Dangote Industries Prepare Big For Sustainability Week

Dangote Industries Limited and its subsidiaries are preparing very big for the sustainability week, which starts Monday 23rd to Friday 27th October 2023 The theme for the year 2023 is Sustainable Production and Consumption – The Dangote Way. The week has been designed to be a week-long event to create an opportunity for DIL and its subsidiaries’ employees to volunteer their skills and competencies for community impact initiatives, using time that is paid for by the organisation. While the mother company, DIL, will have an online Sustainability Conference for all staff, where various representatives of the business units will present innovative opportunities for Sustainable Production and Consumption in their line of business to a panel of executives who will evaluate the opportunities for adoption. Other subsidiaries also have a series of events that have been lined up in line with the Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals designed to serve as a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. The week will start on Monday with Volunteer mobilization across the various business locations in Nigeria and Pan Africa. Dangote Cement will host a Sustainable Living Fair and Exhibition on Tuesday, in Ikoyi, Lagos. Notable stakeholders have been invited to attend the Fair, which will be declared open by the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive of Dangote Cement, Mr. Arvind Pathak. NASCON also on Tuesday will donate whiteboards to schools in its host community, while Dangote Fertilizer Limited (DFL), will roof 6 classrooms in the Magbonsegun community as it supplies roofing sheets, asbestos, and timber. It will however be done in collaboration with the school’s PTA, and community leaders. Health materials will also be donated by NASCON to Ijoko Health Care Center and Ajegunle Health Care Center. In the same vein, Dangote Petroleum Refinery, from October 23rd to November 2nd, will organize an elderly care program for its host community. The program includes Health talks and medical screening for malaria, infectious diseases, dementia, hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, vitamin deficiency, BMI, and eye problems. Elders, who are 65 years and above are the target of this programme and close to 1,000 of such elders have been booked to attend the event. GDNL also for the week has programmed an educational initiative, which will involve three schools in their host community, with a focus on educating the students on the essence of sustainability and climate change challenges, and donation of computers, markerboards and sanitary pads to schools in their community. Dangote Packaging Limited (DPL) will be training the women and in its host community on how to make insecticides locally thereby helping to comeback malaria which is the number 1 ailment in the area. The trained women will also be empowered with a startup kit.It would be recalled that DIL, recently shone like a million stars as its subsidiaries clinched several awards at the just concluded Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Responsibility Awards (SERAs). Dangote Cement Plc won four major awards, including: The Best Company in Sustainability Reporting, Best Company in Stakeholder Engagement, and Overall, Winner – Africa (First Runner Up). Another Dangote subsidiary, Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR), which was participating in the SERAS for the first time, won the award of Best Company in Poverty Eradication. Anthony Chiejina, Group Chief, Corporate Communications Dangote Industries Limited reacting to the company’s outstanding performance at this year’s SERAS said: “DIL’s approach is focused on mainstreaming sustainable practices and building this into the very fabric of the organization. “The Dangote Way’ underlines the importance that we attach to our people, communities, and other key stakeholders.” A’Court sacks Senate Minority Leader, orders rerun

Stakeholders lagging behind on global warming fight, says UN

The United Nations has said that the world is not on target to curb global warming, insisting that more action is needed from all stakeholders. According to the Global Stocktake report, “The Paris Agreement has driven near-universal climate action by setting goals and sending signals to the world regarding the urgency of responding to the climate crisis,” it said. “While action is proceeding, much more is needed now on all fronts.” The report, culminating a two-year evaluation of the 2015 Paris climate agreement goals, distils thousands of submissions from experts, governments and campaigners and will lay the groundwork for the global stock-take discussion at COP28. Nearly 200 countries agreed in 2015 in Paris to limit warming to no more than 2 Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to strive to keep the increase to 1.5 C. While each country is responsible for deciding its own climate actions, they also agreed to submit to a progress report by 2023 to see what more should be done. Some of the world’s most climate vulnerable countries expect the report to spur action from global leaders. The U.N. said existing national pledges to cut emissions were insufficient to keep temperatures within the 1.5 C threshold. More than 20 gigatonnes of further CO2 reductions were needed this decade – and global net zero by 2050 – in order to meet the goals, the U.N. assessment said. “With leaders gathering this month for the United Nations Secretary General’s Climate Ambition Summit ahead of COP28, the findings and recommendations of this Report need to be a wake-up call and a trigger for cogent commitments,” chair of Association of Small Island States, Pa’olelei Luteru said. The report urged countries to cut the use of “unabated” coal power by 67-92% by 2030 versus 2019 levels and to virtually eliminate it as a source of electricity by 2050. Low and zero-carbon electricity should account for as much as 99% of the global total by mid-century, while technological challenges holding back carbon capture must be resolved. The report also called for funding to be unlocked to support low-carbon development, noting that billions of dollars were still being invested in fossil fuels. “It serves up a bold to-do list for governments to limit warming to 1.5C and protect people everywhere from climate devastation,” said Tom Evans, policy advisor on climate diplomacy at British climate think tank E3G. Commitment is needed to phase out fossil fuels, set 2030 targets for renewable energy expansion, ensure the financial system funds climate action, and raise funds for adaptation and damage, he said. “Anything less will fall short on the necessary steps laid out in this report.”