It is inherent for human beings to go after more conquests after winning some battles. Sometimes we do this at the expense of celebrating what we have accomplished over time.
One such area is sustainability. Over the last years, Kenyan businesses have made tremendous achievements in continuity through bold investments and even bolder decisions. While we are not where we want to be, we are obviously not where we were 10 years ago.
So what boxes have we ticked in our quest for sustainability? I have observed the following transformations in the last 10 years I have been in this domain:
Customers have become more aware of the need for sustainable products. In Kenya, young buyers, especially, are demanding to know how their beer was made, what impact the manufacture of their bread had on the environment. How does the company treat its workers?
Consumers are no longer an idle element at the end of the equation. Instead, they are an important component in the decision-making process of businesses.
In the last decade, the government has become more deliberate about tightening and enforcing environmental regulations.
With the establishment and strengthening of bodies such as the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) to guide businesses on pollution control and how to relate to the environment and resources, it has become imperative for them to operate responsibly and within a context of accountability.
Financing for sustainable development has become of age, especially after the Addis Ababa Sustainable Finance Conference in 2015. In addition, efforts for sustainable development have become universal with the introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals of 2015.
Before then, sustainable development was nearly a remote concept that many Kenyan businesses struggled to wrap around their heads. Not so today. With the ratification by the government, the 17 SDGs are very much part of our socio-economic fabric.
Kenyan companies, big and small alike, think of good health and quality education, clean water and sanitation and gender diversity, for instance, not as secondary goals but as their primary responsibility.
Consequently, many companies are providing clean water to communities where they operate and others offering scholarships to empower children from marginalised communities.Today, sustainability is a critical metric for success, with local companies reporting on it alongside their financial performance. In this regard, market leaders Safaricom PLC #ticker:SCOM , Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) #ticker:KCB and the East African Breweries Limited (EABL) #ticker:EABL have shown the way in an impressive fashion. Lately, more companies […]
