SPIN Promises Continued Effort in Strengthening Sustainability Practice in Nigeria

•Inducts 50 new members

Mary Nnah

The Sustainability Professionals Institute of Nigeria (SPIN) has decorated and inducted 50 new members into the institute at its 2023 cohort induction ceremony themed Partnership for Sustainable Development: The Journey So Far.

The event, which was sponsored by IHS Towers; expert partners in communications infrastructure, was held recently at the Lekki Conservation Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos,

Speaking, the Vice President of the institution, Ini Abimbola, showered encomiums on S.P.I.N members for their commitment to promoting sustainable practices whilst charging the new inductees on imbibing good leadership traits which she described as having the drive to cultivate sustainable focus within any organisation they find themselves; being intentional in driving innovations to deliver value-driven impact and solutions; and ensuring collaboration to deliver results at all times. She concluded by stating that the new inductees are joining the 89 members and sustainability ambassadors the institution already had before the ceremony.

The Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Robert Kayanji, who Mrs. Thembekile Dube-Ncube, Partnerships Officer, Office of the UN Resident Coordinator for Nigeria, represented, delivered a presentation where she emphasized the importance of partnerships and finance in ensuring a sustainable future, hinting that the United Nations engages in partnerships with private sectors, government, civil society, and a wide range of stakeholders with a common goal to achieve a sustainable earth.

According to the Director, Advocacy & Stakeholders Relations, S.P.I.N, Ismail Omamegbe, the inductees will be engaged through a framework for capacity building and professional sustainability training; the development of standards for sustainability practice and professionalism in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa; creating a pool of online learning resources for sustainability professionals and aspiring practitioners; interactions with sustainability practitioners and subject matter specialists to develop a training curriculum; and benchmark the capacity-building initiatives of similar associations like the ICRS, UK.

Since its inception in 2019, one major objective of the Association, now an institution, has been to address the gaps in Sustainability and CSR practices in Africa’s most populous black nation – Nigeria. Through the years, the institution has recorded major milestones such as the inclusion of 8 Professionals on the Board of Trustees; obtaining a partnership affiliation with the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (ICRS) in the United Kingdom, and transitioning from an Association to an Institute in November 2022.

The 50 professionals, who cut across different spheres of life, joined 89 other institution members decorated and inducted into different cadres of the institutions such as Fellow Members, Full Members, Institutional Members, Associate Members, and Student Members.

The induction, which was well attended by other professionals and stakeholders across all works of life, also featured goodwill messages from representatives of IHS Nigeria, Access Bank, Lotus Bank, and First Bank, all of whom are partners of the Institution and took turns emphasising their commitment to supporting a sustainable Nigeria.