BY Rosemary Iwuala.
Nigeria’s bid to reduce carbon emissions has received a boost as pan-African cement manufacturer, Dangote Cement Plc, has entered into partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) to promote environmental sustainability.
Dangote Cement also collaborated with the Lagos Business School Sustainability Centre and Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) as part of the company’s initiatives to mark the 2022 World Environment Day in all its 14 production plants in Nigeria and Africa.
Dangote Cement’s Environment Week programme supports African countries and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) joint venture (JV) agreement to invest in carbon avoidance and offsetting projects.
In carrying out the initiatives, Dangote Cement engaged experts to build the capacity of employees, local communities and other stakeholders on biodiversity conservation and progressive reclamation of mining sites. Other topics addressed were soil rehabilitation and carbon mitigation. The company also set up a biodiversity garden at one of its mines in Nigeria to serve as a model.
Michel Puchercos, group managing director, Dangote Cement Plc, noted that the company demonstrated support for government’s efforts by contributing to climate solutions that would reduce Nigeria’s carbon emissions.
Igazeuma Okoroba, head of sustainability, Dangote Cement Plc, also gave insights into the activities of Dangote Cement during the forum stating that the organisation is complementing government efforts through collaboration with stakeholders in civil society and industry.
Okoroba noted that the World Environment Day commemoration avails Dangote Cement, as Africa’s leading business, the opportunity to create awareness on sustainability initiatives to conserve the earth and maintain the values of biodiversity.
According to her, the initiatives were aimed at entrenching sustainability consciousness across the business’ value chain.
“One of the ways Dangote Cement seeks to achieve this is by complying with rehabilitation plans and exploring ways to protect the ecosystem in the communities where we operate,” she said.
This year’s World Environment Day had the theme ‘Only One Earth’. In line with this year’s theme, not less than 1,708 Dangote employees volunteered with 1,186 third-party volunteers who contributed 12,658 hours in 46 different initiatives across 10 pan-African countries.
To mark the day, Dangote Cement in collaboration with the Lagos Business School Sustainability Centre hosted a web forum entitled “Only One Earth: Conserving the Values of Biodiversity”. It centred on the need for humans to make deliberate efforts to save the earth by conserving biodiversity. The forum brought together about 560 participants from the manufacturing and extractive industries, academia, government agencies, international agencies, civil society (NGOs), media, and environment enthusiasts across Africa.
Speakers submitted that sustainable land management should be a priority for industry. Businesses whose activities affect soil and biodiversity should restore the soil by funding recycling, ensuring green development, and supporting the natural habitat and developers’ who integrate biodiversity in pre and post-development.
An impact report released at the end of the forum indicated that participants advocated that biodiversity loss should be mitigated through collaboration with government environment agencies, local communities, NGOs and educational institutions. Greater awareness is also needed for the public to understand the species of plants and animals that need not be consumed to extinction.
Tukur Lawal, head of environment and social performance, Dangote Cement Plc, said the objective of the initiative was to make mining sites safe for current and future land use. Specific goals include creating awareness amongst mining personnel, enabling mining stakeholders to understand the processes of identifying and evaluating species, flora and fauna for climate risk management.
Pointing out reasons on why Dangote Cement is taking the challenge, Lawal said, “The company is ready to engage with stakeholders to conserve biodiversity, mitigate carbon emission and make the environment safer.”
