Managing Director of Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL), Dr. Amy Jadesinmi, featured prominently at the recent Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she discussed her role on the Global Commission of Sustainable Development.
Hosted by the government of Denmark, the was attended by representatives from 3GF partner countries; namely China, Ethiopia, Kenya, The Republic of Korea and Mexico along with representatives from new partner countries Chile and Vietnam. More robust participation at the summit was made by decision makers from 37 different countries across the public and private sectors along with civil society. Over 450 high-level delegates attended the event including representatives from 68 private companies.
Dr. Jadesinmi’s presentation focused on the need to proliferate a new social contract. She premised her presentation on the experience of LADOL over the last 10 years, emphasising that her company was developed in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), even before they existed.
According to her, “we prove that private sector can derive significant profits while achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by pursuing opportunities in growth markets like Nigeria and West Africa.
“SDGs have been part of LADOL’s DNA for a decade, our success comes from the fact that we private invested in building capacity to service a clearly defined and drastically underserved US$ 200 billion market in West Africa.
“Respecting and empowering local communities and civil societies is one of the first things investors should do to identify and tap into these opportunities – even the poorest people in the world will invest in healthcare and education given the option, in many cases they are paying for these things already – the role of government and NGO’s is to facilitate and define opportunities, the role of private sector is to execute and sustain.”
She also posited that “SMEs and other companies in high growth markets need to do their part to attract investment by being Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliant and better quantifying the private sector opportunities they have identified.”
The 3GF platform which acts as an accelerator made a global commitment to advancing green transformation at speed and at scale.
Jadesimi serves the Global Commission for Sustainable Development as one of its 31 commissioners. The Commission is chaired by Lord Mark Malloch-Brown.
The opening plenary session which featured Dr. Amy Jadesinmi had other panellists including Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark, Mr. Tran Hong Ha, Minister for Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam, Inger Andersen, Director General, The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), Niels B. Christiansen, CEO, Danfoss, Connie Hedegaard, panel moderator and Chair of Board of KR Foundation and CONCITO and Karmenu Vella, the European Union Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
The 3GF2016 summit Charter of Action include a call for the creation of an international Sustainable Infrastructure Registry, Promotion of Sustainable Lifestyles, Transition to a New World of Energy, Use of Natural Resources, a call for deeper collaboration on sustainable use of water across Africa, Latin America and Asia and the call for a multi-stakeholder platform to examine the consequences of water pricing.
