Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (FMN), Nigeria’s leading food and agro-allied group and owner of the ‘Golden Penny’ brand, has reiterated its commitment to sustaining its drive for Nigeria’s food self-sufficiency with the release of its 2021/2022 sustainability report.
The report, titled, ‘Building a Sustainable Future, Scaling Impact,’ provides insights on how the Group has been driving Nigeria’s food self-sufficiency in an impactful and transformative way while developing local content.
It describes the Group’s performance in relation to stated sustainability goals for the period under review, which are housed under four key strategic pillars of governance, social, financial and environmental factors, called FMN ‘Tropos.’
On the Group’s governance commitment, the report noted that the leadership of the company entrenched adherence to best practices and principles, while its social commitment prong was being mindful of its impact in the areas of diversity and inclusion, labour and working conditions, occupational health and safety and customer health and safety.
The report added that FMN’s financial commitment addressed the economic value created for local communities across Nigeria and progressively across the continent while its environmental commitment highlights the Group’s activities in actively reducing the negative impacts of its operations on the environment.
The Group’s Managing Director, Mr Boye Olusanya, commenting on the report, said, “Our consistency in developing the Group’s sustainability report is a testament to our commitment toward running 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.”
The report highlighted other areas of improvement in the Group’s sustainability drive to include alignment with United Nations SDGs, funding of education and empowerment of students across states in Nigeria, increased customer satisfaction rate, Information Security Management System (ISMS) certification, among others.
The report stated, “As a responsible organisation that is committed to sustainable development, 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 increases in its economic value generated, distributed and retained, an attribute that increased from N706.7 billion in financial year (FY) 2021 to N1.108 trillion in FY 2022.
“The Group’s investment in developing local content through procurement and backward integration continues to increase. During the reporting year, the total amount paid to suppliers rose from N552.5 billion in 2021 to N649.9 billion.
“During the reporting year, FMN partnered with World Connect in funding the education and empowerment of students across different states in Nigeria. Various students received grants for a variety of entrepreneurship and vocational skills.
“Following FMN’s effective supply chain strategies, the Group received the Sustainability, Enterprise and Responsibility Awards (SERAS) for the best company in supply chain management during the 2020/2021 financial year.
“The Group recycled 2,068 MT and 780 MT 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 organisation 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.
“FMN did not receive any fine or penalty for non-compliance with established product safety and quality regulations and standards agency within the reporting year.
“The group, through Flour Milling Association of Nigeria (FMAN), 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.”
. TheWitness
