SPIN urges firms to make sustainability core strategy

The Sustainability Professionals Institute of Nigeria (SPIN) has urged Nigerian companies to integrate sustainability into their core business strategies rather than treating it as a separate reporting and compliance function. At the institute’s inaugural Sustainability Conference in Lagos, SPIN President Prof. Kenneth Amaeshi emphasized that sustainability frameworks should be tailored to Nigeria's unique economic and institutional context, rather than simply replicating standards from other markets.

The conference, themed 'The Adaptive Enterprise: Sustainability Strategies for Challenging Times', gathered business leaders, policymakers, investors, financial institutions, and sustainability professionals to explore how companies can maintain resilience and create long-term value amidst economic, climate, and regulatory challenges.

SPIN Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer, Kolawole Owodunni, stressed during his keynote that companies are operating in an environment of economic volatility, climate change, geopolitical tensions, technological disruption, and regulatory change, making sustainability no longer a marginal issue but a core component of corporate decision-making.

Investors are increasingly considering sustainability as part of commercial risk, impacting costs, supply chains, market access, and company value. The shift towards sustainability also necessitates a skilled workforce capable of managing financial, regulatory, data, climate-risk, and impact measurement aspects, as well as understanding emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.

SPIN plans to pursue chartered status and establish a licensing framework for sustainability practitioners, supported by continuous professional development.