear messaging was shared via internal screens, digital platforms and team briefings. Leaders reinforced the purpose and practicality of the shift, helping build momentum early on.

The transition was structured around employee choice. This flexibility encouraged more sustainable habits without disrupting established routines. Allowing staff to make the shift themselves contributed to strong uptake across both businesses, with minimal disruption.

Change in numbers and in mindset
Once the shift was implemented on 1 October 2024, the difference became measurable. Capfin experienced a similar trend. Employees began opting for plated meals more frequently, and reusable cups and water bottles became the new norm.

Beyond the canteens, the shift prompted additional sustainability upgrades:

• Biodegradable cups introduced in coffee lounges
• Water coolers and glasses replaced bottled water in meetings
• Recyclable plastic cutlery was adopted where reusables proved impractical
• Glass packaging has been phased out for safety and waste management reasons
• Internal event catering is now aligned with the same biodegradable-first policy

This culture shift has been driven in part by PPL’s increasingly younger workforce. Many employees entering the workplace today bring a high awareness of environmental responsibility and are looking for employers whose operations reflect the same values. Sustainability is embedded in how this generation expects the workplace to operate.

This shift has made sustainability more visible in everyday life and, as habits change, so does the culture: consistently and at scale.