Dangote Cement Unveils New Sustainability Report, Adopts GRI, NSE Guidelines

Dangote Cement Plc (DCP), the largest listed company on The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the leading cement conglomerate in Africa, has released its 2018 Dangote Cement Sustainability Report, outlining its sustainability initiatives, activities and achievements during the 2018 financial year.

The report was unveiled on Thursday, 30 May 2019, at the maiden edition of ‘Facts Behind the Sustainability Report’ (FBSR), an interactive forum created by The Nigerian Stock Exchange to further promote Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance and reporting among listed companies in Nigeria, in line with its newly introduced NSE Sustainability Disclosures Guidelines

Dangote Cement Plc, Nigeria’s biggest indigenous company, aims to make the culture of sustainability a business imperative through its 7-Pillar approach to Sustainability, called “The Dangote Way”. 

With major operations in three locations in Nigeria and across 14 African countries, the organisation is enhancing its positive impact on the economy, environment and society through an integrated approach that mainstreams sustainability across the entire business. This process includes publishing its maiden GRI-Standards compliant sustainability report.

DCP is also committed to aligning its operations with the group-wide sustainability vision, driven by its 7 Sustainability Pillars, through extensive engagements with internal and external stakeholders. The 2018 DCP sustainability report is structured according to these Pillars and covers the financial and non-financial performance in four countries, namely Nigeria, Ethiopia, Senegal and South Africa. 

By aligning with the 7 Pillars (institutional, cultural, operational and environmental, economic, social, financial), the cement giant ensures that every aspect of its business is run in line with global sustainability principles; thereby embedding sustainability – beyond issues of risk management and compliance – in its day-to-day business operations.

Speaking during the event, Group Managing Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Engr. Joseph Makoju said, “we have identified and are leveraging sustainability to drive regulatory compliance, proactive risk management and building trust and goodwill in the countries, markets and communities where we operate.”

The Chief Executive Officer of the NSE, Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, OON, said “better ESG reporting is key to strengthening capital markets and achieving a sustainable global economy. The Exchange is strategically positioned to influence the adoption of globally recognised sustainability standards by Nigerian businesses and we continue to highlight the importance of sustainable business practices in delivering value to our listed companies and investing public to support economic growth”.

“To consolidate our efforts of partnering listed companies to create value through reporting, we are happy to launch the NSE Facts Behind the Sustainability Report to facilitate more meaningful engagement between investors and listed companies on ESG risks and opportunities. We welcome the Executive Management of Dangote Cement Plc for the maiden edition of FBSR to brief the investing community on details of their first ever stand-alone sustainability report. It is our belief that this giant step taken by DCP will encourage other listed companies, especially those on the Premium Board, to come for their FBSR at The Exchange. This will provide them the platform to showcase their efforts in sustainability and corporate governance as well as address investors’ requirements on ESG issues”, added Onyema.

In a goodwill message delivered at the event, the Group Managing Director, Dangote Industries Limited, Olakunle Alake stated that “at Dangote Group, the vision of the business from the outset is to create value for all stakeholders and positively impact and transform the economies where we operate. This is what we call ‘The Dangote Way’. If our experiences in the last three decades are anything to go by, we can say with utmost confidence that this sustainable business model has been a win-win. Our people and economy-centric approach to business has no doubt been the fact behind the great success that the Dangote business story has become, and the anchor on which our continued growth, expansion and longevity is anchored.”

DCP’s performance in the institutional pillar in 2018 shows a consistent focus on upholding corporate governance that is in line with global best practice and evolving regulations in its different markets.

In the year under review, DCP aligned its 7 sustainability pillars with global principles and standards including the United Nations Global Compact, IFC Performance Standards, Global Reporting Initiative, SEC Code of Corporate Governance, NSE Sustainability Disclosure Guidelines, Global Cement and Concrete Association, Nigeria Code of Corporate Governance 2018 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

On DCP’s cultural pillar, 2018 saw tremendous progress in efforts to build a workplace where diversity, equality, values, ethics, rule of law and active staff involvement are nurtured. According to the Group Chief, Sustainability, Dangote Industries Limited, Dr. Ndidi Nnoli, “the Dangote Sustainability Approach is built around the 7 Pillar Methodology which prioritises Compliance Assurance and involves extensive stakeholder engagement. In 2018, beyond our global peer review, we carried out a comprehensive employee survey which targeted a diverse group of 1170 employees across twelve countries. Through this survey, we objectively identified the main topics that Dangote Cement employees considered to be material to our business. In 2019, we’ve extended our engagement to include external stakeholders.”

Dangote Cement’s pilot Sustainability Week was held in September 2018 with over 500 employees in about 6 countries involved in community development projects.

DCP’s performance in the operational and environmental pillars showed progress in its commitment to innovation in production processes and standards, particularly in Operational Health and Safety. With a distribution chain of over 500 super-distributors and 7,000 sub-distributors, DCP controls Nigeria’s largest supply chain, making the company a major contributor to local content. Also in 2018, 57% of DCP’s procurement were from local contractors, vendors and suppliers.

Likewise, DCP is committing more resources to its continuous improvement strategy, in line with growing concerns about energy efficiency, resource optimisation, circular economy, extended producer responsibility, carbon emissions and climate change. In 2018, DCP won the SERAS Award for best company in Supply Chain Management, one of the key indicators under its operational pillar.

In addition, DCP also enhanced its economic and social impact in 2018, with over N1.4 billion new investments in social projects and nearly 1,000 students benefitting from Dangote scholarships in its Nigerian operations alone.

The organisation is building lasting relationships with host communities, enhancing their socio-economic wellbeing and sustaining its social license to operate. The cement giant also continues to improve on its health and safety standards in the workplace and in local communities as well as its investments in human capital development.

To ensure data integrity, DCP engaged the services of several consulting firms, including Deloitte Nigeria, Deloitte Poland, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and the Global Reporting initiative (GRI) in the validation of its sustainability report.

The economic impact calculations of the report were done by Deloitte; external assurance provided by PwC, while GRI provided certification for the materiality disclosures. DCP is among the first few Nigerian companies to receive this materiality certification from the world’s most utilised sustainability reporting framework, GRI.

Agencies