Recovering 100% packaging material for recycling on course – NBC

Mr Matthieu Seguin, the  Managing Director, Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd. (NBC) says the company’s plan to recover 100 per cent of its primary packaging for recycling by 2030 is in progress.

Seguin, in a statement issued on Friday on the 2022 NBC Stakeholders’ Forum in Lagos, said that the company’s clear climate action plans and initiatives had ensured that good progress be made toward making the vision a reality.

He, then, urged stakeholders in the manufacturing sector to embrace sustainable manufacturing across their operations as a tool to mitigate the impact of climate change in Nigeria.

Seguin said that NBC, a strategic bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company in Nigeria, recently unveiled a roadmap to renewable energy transition in the manufacturing operations.

“This move is coming on the heels of a series of steady investments made by the company toward sustainable manufacturing to achieve our set target of net zero emissions by the year 2040.

“This is in addition to our vision for a World Without Waste where we have committed to recover 100 per cent of our primary packaging for recycling by 2030.

“Our commitment to the environment is total. However, we recognise that the goals we have set for ourselves are by no means easy.

“We, therefore, need all our stakeholders on board with us on this journey to make the desired change that will positively impact the environment and make a difference,” he said.

He said that the 2022 forum presented another opportunity for all stakeholders to jointly interrogate the theme: “Combating Climate Change Through Resource Efficiency,” to co-creating sustainable solutions to the challenges of climate change.

Seguin said that the theme would allow for a deeper reflection of the endless possibilities that existed in combating climate change.

“It is my expectation that we will come out from this forum with strong recommendations and action points that will galvanise a collective action toward mitigating climate change through resource efficiency,” he said.

In his remark, the Minister of Environment, Mr Mohammed Abdullahi, commended the contributions of the company toward environmental sustainability, particularly its ambitious targets to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040.

Abdullahi, who was represented by Dr Salisu Dahiru, Director General, National Council on Climate Change, said that the target was 10 years ahead of several others, including that of the Federal Government.

“For Nigeria, the target for net zero is to be achieved by 2060 and for NBC to come up with these ambitious targets means a lot of investments and changes in its technology, approach, and resource utilisation.

“This is a big plus for the company and I believe there are opportunities for other companies and industrial magnates to tow this line.

“This forum, being the third edition, shows that NBC is not only committed to talking about the climate change discourse but is also taking actions in a sustainable manner.

“The climate change challenges are enormous and require participation by every sector. We are glad to see the steps being taken by NBC and we hope to continue to partner and increase our collaboration to make more progress,” he said.

In his keynote address, Dr Newton Jibunoh, Founder, Fight Against Desert Encroachment (FADE), said that collaboration among relevant stakeholders was crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change in the country.

“I must commend NBC for hosting this stakeholder’s forum at a time when half of the global community is experiencing the debilitating impact of climate change.

“I urge that we must continue to collaborate and make efforts, no matter how little, to address this issue. We must all start taking the needed actions today,” Jibunoh said.

Speaking on “Plastic Recycling: A Key Contributor to Mitigating Climate Change,” Mr Desmond Majekodunmi, the Chairman, Lekki State Urban Forest and Animal Shelter Initiative, said that the issue of plastic pollution should be taken more seriously.

Majekodunmi said that by 2050, there would be more plastic in the ocean than fish and such plastics were affecting the incredible miraculous structures that had been in place for eons.