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Dangote Group Emerges ‘Overall Most Responsible Business’ at SERAS 2022 Sustainability Awards
By adminDec 13, 2022, 06:24 am
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Dangote Group Companies has won the coveted ‘ Overall Most Responsible Business’ Award, just as three of its subsidiaries clinched awards at the 16th edition of the Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Responsibility Awards (SERAS) held in Lekki, Lagos State.
At the well-attended event, which drew stakeholders across the industrial sector who had earlier submitted a record 151 entries for awards in 26 categories, cement manufacturing giant Dangote Cement Plc won an award for ‘The Best Company in Reporting & Transparency’.
Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR), which participated in the SERAS for the first time in 2020, won the award of ‘Best Company in Food Security’, while Dangote Salt Plc also known as NASCON Plc won an award for the ‘Best Company in Gender Equality / Women Empowerment’, on a night which saw the Dangote Industries Limited cart away four prestigious awards.
ALSO READ: KOGI POLL : All Options Considered, Ahmed Usman Ododo, APC Best To Lead Kogi, Adebanji Jimoh Hints Electorate A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and a former Governorship aspirant, HE, Adebanji David Jimoh has said that in the event of considering all options to choose who will lead the people of Kogi in another four years, the APC Governorship candidate, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo remains the best option for Kogites. Jimoh , a seasoned banker turn politician made the submission while speaking with newsmen in Lokoja ahead the November 11 Kogi state Governorship election. He stressed that Kogites have no reason not to vote for the APC Governorship candidate, considering the fact that Governor Yahaha Bello's remarkable and human oriented projects are seen across the nooks and crannies of Kogi state. The former governorship aspirant , pointed out that Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo would sustain the legacy of Governor Yahaha Bello when elected Governor of Kogi state. "Let me tell you, truth be told, kogites have never had it so good as we are having today. The rice mills at Ejiba in Yagba West, the Kogi State University, Kabba, Modern General Hospital project in Isanlu, Kabba township roads, GYB model Science Secondary School in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area, Modern General Hospital project in Gegu Beki and other verifiable projects across the Senatorial district are there for the people to vote for APC's Ododo for continuity and Sustainability. "In Kogi East Senatorial district, the Prince Abubakar Audu Teaching Hospital, Idah township roads, Anyingba township roads, Ankpa township roads, operation light up Kogi Eastern Senatorial district, reconstruction and renovation of projects at state College of Education, Ankpa, Okpo-Olamaboro road project, among other projects are there as testimony and sufficient reason for the people of Kogi East Senatorial district should vote for APC's Ododo for continuity and Sustainability. "In the Kogi Central Senatorial district, we have the Confluence university of Science And Technology, Osara, Kogi state Reference Hospital in Okene, Expansion/Reticulation of Okene waterworks project, modern General Hospital project, Eganyi, Rehabilitation and construction of General Hospital, Okene, Okene township roads, Ihima-Adavi Eba Okengwe roads, among other projects are there for Kogi Central Senatorial district to vote Massively For APC's Ododo for continuity and Sustainability. "The Governor has done well in Lokoja, the state capital. He constructed Kogi Revenue House, Lokoja, Mohammadu Buhari Civic Centre, Lokoja, Ganaja Junction Fly-Over, Lokoja, GYB Model Science Secondary School project, Lokoja, building of Government House Chapel and Government House Jumaat mosque, go to Kogi state polytechnic. The Governor has done well and the people should reciprocate on Saturday by voting Massively for Ahmed Usman Ododo so that we can continue to enjoy more gains of democracy in Kogi state. "I want to appeal to kogites not to be deceived by the antics of some people who have nothing to offer them but to come and protect their selfish interest even above public interest. "The APC Governorship candidate has the capacity, connection, experience, exposure and wisdom to lead Kogi state to a great level. Let us vote for APC for a prosperous Kogi state of our dream.
The awards won underline the Dangote Group’s corporate culture, which seeks to promote and embed sustainability across its various Business Units and pan-African operations, through alternative fuel usage, energy management systems, circular economy, waste management processes, women and youth empowerment, and social interaction with various host communities wherever the conglomerate operates.
In another milestone showcased in the SERAS Awards event programme, Dangote Group and its philanthropic arm, Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) were recognised among those participants who have featured at SERAS over the last 15 years, alongside other companies like Guinness Plc, Nigeria LNG Limited, Mobil, Airtel, Lafarge, Access Bank Plc, Glo Telecommunications, Zenith Bank Plc, Unilever, Nestle, Channels Television among others.
Group Chief Branding & Communications Officer, Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Anthony Chiejina, reacting to the company’s remarkable performance at this year’s SERAS said: “DIL’s approach is focused on mainstreaming sustainable practices across the operations of the organisation. This underlines the importance that we attach to our people, communities and other key stakeholders.”
The SERAS is Africa’s leading Sustainability and CSR Award. Since inception in 2007, and up till 2019, the award has attracted over 1,242 from over 300 organisations. In the 2020 edition, 98 institutions participated from 7 African countries, including Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. This year, 93 organisations sent in entries from across Africa.
In her welcome address at the 2022 SERAS, Executive Director, TruCSR/The SERAS CSR Awards Africa, Mary Ephraim noted that, “CSR and sustainability have gone through their evolution. From philanthropy (the era of being back) to CSR (the era of giving back) to sustainability (the era of going back) and now to circularity (the era of bringing back).
“The conversation before now had been about how we could leave a befitting world for our children to inherit. But at the moment, it is how we as parents can live so that our offspring get the opportunity to survive.
“This is why we chose the theme – Climate, Circularity and the Future of Sustainability: Bridging the SDGs Gap through Impact Investing”, she added.
