The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Sustainability

  • Ecobank supports sustainability initiatives

    Ecobank supports sustainability initiatives

    The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Charles Kie, has restated the bank’s commitment to support initiatives that promote the protection and preservation of natural environment.

    Speaking at the Lagos State 2016 Tree Planting event in Lagos, Kie, who was represented by Company Secretary/Chief Legal Counsel, Adenike Laoye, said it was part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) philosophy to promote projects that enhance environmental sustainability.

    “Our support to Lagos State government in this initiative is in line with our business mantra and is was one of the ways to exhibit our visible, vibrant and enduring CSR to mitigate the potential adverse effects of climate.”

    The lender’s partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the UNDP/Ecobank TACC (Territorial Action Against Climate Change) initiative reduced the rate of deforestation and vulnerability in affected communities in Delta State to the impact of climate change.

    Kie praised Lagos State government for recognising Ecobank as environment friendly bank, stressing that the bank will continue to partner government and non-governmental organisations to protect the environment.

  • Access Bank wins Karlsruhe Sustainability Award

    Access Bank Plc has received the Outstanding Business Sustainability Award at this year’s Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Awards in Germany.

    This is coming barely a week after it won the  Euromoney Best Bank Transformation Award in London.

    This award, presented to the bank in Karlsruhe, Germany’s most sustainable city, recognises the bank’s outstanding success in incorporating economic, social and environmental aspects into its corporate strategy and business processes.

    This is the first time an African financial institution to win the award in recognition of the bank’s ability to embed sustainability in the financial institution.

    The ceremony was attended by global chief executives, senior executives of winning institutions and top German government officials.

    At the presentation, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the bank, Herbert Wigwe, said: “Winning the Outstanding Business Sustainability Achievement Award is a validation of Access Bank’s commitment, leadership and practice in Sustainability. For this, I would like to thank the Board, Management and staff of the bank. We are delighted to be presented with this highly coveted award. It is a testimonial to the unwavering support we have enjoyed from customers over the past few years and the hard work we have done in line with our five-year strategy to become the world’s most respected African Bank ’’

    “At Access Bank, we believe our operations, loan and project finance must have the barest environmental footprint. Indeed, we believe the net impact of our activities must be positive on the environment. As such, we are champions of climate change mitigation and adaptation,” he added. He assured that the bank will be further motivated and maintain profitable growth while embracing sustainability.

    The conveners said the awards are aimed at honouring organisations that have made outstanding contributions in sustainable finance, stimulated the interests of financial institutions and other stakeholders in integrating sustainability in their core business strategy.

    It recognises candidates who promote growth of sustainable financial instruments and markets worldwide particularly in green finance and investments, financial inclusion and social finance, green equity and holistic integration of sustainability in the financial services institutions.

  • Power sector: Emerging options for rapid development, sustainability

    Recent events in Nigeria have thrown great lights on the true nature of the perennial power challenges being faced by Nigerians and the Nigerian economy.

    Barely six months into the current dispensation of political leadership, most Nigerians can attest to a nominal increase in power availability (which some Nigerians adduce to presidential body language) without any significant additional investment into the power generation equation.

    Rather, there has been a decrease in investment represented by the cancellation of the (Protection Racket) provided by militant groups and other “area landlords” saving the country several billions of naira in the process. So, what do we get in return? Appreciable increase in gas availability leading to a boost in power generation, the result of which all Nigerians are beginning to enjoy.

    With the above scenario, it’s quite clear that the problem all the while had been the negative economics of corruption, whereby a few privileged individuals have been holding the country to ransom. Now that power generation has gained some traction, there is the need to sustain the momentum by systematically boosting generation and transmission in line with the anticipated geometric growth in national productivity and population. The relevant matrices are generation cost per kilowatt, kilowatt generated per thousand, retail price per kilowatt distributed and power stability measurable by the average number of hours supplied per day. The power regulators need to benchmark this with commensurate economics within the BRICS and the MINT nations as well as the top ten economics of the world.

    It’s a good thing that government has provided N230 billion package through the Central Bank to the Distribution Companies for rapid deployment of pre-paid meters and resolution of other distribution challenges. It’s also note worthy that adequate attention is being paid to transmission, especially with the review of the Manitoba Contract. We believe this should resolve transmission capacity issues to a large extent, leaving us with generation.

    The problem with generation goes well beyond investment to logistics. The components of the logistics problem include appropriate citing of projects, the logistics of fuel delivery (gas, hydro, coal, EPFO and possibly nuclear), safety within the value chain and most importantly, total cost of ownership, TCO, vis-avis end user pricing – a key indicator of sustainability.

