Sahara Group Committed to Green, Efficient Future, Says Shonubi

Leading energy and infrastructure conglomerate, Sahara Group, has restated its commitment to promoting generational sustainability through strategic greening of its businesses across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

According to a statement by the Head, Corporate Communications, Sahara Group Limited, Mr. Bethel Obioma, the Executive Director, Temitope Shonubi, while speaking at the unveiling of Sahara Group’s 2021 Sustainability Report titled ‘Maximising the Present Efficiently; Safeguarding the Future Responsibly’, stated that Sahara has responded positively to its global sustainability targets through continuous review of the company’s operations and impact.

“At Sahara Group, we are more than a business. We inspire a green efficient future for generations by making a difference (MAD) responsibly through every thought, plan, action and reaction. The irrepressible spirit of Sahara, as well as our ‘bridge and catalyst’ mindset for creating the extraordinary from the mundane, and providing bespoke services for all markets, was the driving force behind the significant sustainability gains we achieved in 2021,” the statement quoted Shonubi as saying.

Shonubi, the statement added, said Sahara has taken purposeful actions to better control its sources of greenhouse gas emissions, enhanced the efficiency of the Group’s power consumption and managed its environmental footprint in accordance with globally accepted best practices through the activities.

According to him, in 2021, Sahara effectively managed its impact within host communities establishing acceptable and consistent standards to initiate and implement sustainable community development programmes, it stated.

“Further, through our employee volunteer programme, we also give our employees the opportunity to be fully engaged and contribute meaningfully to community development. More than 170 Sahara employees from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East have devoted over 15,000 hours of volunteer service to the Foundation’s sustainable development projects,” he added.

The statement also quoted the Director, Governance and Sustainability at Sahara Group, Ejiro Gray, as saying that the ideals of social responsibility, environmental impact management, as well as transparent and accountable governance underscore the Sahara Group’s sustainability initiatives.

Gray said Sahara continually seeks ways to improve energy efficiency in its operations, reduce emissions from its power plants, preserve biodiversity, manage its waste in a sustainable manner and instill a culture of environmental stewardship in its employees.

“In 2021, for instance, one of our businesses utilised our Intelligent Data Box (IDB), which independently analyses energy consumption, thereby increasing our energy efficiency and lowering losses in a quantifiable manner. Additionally, investments were made in energy-saving light bulbs (LED) and awareness was raised regarding the need for more efficient energy/power usages,” she said.

Gray said the above had continued to translate into positive results across the Group’s power operations. 

“All of these are clearly indicators of our resolve to track our energy consumption at every level and to incorporate efficiency into the way we generate and use power. In addition, as part of our efforts to preserve biodiversity, we planted over 1,000 trees in different communities across Nigeria during the reporting period, with plans to embark on largescale tree planting in subsequent years,” she added.

Gray noted that the Sahara Foundation, which is the energy conglomerate’s social sustainability vehicle, had remained resolute in its commitment to touching lives and livelihoods, through its focus on ensuring a sustainable environment and energy access.

She stated: “The Sahara Green Life Initiative, Catch Them Young & Curious (CTYC)/ Sahara Science Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (Sahara STEAMers) Programme, Sahara Technical Regenerator Program (STRP), Africa Renewable Energy Forum, and Sahara Impact Fund that provides seed funding for young African social innovators  are some of the programs implemented during the period under review.”

The Sahara Group 2021 Sustainability Report was developed in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative’s requirements (GRI), covering the following business lines within the Sahara Group: Midstream Operations – Sahara Trade, Upstream Operations – Asharami Energy (AE), Downstream Operations – Asharami Synergy (AS), Power (Generation and Distribution) – Egbin Power (EP), First Independent Power Limited (FIPL) and Ikeja Electric (IE). 

The report is available on the Sahara Group website, the statement said.