Environmental Sustainability in Private Sector: An Advocacy

Gas flare causing environmental damage

Government intervenes in industry for several reasons. Apart from being the biggest spender and provider of public infrastructure, it is equally her responsibility to protect the working people from abuse, protect the consuming public from exploitation, and from deleterious impacts of industrialization. Consequently, when governance is good and there is no natural disaster (force majeure) both man and nature enjoy some measure of stability. It is in this sense God sees good leaders as His ministers.

 On the other land, poor governance is usually associated with paucity of infrastructures, weak environmental institutions and legal frame works. These prevent countries from adequately addressing sustainability issues.

 Since the past two decades, public awareness of environment, social and governance issue is radically altering the global business landscape. Businesses are increasingly reviewing their theory of business as a result of internal and external pressures. The relationship between some health problems and the environment of work, coupled with the realization that what may be beneficial from say economic perspective may be detrimental to the quality of life or well being of the populace is compelling stakeholders to adopt an integrated approach to development.

 Nigerian private sector as a global player, though presently weakened by poor infrastructure, cannot afford to be insensitive to present day realities. It must prepare for the future today or destroy the future now. Leadership in the organized private sector must discover like Garvin Murray of International Finance Corporation (IFC) that striving for business value and doing good for the environment or society need not be contradictory pursuits. The truth is that the viability of business itself depends on ecological resources.

 The concept of “doing good” requires private players to rise above the realm of compliance and basic Corporate Social Responsibility requirements. It involves corporate governance, transparency, process eco-efficiency, environmental performance of product or service, health, safety and welfare of the workforce, among others. It is known to yield both tangible and intangible returns to organizations engaged in it.

 The paradigm shift, therefore will require manufacturers to consider biodegradable nutrients or raw materials, and recyclable packaging. They should go for products with minimal carbon imprints, consume less energy, water, and other inputs. They must as much as possible adopt production processes that will produce fewer air, water and other pollutants. Some companies, like 3m in United States, increased their profits by making their procedures more efficient and producing less waste. That was without installing pollution control plants.

 The sustainable management of the supply chain is critical for the private sector. Companies must identify and assess potential environmental risks and hazards along their supply chain and take steps to prevent, mitigate or remedy their likely impacts. Doing good should also entail the avoidance of child labour both at shop floor and along the supply chain.

 The declaration of humongous annual turnover or profits after tax will no longer be commendable if the same company (be it in the Hospitality, Production, Banking, Oil, Telecom, Construction, or Logistics sub sector) is destroying the integrity of the ecosystem or disrupting the social fabric that sustains it. Verifiable sustainability reports will be key in determining corporate success in the days ahead. Stakeholders will like to verify the level of sustainable financing carried by a bank. They will want to see the eco-friendliness of the businesses or projects financed by them.

 The government, media, academia, NGOs and other stakeholders will increasingly be interested in sustainability report. Beyond environmental impact assessment, they will like to weigh a company’s impacts against her good to the society and the environment. This is already changing the face of Corporate Social Responsibility. It is also going to affect capital market positioning of a firm, the chances of playing in the global arena and even securing international facility or partnerships. The Nigerian private sector must rise up to these developments.

MacDenis Igbo

... Linking agrobiz, people & technology

Group wants protection for poor countries against climate change

The Least Developed Countries (LDCs) group, have advocated protection for poor countries from the menace of climate change as there is a big risk of loss of key issues if they are not protected.

The chairman of the group, Pa Ousman Jarju of the Gambia said there is a great need to massive increase in funds for adaption and for action in order to reduce emission. "We need to set up a proper international coordination process to deliver resources for adaptation to those in most need," he advised.

In a press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet by the International Institute for Environment and Development, Pa Jarju listed global warming causing drought, water and food shortages as part of the major challenges facing the world at the moment which call for actions.

He also said there are no chances of survival if the necessary issues are being deferred till 2015 when a new agreement will be negotiated.

 According to Pa Jarju, drought in the USA only cost insurance companies money, while droughts in the LDCs are causing loss of life and livelihoods, malnutrition in our children and huge dislocation which is very serious for our survival.

“It is extremely important that governments agree to respect the commitments they have already made to provide finance, technology and capacity building to developing countries and to enhance cooperation to help them adapt to the impacts of climate change and not to use the focus on a new processes to avoid past promises. We cannot indefinitely delay action, especially with regard to climate change, which is already upon us,” he said.

aid.

 Yinka Awosanya

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Sustainable Development and Governance in Nigeria

Different nations of the world are to a greater or lesser extent faced with the same constraints and opportunities, and are called with varying degree of urgency to provide individual answers to the common challenges.

