BY NGOZI ONYEAKUSI

The Sustainability Professionals Institute of Nigeria (SPIN) held its inaugural Sustainability Conference on Thursday, August 20, at Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos. The hybrid event brought together sustainability professionals, business leaders, policymakers, investors, financial institutions and other stakeholders to examine how organisations can adapt, remain resilient and create long-term value amid growing uncertainty.
Held under the theme, “The Adaptive Enterprise: Sustainability Strategies for Challenging Times,” the conference explored the evolving role of sustainability in business and the need for organisations to move beyond reporting and compliance towards integration with strategy, governance, risk management, finance and leadership.

The event was chaired by Ismail Omamegbe, who led the Conference Committee in planning and delivering the conference.
Sustainability must reflect Nigeria’s realities
In his opening remarks, Prof. Kenneth Amaeshi, President of SPIN, reflected on the Institute’s development and its growing role in advancing sustainability practice in Nigeria and Africa.

He called for an approach that responds to local realities rather than importing frameworks developed elsewhere.
“Let us not make sustainability another form of imperialism travelling around the world. We must contextualise it to meet our needs.”
Amaeshi noted that while global standards have a role, their application must produce outcomes relevant to Nigeria’s economic, institutional and social context.

The call for contextualisation recurred throughout discussions on regulation, sustainable finance, governance and the application of international standards.
Building enterprises that can adapt
The keynote was delivered by Kolawole Owodunni, Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), on behalf of Aminu Umar-Sadiq, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NSIA.
Owodunni framed the central challenge as uncertainty. Economic volatility, climate change, geopolitical shifts, energy transition, technological disruption and regulatory change, he noted, are influencing how organisations operate, allocate capital and create value.

He argued that adaptability is no longer optional. It is a prerequisite for long-term competitiveness.
“Sustainability can no longer sit at the margins. It must be central to how organisations make decisions.”
Drawing on NSIA’s experience as a long-term investor, Owodunni said sustainability must move into core business decision-making because climate, resource constraints, regulation and social expectations increasingly affect costs, supply chains, market access and investment performance.

He also distinguished resilience as the capacity to recognise change early, make informed decisions and respond effectively.
Sustainable finance and the opportunity in African challenges
Owodunni said sustainable finance extends beyond green bonds to include credible governance, transparent disclosure and robust environmental and social risk management. For African businesses, access to capital increasingly depends on demonstrating measurable outcomes.
He described sustainable finance as using capital more intelligently by blending public, private and development finance to unlock investments at scale.
He added that adaptive organisations also require people, data and systems to translate information into decisions. This means sustainability professionals will need capabilities spanning finance, data, regulation, climate risk, impact measurement and technology, including artificial intelligence.
He challenged participants to view Africa’s structural challenges as markets for investment and innovation, citing opportunities in energy, healthcare, infrastructure and climate resilience.
The conference’s three panel sessions extended these themes.
Panel One: Adaptive Enterprises and Sustainability Strategies for Challenging Time.

The panel featured Marilyn Obasa-Osula, Partner, ESG and Climate Change, PwC Nigeria; Dr. Bekeme Masade-Olowola, Chief Executive of CSR-in-Action; Ibrahim Shelleng, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Climate Finance and Stakeholder Engagement; and Biyi Olagbami, Executive Director, Risk, FirstBank Group, with Prof. Kenneth Amaeshi moderating.
A recurring issue was ownership. Osula cited fragmented responsibilities and the need for board engagement and CFO buy-in.
Shelleng noted policy implementation gaps and ongoing work with the Ministry of Finance and UNDP on a Nigeria-based taxonomy for green investments.
Olagbami said compliance is a baseline, not a competitive advantage, and cautioned against applying international standards without local adaptation.
Dr. Masade-Olowola said the test of ESG integration is “where the money actually goes, how decisions are made, and what people are held accountable for.”
Panel Two: The Future-Ready Sustainability Professional

The panel featured Eunice Sampson, Executive Director and Partner, ESG and Climate Change, Ernst & Young (EY) West Africa, and Chioma Afe, Director of External Affairs and Social Performance, Seplat Energy, moderated by Chinwe Okpala, Global Head, Brand, Mastercard Foundation.
Afe argued sustainability should be treated as risk management and core strategy, not a cost centre. She urged practitioners to be commercially astute and demonstrate business value.
Sampson said leaders will ask: what is the risk, what regulation applies and what is the value? Technical knowledge must be paired with business relevance.

Both speakers called for board-level ownership and for CSR to focus on material issues and measurable outcomes rather than “random acts of kindness.”
Panel Three: Adapting Sustainability Strategies Across Sectors for Greater Impact
The session featured Eustace Onuegbu, Deputy Chair, SPIN Executive Council, and Etemore Glover, CEO, Impact Investors Foundation, moderated by Dr. Mories Atoki (Hon.), Legal Director, SPIN.
Onuegbu distinguished ESG as a measurement platform, while sustainability must be embedded across the organisation and driven from the top. He stressed materiality assessments and adapting global standards to local realities.

Glover said impact investors seek measurable social and environmental outcomes alongside financial returns. She challenged the idea that Africa’s problem is only a lack of finance, citing structural barriers to capital flow, and called for collaboration across philanthropic, patient and commercial capital.
Amaeshi called for greater specificity in measuring social outcomes.
Professionalising the sustainability profession
Dr. Ini Abimbola, Vice President of SPIN, announced the Institute’s push towards chartered status and a formal licensing framework for practitioners, supported by continuing professional development.
“Sustainability is not an addendum. Sustainability is governance. Sustainability is business.”
For SPIN, professionalisation is tied to moving sustainability from a peripheral function into a core organisational discipline.

From conference to action
Across the discussions, key themes emerged: sustainability must be contextualised to Nigeria while aligned to global standards; embedded in strategy and governance; owned at board level; and backed by professionals with capabilities in finance, strategy, data and risk.

The inaugural conference provided a platform for these conversations, supported by FirstBank, IHS Towers and Seplat Energy.
For SPIN, the event marks the start of a broader agenda to shape sustainability practice in Nigeria. The task now is to translate these ideas into board decisions, investments, policy and professional development.