    At this juncture where the policy thrust of this administration is being articulated, the following issues must be carefully addressed to provide adequate enabling environment for sustainable power generation for the country:

    • The PIB – To the extent that it facilitates regular supply and smooth delivery of the required petrochemicals and gas to the IPPs.
    • The security infrastructure – such as will provide a secured operating environment.
    • The land use Act – such as will facilitate easy acquisition of required collateral without alienating the indigenous land owners.
    • Research and development ecosystem – such as will encourage rapid internalisation of emerging technologies in key components of generation, transmission and distribution.
    • Establishment of a national power research and development centre – such as will be responsible for coordinating activities of research institutes and the Ivory Towers in the development of applicable local technologies for alterative and green energy sources. For example, there is no solar and wind map of Nigeria of which infrastructure is necessary for taking full advantage of our abundant wind and solar resources.

    These policies will not only take care of the industrial growth objectives but will as well ensure additional power availability within the rural communities thereby providing the required quick change and sustainable development in the power sector.

    • Aibangbe, a Media and Energy Consultant, wrote from Lagos.
  • Sahara joins UN, others to launch sustainability report

    Sahara joins UN, others to launch sustainability report

    Sahara Group, an energy and infrastructure  conglomerate last week in New York, United States, joined other stakeholders for the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals Fund (SDG-F) new report titled: “Business and the United Nations: Working together towards the Sustainable Development Goals: A framework for Action.”

    The UN estimates indicate that achieving the SDGs will require between $3.3trillion and $4.5 trillion a year.

    Its Co-Founder and Executive Director, Tonye Cole, SDG-F Director, Paloma Duran and other speakers gave insight into the report, which provides a roadmap on how the 2030 agenda for sustainable development can be effectively driven through collaboration between the private sector and other stakeholders.

  • Centrality of Opposition to stability, sustainability of democracy

    Centrality of Opposition to stability, sustainability of democracy

    The climax of democratic consolidation on the African Continent has, generally speaking, taken place in the de-jure transitions from single party rule, where incumbent regimes monopolised nearly every facet of political and economic life, to a system of plural politics where alternative parties were legally permitted to organise and challenge the existing political order. For many of the incumbent parties on the continent as well as international donors, multiparty elections were and still are considered to be the clearest expression of a ‘new’ liberal political order and the pinnacle of democratic decision-making. However, the majority of those that follows and conducts research on the African political scene point out that the emergence of opposition political parties and multiparty elections is an insufficient measure of democracy, whereby most African states appear to be in the midst of a stalled transition (Whitehead, 2000).

    This textbook offers a new perspective on political opposition in contemporary African democracies. After a critical review of the classic and contemporary literature on the subject, it proposes a renewed definition of opposition that better grasps the complexity of political opposition in democracies. In addition, the textbook proposes setting a new agenda for future research on political opposition. The book is structured around a number of topics which are considered to be pertinent to the analysis of opposition parties and the current intellectual debate on opposition political parties in Africa in general and Nigeria in particular.

    Following no particular order of choice, chapter one of this book by Salihu Niworu set the tone by assessing opposition party in the face of primitive accumulation in Nigeria. The chapter discusses succinctly how the ruling party utilizes the poverty and quest for material accumulation of the opposition parties to entrench their dominance in the political system. The author notes that after a decade of democratization in Nigeria, the dominant political party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has not shown any concrete index of meeting the aspirations of the Nigerian people.

    He therefore calls for vibrant opposition to checkmate the excessiveness of the ruling party. Chapter two by Elegunlusi focuses on the philosophy of opposition political party and development in Nigeria. The author adopts historical methods in discussing opposition parties and their involvement in national politics. He notes that even though opposition parties are important in tackling the crisis of development in democratic African societies, their existence is mostly threatened by African ruling governments. He also argues that in situations where governmental policies are left unchallenged, the socio-economic and political situations of the country will not advance.

    From a philosophical perspective, Bartholomew Onyekwere examines opposition party and the quest for good governance in Nigeria. In it, the author shows that in countries that have entrenched democratic culture, there are civilized ways of employing the principle of checks and balances in the democratic dispensation and that one common way of doing it is through the practice of party opposition. He critically examines the various contributions of opposition activities since Nigeria’s independence and that opposition practice in Nigeria has made valuable contributions to the effect that the ruling party has had to be careful when formulating policies.

