CSR-in-Action, Tuesday 27 May, 2014

The organised private sector has advanced its lead in the drive to achieve sustainable development in Nigeria through the establishment of an informal network of business leaders united by a shared commitment to provide leadership for sustainable development in Nigeria.

In direct response to this growing trend, Mutiu Sunmonu, Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) & Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, organised a gathering of 31 Business Leaders at the Federal Palace Hotel on Friday the 23rd of May, with the professional support of CSR-in-Action, our social enterprise which is officially registered as Corporate Social Responsibility Awareness and Advancement Initiative.

Business leaders representing the critical sectors of the Nigerian economy, including Oil and Gas, Telecoms, Financial Services, Real Sector, Pharmaceuticals and Business Services, unanimously threw their weight behind the establishment of a Nigerian regional network of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a CEO-led organization of forward-thinking companies that galvanizes the global business community to create a sustainable future for business, society and the environment.

The evening commenced with open air cocktail networking at the back grounds of the hotel. Soon after, guests filed in to be welcomed by SPDC Spokesman, Precious Okolobo. The host, Sunmonu, made the opening remarks, thanking everyone for taking time out of their busy schedules and passed on the baton to the affable Sir Chris Ogbechie, Director of the First Bank Sustainability Centre of the Lagos Business School (LBS).
Ogbechie, digging from his vast knowledge of sustainability matters, reminded all that "It is very important to provide a platform for businesses to explore sustainable development, share knowledge, experiences and best practices and advocate business positions on sustainable development issues in a variety of forums, working with government, non-governmental and inter-governmental organisations".

Gathered guests, including Wolfgang Goetsch, Managing Director of Julius Berger, Chief Keith Richards, Chairman of Promasidor Ltd, Mr Paul Gbededo, Group Managing Director, Flour Mills Nigeria Plc, Mr Mike Ikpoki, Managing Director of MTN Nigeria and Mrs Bola Adesola, MD/CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, BusinessDay, Chief Mrs Stella Okoli, Founder, Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Seni Adetu of Guinness, Bolaji Osunsanya of Oando Gas and Power, Phillips Oduoza of the UBA Group, Austin Avuru of Seplat Petroleum, Adebayo Ayorinde of Afren Nigeria, Yinka Sanni of Stanbic IBTC, Onawari Duke of Empretech Foundation Nigeria, and Adeola Azeez of Deutsche Bank, were sold on the picture painted by Ogbechie. Senior Executive representatives included Deji Haastrup of Chevron, Odunewu Bashirat of First Bank, Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan of Access Bank, Katja Schiller-Nwator of Heirs Holdings and Kufre Ekanem representing Nigerian Breweries.
Sunmonu wisely expounded the need for the 'vision'; one where corporate Nigeria works in sync towards collective and long-lasting good. He said "Nigerian corporates today support sustainability programmes in their respective areas of influence quite adequately, however, no platform currently exists for businesses across all industries to share experiences, best practices, and advocate for business positions that transform lives and communities from what they are today to the greatness they can be, tomorrow."

"If there is one area we do not need to compete as businesses, it is in the goodness of our heart to our society and environment", he added.

When crunch time came, Ogbechie called for those who would choose to be comrade-in-arms to set up this business council which would galvanise private sector towards holistic and sustainable strategies. All gathered at the table, an overwhelming 31 companies, stood up and linked hands in a visible show of unity for progress. Of that number, 12 Business Leaders - Accenture, Coca-Cola, Empretec Nigeria Foundation, Etisalat, First Bank, Flourmills of Nigeria, Heirs Holdings, Intel Corporation, Interswitch, Standard Chartered Bank, Unilever and the First Bank CSR Center – further volunteered their time towards the nitty gritty of establishing the council.

Bekeme Masade, Executive Director, CSR-in-Action, expressed belief that this was the right step towards sustainable development. She said "CSR-in-Action's by-line is 'the collective action network;' and it is, therefore, fulfilling to be recognised through Shell's forward thinking engagement of our organisation to manage this process. I am certain that with the commitment of CSR-in-Action, Shell and the other strong companies from the diversity of sectors, we will certainly be making an impact starting from the short term."

Expressing optimism for the newly established network, Mr Sunmonu said "I expect the deliberations to result in the transformation of the Nigerian society".

Click here to see more pictures from the event. Read more about the #Business Leaders Roundtable