Sera Awards - Batn Wins Sustainable Reporting Prize

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Lagos, Oct 08, 2009 (This Day/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- BTI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The challenge of effective management of relationships between organisations and their stakeholders have been an issue in corporate circles. Whilst most companies have claimed that they adequately interface with their stakeholders for positive, well intentioned engagements, they have sadly not been able to get credible authorities to substantiate their claims based on material evidence.

This however, is not the case of British American Tobacco Nigeria, a company that has not only shown determination to demonstrate that a tobacco company can be responsible, but also set high standards of good social conduct.

At the 2009 Edition of the Social Enterprise Reports and Awards, the company took home the award for the Best Company in Sustainability Reporting.

Oluwasoromidayo George, Area Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, BATN expressed delight at the recognition. She stated, "We are glad to have won this award. Social reporting is at the heart of our CSR programme and we have worked hard at it since 2003."

She also highlighted the company's commitment to a continuous stakeholder engagement. She stated, "We will continue to engage stakeholders and focus more on materiality, which we think is very important in our reporting process."

Ken Egbas, Managing Partner, Tru Contact, organizers of the awards stressed, "BATN has shown high level of stakeholder engagement and feedback which has also been very consistent. BATN has been producing quality sustainability reports over time and it has become part of the corporate practice and not just a one-off response to external stimuli. The report also covers a wide range of stakeholders including employees."

According to the organisers of the awards, the criteria for assessing winners include: Evidence of serving real needs - response to stakeholder needs and relevance to stakeholders, innovative programming, long term sustainable impacts, spread of the impact and the percentage of the income spent on the process.

The company raised the bar for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Nigeria in 2003, by blazing the trail in sustainability reporting. The BATN Foundation, the instrument for its community development efforts.

The Foundation's activities have four focal areas, Sustainable Agricultural Development, Sustainable Environmental Protection, Sustainable Portable Water Supply and Vocational Skills Development.

The BATN Foundation has completed project in all but 2 states across Nigeria and the choice of these projects have been results of extensive dialogue with its stakeholders.

Other aspects of BAT's CSR framework are responsible tobacco growing, corporate social investment and youth smoking prevention.

In a recent media interview, the Area CSR Manager highlighting the fact that companies have to take a cue from the BATN to be more responsive to the needs of their different stakeholders.

She also stated that this action has economic implications. "CSR can contribute to development in so many ways. You can take it from different dimensions;

The award was received on behalf of the BATN by, Oluwasoromidayo George; Area Head of Communications, Ade Adefeko; Ejemen Okogie, Area Head of Talent, BATN and Gbenga Ibikunle, Executive Director, BATN Foundation.

"For instance the issue of tax evasion is one of grave concern - paying accurate taxes, so in this instance if we got all businesses both small and big to pay tax, then we would have more money to develop different sectors, if we all complied with environment laws, going above the local norm, we will add tremendously to the fight against global warming," she stressed.

The processes in Social Reporting include; internal scoping and preparation, stakeholder and issues mapping, dialogue with stakeholders, understanding stakeholder expectations, identifying gaps between current practice and stakeholder expectations, preparing, communicating and implementing reports.

The company follows the AA1000 Standards and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) in the reporting and the process is verified by an independent verifier, Bureau Veritas.

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