    Aderonke Majekodunmi’s contribution centers on opposition parties and good governance in Africa. The author shows that the issue of good governance is at the heartof developmental and political discourse in Africa and that the indispensable role of opposition parties in protecting the interests and rights of citizens, monitoring government and ultimately in good governance cannot be over-emphasized.

    The author locates the function of opposition in good governance. She notes that opposition have had very limited opportunity to contribute positively to the process of democratic governance in the continent. In chapter five, Michael Oni and Emmanuel Oluwole, succinctly focuses on opposition parties as opposition to good governance in Nigeria. The authors note that in developed polity, opposition parties ensure that the government in power is on its toes and that opposition parties in these polities are regarded as alternative government or government in the waiting. This is because they are virile, organized and coherent to pose threats and challenge misrule of the government in power. However, this is not the case in Nigeria where opposition parties are in disarray, unorganized and not potent enough to serve as government in the waiting. As a way out, they advocate that opposition parties need to close ranks to serve as alternative government in order to ensure that the government in power sits tight to offer good governance to the people.

    Adeola Gabriel discusses how robust opposition political party is a necessary institution for democratic stability in Nigeria. For him, the essence of opposition party is a necessary regulation to curtail the tyranny of majority ruling party. The author argues pertinently for the institution of a strong, powerful and robust opposition political party as a necessary checks and balances to the ruling party, the stability of the political system, the sustainability and progress of Nigerian society. He believes that the absence of a robust opposition political party will hinder pluralism which is necessary in enhancing proliferation of opinions and beliefs that characterize a stable social order. Blessing Thom-Otuya and Goddey Wilson focus on opposition political party and democratization in Nigeria.

    The authors are of the opinion that the activities of opposition parties have significant impact on democratic activities in Nigeria. As a result, attempts were made in the chapter to examine the challenges and various ways of strengthening opposition party in Nigeria. Opposition political parties and democratic consolidation in Nigeria’s fourth republic is the focus of chapter eight. The author argues that good governance cannot be achieved in Nigeria without the opposition challenging unpopular policies and constant demand for accountability from the ruling party. The chapter concludes by underscoring the need for the various opposition parties to work together rather than against one another. This is imperative in order to build strong opposition to the ruling party as well as offer better options towards democratic consolidation in the country.

  • BAT reiterates commitment to sustainability

    BAT reiterates commitment to sustainability

    The British American Tobacco (BAT) has said sustainability is at the core of its stakeholder engagement.

    Chief Executive Officer, BAT, Nicandro Durante,  said:  “Sustainability is not a choice or something that is ‘nice to have’, but something crucial to securing the future of our company and for creating shared value for our consumers, our shareholders and our stakeholders.”

    In its Value Shared publication, BAT’s engagements with a cross-section of its stakeholders were highlighted. The new report, which details the company’s sustainability initiatives, showed how BAT enhanced its approach with the development of a new sustainability agenda that is focused on the most important issues for the business and its stakeholders in 2014.

    Some of the issues raised in the report include harm reduction, sustainable agriculture and farmer livelihoods as well as corporate behaviour. These have clear commitments to research and development as well as promotion of a range of less risky alternatives to regular cigarettes and working to enable prosperous livelihoods for all farmers who supply tobacco leaf. This is in addition to operating to the highest standards of corporate conduct and transparency. “The concept of shared value, for us, is ensuring mutual benefits for our shareholders and society, while also underpinning the company’s whole approach to sustainability,” said Durante.

    British American Tobacco has a long history of focusing on sustainability. The company has made significant progress in that time, which is reflected by the Group’s inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the last 13 years, 12 of which have been as industry leader.

    The report highlights issues that include its leading role in innovative nicotine product licensed as a medicine, publication of the Group’s new human rights policy, detailing its commitments to eliminating child labour, no exploitation of labour and respect for freedom of association, the Group’s youth smoking prevention activities and publication of new principles for engagement as part of the Group’s commitment to transparency and integrity in lobbying.

    Other key highlights of the report  include:  investing more than £65 million each year in providing on-the-ground advice and support for over 100,000 contracted farmers worldwide, helping them to build successful, profitable businesses; achieving a 45 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from 2,000 baseline and a 24 percent reduction in water use from 2007 baseline; and more than £50 million invested each year in the fight against the tobacco black market – a trade that cheats governments out of an estimated £30 billion each year in taxes, puts consumers at risk and actively markets and sells tobacco products to children.

    Durante said: “These areas are not only where we face some of our biggest challenges, but also where I see the greatest opportunities. They can add value to society, as well as helping to ensure we deliver our Group strategy and BAT continues to grow and thrive in the long term.”

