LBS International Sustainability Conference 2022
Communique and Highlights
By Trek Africa Newspaper
The 2022 International Sustainability Conference (ISC) hosted by the Lagos Business School Sustainability Centre (LBSSC) in partnership with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Africa), IHS Nigeria Limited and Shared Value Africa Initiative (SVAI) held virtually on Friday, November 18, 2022. The dialogue featured global business Leaders and sector experts calling on the private sector, especially in Africa, to play their role in building resilient systems that will enable the achievement of sustainable development outcomes.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DISCUSSIONS
The private sector is able to innovate and move faster than the government. The focus would be on tackling energy issues, flooding, and financial market instability. Our systems are failing, and they are doing so faster than ever.
We need to create new solutions. We need to be able to create ways to ensure that we maintain improved standards” It can be seen that Africa and South Asia suffer the most from unreliable infrastructure, costing eighteen billion dollars in low and middle-income nations. We must put systems that stand the test of time and challenges.
Low-hanging opportunities for enabling sustainable development through business-driven solutions include service infrastructure, financial inclusion, and digital inclusion. The strategy of the private sector should also focus on collaborating to address these issues.
Diversity and Gender Inclusion are key to lifting communities and families out of poverty, it is, therefore, crucial for corporate strategies in systems building to factor on and even prioritize the inclusion and impact on women, persons with disabilities and low-income communities. The impact of the telecommunication sector for example in closing the gender inclusion gap, since gender inequality is strongly influenced by digital inclusion.
Business leaders must begin to think seriously about how climate change affects their business operations and develop adaptation strategies as the impact of climate change becomes more apparent. The focus shouldn’t be just on the survival of your business but on applying the sustainability mindset – how do you create shared value.
There is an urgent need to incorporate the basic principles of sustainability in core business models. Businesses which take this approach will have a competitive advantage in the future considering the volatilities and need for sustainable systems
Energy and Food security are strongly entwined in humanity’s survival and are important in managing global population expansion. The manner in which we tackle global food insecurity and energy insufficiency would go a long way in helping us with making a strong resilient impact in the global economy.
There is a need for a pipeline of projects that have a good mix of alternative fuels and utilization of renewable resources. We need to make investments that survive the test of time and are cost-effective in the long run.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
In building a resilient system, it is important to move past the linear model of production to a circular economy model. Circular economy entails markets and production processes that give incentives to close waste loops and reuse resources and products, rather than scrapping them and then extracting new resources
In a bid to reinvent capitalism for sustainable development outcomes, it is important to build a system that rewards value creation beyond just profits alone.
Local Investment must be made in research to identify environmentally friendly and locally available alternatives in production processes and promote these alternatives to external societies.
A successful partnership between the private and public sectors requires political will from the government, tenacity from the private sector, shared value & ideology, skill transfer, transparency and mutual respect.
or businesses to succeed over the long run, capitalism needs to create sustainable value for society and in communities directly linked to your business. This would be accomplished through strategic realignment of business priorities and the business’ sustainability goals, and increased social impact-focused innovation.
Partnership remains key therefore private and public partnership requires political will from the government, tenacity from the private sector, shared value & ideology, skill transfer, transparency and mutual respect.
The government is a critical player in solving problems, therefore the private sector should look past the challenges and partner with them, in addition, while making plans for growth and development
SPEAKERS AND CONTRIBUTORS WERE:
Prof Chris Ogbechie, Dean, and Professor of Strategic Management, Lagos Business School
Prof Enase Okonedo, Vice Chancellor, Pan Atlantic University, Board Member, UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (UNPRME)
Oreva Atanya, Head, Sustainability, Lagos Business School
Simon O’Hara, Company Secretary, Airtel Africa
Rodney Irwin, Chief Operating Officer, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Tendai Matika, Manager, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Africa
Agatha Nnaji, Managing Director, Geometric Power Limited
Ashvin Dayal, Senior Vice President, Power & Climate, Rockefeller Foundation
Dr Adun Okupe, Faculty, Sustainability, Lagos Business School
Ghaith Al-Hasan, Principal Specialist, Green Energy Management, IHS (Nigeria) Limited
Tiekie Bernard, Chief Executive Officer, Shared Value Africa Initiative (SVAI)
Otto Canon Chimenem, Award-winning Sustainability and Environment Consultant
Theresa Akpoveso, Senior Associate, LBS Sustainability Centre
Nnaemeka Onoyima, Senior Associate, LBS Sustainability Centre
Osanua Nwagbara, Associate, LBS Sustainability Centre
Anthony Tuedon, Programmes and Research, LBS Sustainability Centre
Chineme Egbo, Programmes and Research, LBS Sustainability Centre
Uchenna Nwoye, Programmes and Communication, LBS Sustainability Centre
Irmani Alasa, Programmes and Communication, LBS Sustainability Centre
Cynthia Ebhoze, Programmes and Communication LBS Sustainability Centre
