Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (FMN), a leading food and agro-allied group has adopted four key strategies to drive a sustainable food security plan in Nigeria.
Through its sustainability commitments, the group is working around governance, social, financial, and environmental factors to tackle varying challenges hampering food accessibility.
The management said it has entrenched adherence to best practices and principles within the scope of the company’s governance, according to an official statement provided to Businessday.
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Within its social commitments, it is targeting broad impact in the areas of diversity and inclusion, labour and working conditions, occupational health and safety, and customer health and safety.
Boye Olusanya, the Group’s managing director, said these goals have led to its consistent development of a sustainability report as proof of its commitment to fostering a transparent and people-driven business.
“As we create value for our stakeholders and investors, it has become a key imperative for now and in the future to deepen our commitment toward local content development as we understand that sustainable growth is driven by the principle of self-sufficiency and sustenance,” Olusanya said.
He said the company conducts its business operations in a way that guarantees the sustainability of the natural ecosystems while preserving them for the benefit of the present and future generations.
FMN’s financial commitments address the economic value created for local communities across Nigeria and progressively across the continent while the organization’s environmental commitment highlights the group’s activities in actively reducing the negative impacts of its operations on the environment, he said.
He noted that key environmental elements like greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, land use and ecological sensitivity, and solid waste were duly analysed and reported.
In its 2021/2022 sustainability report released titled ‘Building a Sustainable Future, Scaling Impact’, viable insights on how the group has impacted and transformed food self-sufficiency in Nigeria while developing local content are highlighted.
The report describes its performance in relation to stated sustainability goals for the 2021/22 reporting period.
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Highlights
FMN has developed and implemented a comprehensive sustainability strategy that is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and core ESG domains of governance, planet, people, and prosperity as well as the Nigeria Exchange Group’s (NGX) sustainability disclosure guidelines.
Over the last three years, the group has recorded increased economic value generated, distributed, and retained, increasing from N706.7 billion in 2021 to N1.108 trillion in 2022.
Its investment in developing local content through procurement and backward integration also grew. During the reporting year, the total amount paid to suppliers rose from N552.5 billion in 2021 to N649.9 billion.
FMN partnered with World Connect to fund students’ education and empowerment across different states in Nigeria. Various students received grants for a variety of entrepreneurship and vocational skills.
Following FMN’s supply chain strategies, the group received the Sustainability, Enterprise, and Responsibility Awards (SERAS) for the best company in supply chain management during the 20/21 financial year.
The Group recycled 2,068 metric tonnes and 780 metric tonnes of packaging materials across its, Morpack Lagos and Kano offices respectively and as a testament to its commitment to environmental compliance, six sites within the Group renewed their Environmental Audit Reports (EAR) during the financial year.
During the reporting year, FMN obtained ISO 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS) certification making the Group the First indigenous FMCG organization in Nigeria to have obtained the certification.
In a customer satisfaction survey carried out in FY 21/22 on the quality of our flour products, 97 percent of FMN’s customers were satisfied with the quality of the products, with 80 percent rating the products either as excellent or as very good.
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FMN did not receive any fine or penalty for noncompliance with established product safety and quality regulations and standards agency within the reporting year.
The group through the Flour Milling Association of Nigeria recorded a significant increase of 251 percent in the number of wheat farmers during the financial year, and a new record for the highest yield of wheat from a female farmer was also recorded.
There was the continuous expansion of operational sites and capacity to support the development of Nigeria’s food and agro-allied sector and foster shared value creation.
Also, responsible farm-to-table practices highlighted the group’s investment in product quality and process innovation.
