Standing on the cusp of COP28 held in Dubai in November 2023, The Governance Platform (TGP) on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, hosted business executives to a Breakfast session themed ‘Sustainability and COP28: What it means for Boards’.
The event brought together business executives, board directors, and senior management members of Corporate Nigeria championing sustainability, to discuss and navigate the intricacies of integrating sustainability into their core strategies, considering the outcomes of COP28.
The session opened dialogues by focusing on insights from the newly published book ‘Sustainability & COP28: What it Means for Boards’ and eliciting substantial experiences from the distinguished sustainability experts and authors: Professor Fabian Ajogwu, OFR, SAN, and Dr Ona Newton.
Speaking at the meeting, Abasiemediong Etuk, Associate in Kenna Partners and Programme Coordinator of TGP, walked attendees through the significance of the discourse on sustainability, especially in the wake of unprecedented global challenges such as resource depletion, climate change, etc.
Ms Nimma Jo-Madugu, Partner in Kenna Partners moderating the session, noted that sustainability had moved beyond being a moral imperative and is now recognised as a fundamental business strategy. After that, she invited the discussants to share their thoughts and viewpoints on sustainability and the implications on boards following the watershed moment of COP28 in Dubai.
Dr Newton Ona, Global Program Lead at Amazon, provided insights into the outcomes of COP28 and its implications for Boards. She stated that the journey towards redefining the purpose of a board in ensuring sustainable governance goes beyond analysing the current situation to proffering a way forward and empowering boards to transcend into embracing the new ethos of sustainable leadership.
She added that as boards embark on a quest for sustainable governance, they should heed past lessons, embrace the present challenges, and envision a future where planetary well-being is synonymous with profitability. According to Dr Newton, “Companies can have an operation that works, but what is important is how to sustain the company’s operation in the long run.”
Professor Fabian Ajogwu, OFR, SAN, Senior Partner at Kenna Partners, and Professor of Corporate Governance, discussed the challenges and opportunities for organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Referencing real-world case studies, he stated that boards of companies should contextualise the environment and industry they operate in and tailor the companies’ agenda to their respective environments and sectors to yield sustainability.
He added that boards should prioritise sustainability’s “3 Ps” – People, Profit and Performance. According to him, “balancing people, profit and performance is the key role of boards of companies”.
He also noted one of the problems of corporate governance, ‘green-washing,’ as he charged organisation executives with adopting a sincerity-based approach in managing the affairs of their respective organisations.
Mr Rotimi Odusola, Corporate Relations Office and Company Secretary, Guinness Nigeria Plc, remarked on the environmental aspect of ESG, seeking recommendations on how organisations can be more collaborative in ensuring that their corporate social activities are more impactful in society.
Mr Chidi Okezie, Country Head of Legal and Group Company Secretary, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc inquired on how components of sustainability could be incorporated as KPIs for senior executives and boards.
Mallam Muhammad K. Ahmad, OON, President of the Society of Corporate Governance, Nigeria, in presenting the book ‘Sustainability & COP 28: What it Means for Boards’, remarked that boards need to go beyond the tick-the-box approach and ensure that sustainability is incorporated in the core of organisations.
In all, the event was a major success and a useful platform for executives and decision makers of top organisations to discuss innovative strategies for implementing sustainable practices in organisations.
