Minister unveils report on corporate sustainability
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo<br />PHOTO: Twitter
The Minister for Industry, Trade, and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, has unveiled the 2020 Corporate Sustainable Investor Report (CSIR), a landmark research document that analyses the sustainability progress of companies operating in Nigeria.
Developed by CSR-in-Action, a sustainability consulting and advocacy outfit in Africa, the independent scorecard provides critical insights into the sustainability approach of Nigerian companies in line with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors.
Adebayo, who stated that Nigeria generated $2.6 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) last year, expressed optimism that the report would be beneficial in providing key investors with additional information to make informed decisions on investment opportunities in the country.
He said the report had been developed in line with leading practices, effectively documenting corporate strategies being executed by local companies in their quest for sustainability.
He stressed that the CSIR is modelled after international reports on sustainable investment and is a valuable source of information for those seeking to do business in the West African region, especially in Nigeria.
According to him, it is a useful resource for investors, particularly as the Nigerian government seeks to ramp up the inflow of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).
Chief Executive of CSR-in-Action, Bekeme Masade-Olowola, in her remark, said companies ranked low in the report should not see it as an indictment, but as an opportunity to improve their operations in every area, particularly transparency and human rights.
She said: “Our pragmatic selection process and independent approach to conducting this research enabled us to be as inclusive as possible to have a comprehensive collection of companies represented.”
She said the information in the CSIR had been methodically grouped under six key performance indices, such as human rights and decent labour, innovation, ethical economics, stakeholder inclusion, environmental sustainability, and sustainability management.
Endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, and supported by Global Rights and the Open Society Foundation, the 2020 CSIR features 210 organisations across seven sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Contributors to the report include Executive Director, Nigerian Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Tony Ojukwu; Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Emerging Africa Capital Group, Toyin Sanni; Chair, Mobile Software Solutions Limited, Chris Uwaje and Group CEO, Access Bank Plc., Dr. Herbert Wigwe.
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