 |
| 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
