Sahara Group, a leading energy and infrastructure conglomerate, has unveiled its comprehensive plan to transition into a net-zero business entity by the year 2060. The commitment was revealed by Ejiro Gray, the Director of Governance and Sustainability, during the presentation of Sahara Group’s 2022 sustainability report, titled “Energising Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Development.”
Gray emphasised the company’s dedication to aligning its operations with greener and cleaner energy solutions, outlining the development of an Energy Transition Plan. This plan encompasses short- to long-term actions aimed at reducing the operational carbon footprint, with the ambitious goal of achieving net zero status by 2060.
Speaking on Sahara Group’s global impact, Gray highlighted that the plan would extend across operations in upstream, midstream, downstream, power, and infrastructure sectors spanning over 42 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The net zero initiative is envisioned to provide evidence-based insights into mitigating, reducing, and eliminating operational emissions, setting ambitious yet achievable targets for operational efficiency.
To support these efforts, Sahara Group conducted a thorough Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions audit across its businesses for the 2019-2021 period. Gray explained that this audit established baseline data for scope 1 and 2 emissions, enabling transparent analysis, tracking, and control of environmental impact. The collected data will inform ongoing efforts to mitigate environmental risks in alignment with the Energy Transition Plan.
The 2022 sustainability report encompasses critical information regarding environmental, social, and corporate governance impacts resulting from Sahara Group’s operations throughout the year. This includes detailed insights into various sectors such as upstream operations (Asharami Energy), midstream operations (Sahara Trade), downstream operations (Asharami Synergy), and power generation and distribution (Egbin Power, First Independent Power Limited, Ikeja Electric). Additionally, the report provides an overview of the Sahara Group Foundation, the organisation’s social impact vehicle.
Gray expressed gratitude for the trust placed in Sahara Group’s commitment to sustainability, acknowledging the challenges faced in 2022. The integrated approach in the report consolidates disclosures across the entire group, documenting performance across four sustainability pillars: Principles of Governance, Planet, People and Prosper