Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited, has urged stakeholders in the manufacturing sector to embrace sustainable manufacturing across their operations as a tool to mitigate the impact of climate change in Nigeria.
Speaking at the third edition of the annual NBC Stakeholders Forum themed:‘Combating Climate Change Through Resource Efficiency,’ held in Lagos, managing director of the company, Matthieu Seguin, explained that the event was aimed at exploring opportunities to co-creating sustainable solutions to the challenges of climate change.
“We recently unveiled a roadmap to renewable energy transition in our manufacturing operations. This move is coming on the heels of a series of steady investments made by our company towards sustainable manufacturing to achieve our set target of Net Zero emissions by the year 2040,” he said.
Seguin said, “Our commitment to the environment is total. However, we recognise that the goals we have set for ourselves are by no means easy. We therefore need all our stakeholders on board with us on this journey to make the desired change that will positively impact the environment and make a difference.”
The minister of environment, Barr. Mohammed Abdullahi, represented by director-general of the National Council on Climate Change, Dr. Salisu Dahiru, commended the contributions of the Coca-Cola System towards environmental sustainability, particularly its ambitious targets to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its operations by the year 2040.
“Interestingly, this target is ten years ahead of several others, including that of the Federal Government of Nigeria. For Nigeria, the target for net zero is to be achieved by 2060 and for NBC to come up with these ambitious targets means a lot of investment and changes in its technology, approach, and resource utilization. This is a big plus for the company and I believe there are opportunities for other companies and industrial magnates to tow this line.”
Also, founder of Fight Against Desert Encroachment (FADE), Dr Newton Jibunoh, lauded NBC for taking decisive actions to address the challenge of climate change through several interventions, noting that, collaboration among relevant stakeholders is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change in the country.
The annual NBC Stakeholders’ Forum is designed as a platform for robust and authentic conversations between Nigerian Bottling Company and its valued stakeholders, attracting participants from Regulatory Agencies, relevant MDAs from both the federal and state governments, the diplomatic community, the Academia, Industry Associations, NGOs, consumers, suppliers, and other trade partners.
