Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (FMN), a leading Fast-Moving Consumer Good (FMCG), has become the first FMCG company to join the Africa Business Leaders Coalition (ABLC) to fight climate change.
FMN’s Group Managing Director, Mr Boye Olusanya, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos.
Olusanya said the move was part of the company’s deliberate measures to entrench climate change across its business operations.
ABLC is a coalition committed to sustainable development and ambitious climate action through alignment of holistic perspectives from African Chief Executive Officers(CEOs) into the global conversation on climate change.
ABLC comprises of CEOs of 55 African companies, from a diverse range of sectors, representing more than $150 billion in revenue and over 900,000 employees across 50 African countries.
Olusanya noted the key commitments by the ABLC to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and support Africa’s transition to a thriving continent rooted in a green and competitive economy with opportunities for future generations.
He said that the company was aware of the climate emergency and its disproportionate impact on agricultural systems and food security on the African continent.
This, he stated, spurred the need for more action from all stakeholders to solve the climate change impacts.
“Also, as a responsible corporation with a significant footprint in the food and agro-allied value chain, the group believes that the private sector has a critical role to play in addressing climate change impacts.
“FMN is, therefore, committed to building more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems to reduce the adverse impact of climate change on food security.
“For FMN, membership of the ABLC is significant because climate action is critical to addressing the key issues facing the African continent such as food insecurity, water scarcity, and displacement of lives and livelihoods.
“These have been worsened by climate impacts, hence an integrated, consistent, and collaborative approach is required from relevant stakeholders to manage the risks and opportunities associated with climate change.
“The ABLC presents a viable platform to elevate the voice of African private sector and bring African perspectives to global conversations on climate change and pathways to a just transition,” he said.
He noted that FMN for over six decades was at the forefront of driving sustainable development and continued to make significant investment toward local content development.
This, he said, was a key strategic imperative for the group to collaborate with relevant stakeholders and partners to drive our sustainability efforts in Nigeria and across the African continent.
“It is on this mandate that FMN became the first FMCG company in Nigeria to join the ABLC to fight climate change impacts on the African continent,” he said.