… Cement, Sugar, Salt Units also won individual awards.
The Dangote Group, Africa’s leading conglomerate, was awarded the Overall Most Responsible Business at the 16th edition of the Sustainability, Entrepreneurship, and Responsibility Awards (SERAS) held at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki area of Lagos State.
Three of the conglomerate’s subsidiaries also won awards at the event, including Dangote Cement for the Best Company in Reporting and Transparency, Dangote Sugar Refinery for the Best Company in Food Security, and Dangote Salt for the Best Company in Gender Equality and Women Empowerment.
The awards won by the Dangote Group highlight the company’s focus on sustainability across its various business units and operations in Africa. The group has promoted alternative fuel usage, energy management systems, circular economy, waste management processes, and women and youth empowerment, among other initiatives.
The SERAS Awards are Africa’s leading sustainability and corporate social responsibility awards. Over 1,242 entries have been submitted since the awards began in 2007, with 93 entries submitted for the 2020 edition. This year’s event saw 98 institutions participate from seven African countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa.
In her address at the awards ceremony, the Executive Director of TruCSR/The SERAS CSR Awards Africa, Mary Ephraim, said that “CSR and sustainability have gone through their evolution. From philanthropy (the era of being back) to CSR (the era of giving back) to sustainability (the era of going back) and now to circularity (the era of bringing back).” She added that the focus of the awards has shifted from leaving a befitting world for future generations to ensuring their survival.