  • Sustainability core to our business, says FCMB chief

    Sustainability core to our business, says FCMB chief

    For so long, the banking sector conducted banking services in the manner of ‘business as usual.’ But the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited,  Ladi Balogun said the time has come “to shift the narrative to the impact” the sector has had on the community. This was the focus of a media parley on Sustainable Banking in Nigeria: The Role of the Media.  LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

    Group Managing Director/Chief Executive, FCMB, Mr. Ladi Balogun, struck the nail on the head when he spoke at the forum the lender organised for the media at the Southern Sun Hotels, Ikoyi. According to him, the music has changed on the global stage as not many people are interested in the mega profit banks declare annually or their strategy to dominate the market.

    He said rather, what people are interested in is the impacts the banking sector has been able to make on its host community, insisting that the narrative has to change.

    He restated the commitment FCMB to continually engage and impact on the people and environment in line with its corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable banking principles.

    He said: ‘’Given the importance of sustainability and sustainable development, this session presents a platform to empower the media, in their role as key influencers, with the requisite knowledge to promote the values of sustainability in the society and also to hold organisations accountable to global best practices.

    “As a financial institution that has sustainability as one of its core values, we believe that our success as an organisation is hinged on our ability to ensure the long term success of all our stakeholders. This also includes the protection and development of the environment in which we do business.’’ He added that considering the dynamics of the society, corporate organisations should pursue activities, products and services that would impact more on the environment and its people.

    “Banks should focus and talk more about their impacts on their communities. We need to talk more about what we are doing to empower the people, we need to talk more about how we are helping small and medium enterprises, we need to talk more about financial inclusion, we need to talk about gender balancing. These would endear banks to the people, because those things that interest the people also interest banks,’’ Mr. Balogun stated.

    In line with the principle of sustainability, he said the bank has developed an agenda, policy and procedures that have been incorporated in its business activities and operations. ‘’We have built robust Sustainability and Environmental Management Systems (SEMs) policy which drives the bank’s sustainability agenda.  This policy covers all aspects of the operations and services of FCMB – internally and externally. In 2012, we commenced the reporting of our SEMS activities to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) using the Annual Environmental Performance Report (AEPR) template as required by the IFC,’’ Mr Balogun said.

    He listed some of the activities implemented by FCMB in this regard to include; automation of the bank’s credit and account opening processes thereby reducing the paper usage, increased loan provision to businesses with an average of 200,000 annually and at least six per cent of the bank’s total loan given to the agricultural sector.

    Mr. Balogun added that FCMB has equally instituted an annual community empowerment campaign across Nigeria, working with reputable non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to implement these initiatives.

    He said: ‘’Noteworthy is the Babangona project in partnership with Doreo Partners, an initiative targeted at lifting over one million farmers above poverty by the year 2020. We provided subsidised funding to facilitate the achievement of this objective. We are also committed to work-life balance for our employees and encourages flexible working hours’.’

    Speaking on the occasion, Managing Director, United Kingdom (UK)-based Sustainable Finance Advisory Limited, Carey Bohjanen, urged banks to make sustainability an important part of their operations.

    ‘“Implementing the principles will help banks to assess and manage the environmental and social risks associated with investment decisions,” she said.

    She also stressed the need for lenders to embark on due diligence to against running into reputational risk. “Investments have environmental impact, which may adversely affect the banks financing them. That is why due diligence is required,” she warned.

    While commending FCMB for taking sustainable banking principles as a key component of its activities, she called on the media to collaborate more with banks to ensure that,  “the importance and message of sustainability is effectively passed across and understood by the public as well as other stakeholders.”

    Speaking on some of the initiatives of the bank, an official of the bank said the lender has automated credit and other forms of intensive applications and invested in innovative e-products that help reduce the need for paper usage.

    “Our e-savings account for example does not require customers to fill out paper forms Our electronic banking, online and mobile banking platforms also enable vast reduction in paper usage.

    “We have a suite of products that are both environmentally friendly, in terms of vast reduction in paper usage, while and financially inclusive.

    “The bank is focused on financial inclusion and as a helpful bank has simplified its processes to ensure more people have access to ints financial services. Some of our products in this respect include the Nairawise Account, Flashmecash and of course the Agent Banking model which in in line with the CBN’s agenda. FCMB provides over 200,000 loans annually to SMEs who would otherwise not have access to finance to grow their businesses, with Agriculture taking at least 6% of the total number.