No matter the priorities of each country, areas such as education, economics and social development, health and environment still await sustainable solutions. This requires a creative application of democratic principles and practices to tackling both local and national imperatives. Quality governance, with an eye on environmental sustainability is one sure way of, not only solving a country’s priorities, but also achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

Environmental sustainability is critical because without it, the achievements of the rest of the goals may be short-lived. The fact is that, economics depend, to a large extent, on environmental resources.

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola

Scared by the unsustainable lifestyle in Nigeria, the Chairman of Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Chief Philip Asiodu warned that “Economic downturn is nothing compared with a global ecological downturn and the disasters that will come with it.” Thus, if we think this warning by the retired technocrat is alarmist or untimely, then we may have to consider the impact of climate variability on the economy of Kenya; between 1997 and 2001, its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth dropped from 4.6 per cent to 0.3 per cent. The key factor is that the downturn leads to inadequate investment in sustainable infrastructure to control floods or store water for use during draught.

The question is, as nations continue to have their fare share of environmental problems like flood, hurricanes, pollutions, droughts to name a few, what is our beloved country putting in place at the Federal, State and local government levels to prevent, or mitigate the threats to the integrity of our ecosystem? While Nigerians are yet to recover from the shock arising from last year flood disaster in Lagos and Ibadan, and a more terrifying flood which claimed over 50 lives and property worth millions of naira just hit Jos, Plateau State. If that level of flooding disaster could happen in Jos, what should we expect in flood-prone areas like Niger, Oyo, Ogun? What should we expect in flood-plagued city of Lagos.

For instance, the Gov. Babatunde Fashola administration in Lagos, is doing his best to clear drainages, but his best is not enough, for some reasons. First, the source of the flood is trans-boundary. The flood from neighboring states of Oyo and Ogun empties into it.

Secondly, there are numerous settlements occupied by the urban poor which lack drainages. Successive administrations in the state has failed to construct a comprehensive drainage system. Thirdly, as a coastal, commercial and civic city, its huge population is overburdening the few available working infrastructure. The encroachment of human settlements unto floodplain areas increases the vulnerability to flood.

If you take a trip to some of the rural communities in Anambra and Edo (North), you will see what erosion has done to the quality of life of the people. In most cases their livelihood, as subsistence farmers, are threatened. It is either the path to their farms, markets, or that of their streams has been taken over by erosion.

In virtually all the eastern states and some south-south states, the soil fertility is gone and their successive state governors have not been concerned about food production like their colleague in the North and West. Consequently, fertilizers have been scarce. It was the newly elected governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, who recently commenced the distribution of fertilizers in the state directly to farmers.

The degradation of the environment of oil producing states of the south-south is an old song, yet nothing much have changed in the livelihood of the people in spite of budgetary allocations to the region. Many of these communities are yet to have access to sanitary infrastructure and quality maternal care.

Poverty still pervades across most northern states due to desertification and lack of poverty-oriented policies. Their case is presently worsened by insecurity occasioned by the recent Boko Haram insurgence.

In no distant time, this will adversely impinge on the agricultural productivity of that region. It is sad to note that in most of these Nigerian communities, many of the breadwinners are people on less than $3 dollars a day income. How many of our state governors and local government authorities can boast of projects that are environmentally sustainable. Housing estates and market projects in state capitals are often showcased by many governors. Yet, they are offered to citizens at unsustainable prices. Some states have built schools and even some Federal government MDG schools are situated in flood plains, thereby making such projects unsustainable.

If the searchlight is turned to the government at the centre, the picture is that of contradictions. Too many environmental agencies, yet no action. Too many environment summits and conferences, yet little technical capacity. Too much efforts towards aforestation, yet making Kerosene unaffordable. Too much talk on power sector reforms, and advocacy for energy efficiency, yet inappropriate pricing and non-availability of power. Too much grants received, and budgetary allocations appropriated, yet no funds released to execute sustainable projects.

Good governance entails the awareness by those in power of possible ecological and sociological breakdowns, putting in place ways and means of minimizing their effects. It also entails their monitoring to ensure the adoption of Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) by private sector concerns in their domains.

Sustainable development, therefore, depends largely on the quality of governance and political will. There is a compelling need to mobilize the required political will at all levels of government. It is also necessary to mobilize all relevant stakeholders in the work.

As Borge Brend, the former Nowegian Minister of Environment aptly puts it, “Developing countries need to assign priorities, draw up strategies, invest in human resources, and implement poverty oriented policies. Good governance (That is, anti-corruption policies), democracy building, and respect for human rights are crucial to combat poverty and to make development sustainable.”

MacDenis Igbo

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