Sahara Group unveils initiative to enhance sustainability

Sahara Group has flagged off the ‘Responsibly Sahara’ initiative to enhance the organisation’s sustainability footprint across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

The director, Governance and Sustainability, Sahara Group, Ejiro Gray,said the initiative would embody Sahara Group’s march towards greening its operations progressively and promote access to clean energy and environmental sustainability.

“The Responsibly Sahara initiative represents our very deliberate commitment to sustainability right from the Board, Management, and business leaders to our next generation of young graduate management trainees. It is our insignia for sustainability, our enduring call to action to over 6,000 Sahara Group employees to always make a difference when it comes to securing the future today,” she said.

Gray said, Sahara Group would continue to channel investments towards shoring up its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) footprint across the energy conglomerate’s upstream, midstream, downstream, power and infrastructure businesses.

According to her, Sahara’s membership of leading global carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) research organisation, CO2CRC demonstrates its commitment to reducing its emissions footprint and building a more sustainable business model.

“We are happy to lead the quest for a just and equitable energy transition in Africa by subjecting our operations and processes to the highest sustainability standards as well as supporting and investing in initiatives that will help galvanise more action towards clean energy for all,” she added.

Gray said, Sahara Foundation, the group’s social responsibility vehicle had since streamlined its activities to drive the overarching sustainability focus of Sahara.

“Promoting access to energy and sustainable environments are the key focus areas of Sahara Foundation and we have already implemented a number of projects towards this objective,” he said.

Sahara Foundation had earlier launched the Sahara STEAMers Programme—an initiative that encourages young African students to explore ways of proffering solutions to global issues through Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM).

The initiative which kicked off last year in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, is set to expand into more African countries from 2023.

The second cohort of the Sahara Impact Fund, a Sahara Foundation initiative designed to empower young African social entrepreneurs, provided seed funding to beneficiaries from over 10 countries in Africa towards creating solutions that promote access to energy.

Sahara Group has a fleet of four LPG vessels, promoting access to clean energy across Africa, while the use of electric buggies, scooters and bicycles continue to de-carbonise the environment across the energy conglomerate’s power operations
HEDA seeks UN intervention on Africa’s energy transition drive

The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has visited the deputy secretary general of the United Nations and chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, Ms Amina J. Mohammed.

HEDA is seeking effective action on Illicit Financial Flow (IFF) in 2023 as it impacts negatively on Africa’s ability to address climate change and plan for transition to clean energy.

The visit was part of the groups advocacy on energy security and climate change.

Chairman, Mr Olanrewaju Suraju, HEDA recounted various activities it carried out in 2022 aimed at addressing the problems of climate change and threats it posed to sustainable development.

“We also implemented various engagement to assist governments in the fight against corruption and IFF as we are very much aware of its implications on the planned energy transition and sustainable development generally,” HEDA said.

Detailing some of the engagements, Suraju, in a workshop titled: ‘Ramping Up Climate Information Service Delivery for Dry Season Farming: Averting a National Food Crises Post-2022 Flooding,’ said: “we engaged permanent secretaries at a high-level technical meeting organised in collaboration with NiMet in Abuja.

“In partnership with Oxfam in Nigeria, we also organised a forum titled: ‘Climate Justice Circle (CJC),’ with an over-arching theme: ‘on the road to COP27’ which was aimed at an equitable, inclusive response to various impacts of natural and human-induced effect of climate change and a just energy transition, as articulated by over 70 stakeholders physically and a host of others who joined online.

“The event featured no less than 37 experts including from among women, youth and Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) who led discussions across 10 panel discussion and a plenary congress.

“This was followed by the post COP27 dialogue, a one-day event titled: “COP 27 Outcomes and Implications for Africa: An Assessment.”

Also recently, he said, he engaged critical stakeholders in Abuja on the need for International Anticorruption Court (IACC).

In December, as part of its tracking and document corruption cases, and rewarding uprightness, HEDA launched the 6th Edition of its ‘Compendium of 100 High Profile Corruption Cases in Nigeria.’

“We also presented in the same month, the 5th Edition of the Gani Fawehinmi Impacts and Integrity Awards (GFIIA) which was chaired by Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, JAMB Registrar who presented the Awards to various category of winners including the Outstanding Integrity Awards presented to to Pa Muibi Sonubi, a 90-year-old man who as a cab driver then, found and returned huge sum of money to the owner 40 years ago.

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“In the Course of the year, the organization did secured a favourable judgement against the office of the Honourable Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, Holden in Abuja, when the court compelled the Minister to supply HEDA with the information it requested under Nigeria’s FOI Act, among others,” he pointed out.

On the food security front, HEDA said, it produced State-specific Seasonal Climate Prediction documents based on NiMet’s predictions, organised series of sensitisation workshops and radio programmes to support farmers.

“Indeed, it is noteworthy that the organisation cruised to victory on the frivolous charges against its Chairman, Mr Olanrewaju Suraju as a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja struck out the cyberstalking charge filed against him by the Nigerian government for lack of evidence,” the group said.