    “We explore our social media and online platforms to obtain feedback from our esteemed customers. Using the Net Promoter Score (NPS) system, we have conducted and obtained not less than a total of 200,000 responses via electronic survey this year alone. This is literarily a total of 200,000 sheets of paper and a vast number of trees saved in line with our commitment to environmental sustainability,” the bank said.

    The bank said it has a well-defined CSR strategy that guides our community development initiatives with our main pillars being environmental sustainability, poverty alleviation, and economic empowerment which takes the largest portion of our budget.

    It added that it had instituted an annual community empowerment campaign across Nigeria, working with reputable NGOs to carry out these initiatives, adding that it is committed to work-life balance for its employees and encourages flexible working hours.

    The parley was organised to further connect with and enhance the capacity of practitioners on the issue of sustainability. It also provided an avenue for the bank to deepen its relationship with the media as well as appreciate their role in the dissemination of fair and balanced communication to the Nigerian populace and beyond.

    First City Monument Bank (FCMB) is a member of FCMB Group Plc, which is one of the leading financial services institutions in Nigeria with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their respective segments. Having successfully transformed to a retail and commercial banking-led group, FCMB expects to continue to distinguish itself by delivering exceptional services, while enhancing the growth and achievement of personal and business aspirations of its customers.

  • FirstBank organises sustainability workshop

    FirstBank organises sustainability workshop

    FirstBank of Nigeria Limited has reiterated its commitment to supporting businesses that address social and environmental concerns in the society. Director, First Bank Sustainability Centre and head of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Lagos Business School (LBS), Dr Chris Ogbechie, said  at the workshop attended by Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and other stakeholders at LBS that such would help build sustainability in business.

    He said the workshop was also meant to create an enabling relationship between the NGOs and private corporations to enable both parties harness areas of mutual importance.

    Ogbechie said business owners and NGOs have to realize that it is no longer business as usual, as customers and the media want them to address social and environmental concerns in the course of conducting their businesses.

    Ogbechie said:  “Private companies realised that they must develop strategies to meet these new needs while remaining profitable. NGO’s awareness that they can achieve widespread and lasting change through the partnership is also important in sustaining the partnership”.

    He said the shift in NGO’s/private corporations’ relationship creates an exciting opportunities for them to collaborate, increase capacity, sustainability and deliver service to the community.

    He said companies in the country must learn to do things the right way to enable them sustain long term success. Sustainability, he added, goes beyond leaving a better environment, but also involves how a business can sustain itself, make profit and eradicate poverty in the country, as that is a malaise affecting the country.

    A staff of the Corporate Responsibility Unit of FirstBank, Mrs Obianuju Akanbi said sustainability is now global trend. She added that the bank set up the centre to provide

  • ‘Sustainability, basis of ITB Berlin success’

    Nigeria will be part of this year’s ITB Berlin tourism fair where social and ecological responsibility in tourism is a key subject. Numerous events will be used to address various aspects of sustainability and socially responsible travel.

    The programme in the Adventure and Responsible Tourism includes discussions and papers dealing with human rights, travel for the deaf and developments on the Caribbean island of Haiti three years after the disastrous earthquake. This year’s environmental protection and social responsibility have also been taken into consideration in the production of the ITB Berlin catalogue and ITB Quickfinder which have been printed using a climate-neutral process with the aim of supporting a geothermal project in this year’s partner country, Indonesia.

    Dr. Martin Buck, Director, Competence Centre Travel and Logistics, Messe, Berlin, said: “For many years, ITB Berlin has recognized the importance of corporate social responsibility. As a result of a growing awareness among travellers, the next few years will see increased demand in this sector. This is a development that we, as the world’s largest travel trade show, reflect and actively promote through our events by featuring various aspects of the subject on our agenda.”

    The compensation derived from the climate-neutral printing of the ITB Berlin catalogues is being used by ITB Berlin in some innovative ways this year which include the support that it is providing for a geothermal project on the Indonesian island of Java. By supporting this climate protection project valuable jobs are created there, local people are being trained in new technologies, the availability of electrical power is being improved and support is also being provided for a school for the benefit of girls in particular. On Friday, 8 March, this year’s partner country is presenting some other ecological and sustainable projects on the small stage in Hall 4.1.b. In addition the ITB Berlin Convention is offering some fascinating insights into the innovative “STREAM project”.

    A number of parks from different parts of the world will be presenting their own eco-friendly concepts. Another of the topics will be the protection of animals living in the wild. This year’s Convention and Culture Partner of ITB Berlin, Azerbaijan will be providing details about its own sustainable tourism concept.