Reiterates commitment to stewardship goals
The Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) has urged the Federal Government to pay attention to water sanitation beyond revenue generation and to also look at things that could sustain the environment.
The NBC National Environment Manager, Temitope Ogunrinde, who stated this at the event to commemorate the World Water Day, said the company was open to partnership with government and other stakeholders to ensure sustainable water supply.
He stated that water is an essential part of daily life, and it’s crucial to sustain supply to prevent water insecurity, particularly, in high-risk areas.
Besides, in line with its commitment to promote water sustainability, the firm reaffirmed its commitment to water stewardship goals.
It advocated social responsibility towards water use in celebration of the 2023 World Water Day.
The NBC, which marked the day, with the theme, “Accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis,” organised events across its plants in the country, including community outreach initiatives, symposiums and lectures aimed at raising awareness on the importance of water conservation.
The Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director, Ekuma Eze, noted that the company is dedicated to sustainable water management.
Eze highlighted the company’s commitment to demonstrating its initiative towards responsible water usage and educating the public on the importance of preserving water as a shared resource.
He said: “We are aware that water is a vital ingredient in our products. As a result, we are dedicated to using water in ways that are environmentally sustainable, and economically advantageous in the communities where we operate. In our facilities, we put ourselves to the test by setting too ambitious goals for how to cut the amount of water we use to make our beverages.”
He added that NBC, in the last five years, hadmade noteworthy progress in its efforts to minimise its water consumption, achieving an 18 per cent reduction in its water use ratio.
“In the previous year, the amount of water abstracted from the environment was reduced by 4 per cent, with 1.5 billion litres of water released back into the environment in a condition suitable for aquatic life. The organisation has implemented measures to recycle the water it extracts, with 192 million litres (four per cent) of water reused in 2022.
“NBC has donated 22.5 million litres of water back to its host communities, underscoring its commitment to sustainable water management practices,” Eze said.
Ogunrinde said: “Water is very key to us, we need to get water that’s the best for our products, that suit our products, we realize that by sourcing from those best sources, we know that we are taking down the environment, so we have to make sure that we are sourcing in a very responsible way.
“In terms of sourcing, we have to make sure we are able to monitor what we are sourcing, we are able to properly ensure the quality of the sourcing is also maintained. When we take out of the source also, we have to ensure that we are conversing the water, before that, we have to treat it to a quality that is able to be portable for our processes and also suitable for our products, so we have to take through a very rigorous treatment process.”
