A leading energy and infrastructure conglomerate, Sahara Group, has announced the inaugural edition of Asharami Square, a pioneering initiative aimed at advancing the reportage of issues related to sustainability through impactful media advocacy.
The inaugural session is scheduled for Monday, June 24, 2024, featuring an interactive panel discussion in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.
Globally, sustainability reporting in the media has seen significant growth and development, reflecting a broader trend towards transparency and accountability in corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. Increasingly, corporate organisations now disclose their policies and targets related to emissions reduction, resource conservation, biodiversity, and other issues.
Head, Corporate Communications at Sahara Group, Bethel Obioma said it was imperative to support media organisations and journalists covering these issues through capacity building programs.
Obioma said: “This would help journalists achieve a clearer understanding of the issues and empower the media to play the critical role of monitoring, agenda-setting, transparent reporting, awareness creation and galvanising collective action from the public on how best to approach the subject-matter of sustainability.”
Themed ‘Carbon Footprint and the African Narrative’, Asharami Square will feature speakers from the energy and media sector. Participants are drawn from different segments of the media, including students from Mass Communications departments.
According to Obioma, the thought leadership platform will provide an “opportunity to encourage deeper knowledge of the media, especially in Africa, on issues such as energy transition, transition fuels, environmental stewardship, governance, carbon storage, capture, and usage, among others.”
Director, Governance and Sustainability, Sahara Group, Ejiro Gray, noted that Africa’s media institutions would benefit immensely from similar platforms.
She said: “As sustainability issues gain prominence, media coverage helps to educate stakeholders, which can in turn influence corporate behaviour and policymaking. Asharami Square is a targeted platform to shape these conversations on key industry issues, especially for the benefit of the media which serves as the last-mile-component in the value chain of keeping the public abreast of unfolding developments.”
Speakers at the maiden edition of Asharami Square include: Bethel Obioma; Ejiro Gray; Foluso Sobanjo, Head, Downstream Africa, Sahara Group; Wole Ajeigbe, Group Projects Manager, Asharami Energy (A Sahara Group Upstream Company); Mokhtar Bounour, CEO Egbin Power Plc; Ogochukwu Onyelucheya, Chief Commercial Officer, Ikeja Electric; Prof. Sunday Adebisi, Professor of Entrepreneurship Hub & Strategic Management, University of Lagos; ChiChi Aniagolu-Okoye, Regional Director, West Africa, Ford Foundation; Eugene O. Itua, CEO Natural Eco Capital; and Dr. Marcel Mbamalu, CEO Newstide Publications Limited.