Zenith Bank partners IPP to generate renewable energy, reduce carbon emission
Zenith bank is one corporate entity that has taken its activities beyond the banking hall and has adapted a strategy aimed at reducing emissions in it operations areas and to also reduce global warming.
As a major financial services institution, energy is highly material to its business and it source of energy is the national electricity grid. However this is highly supplemented by the use of fossil – powered generators, owning to unstable supply in the country.
It is however planning to partner with independent power producers (IPP) to generate its own renewable energy
Besides the high cost of fossil fuel the banks says it is aware of it harm on the environmental . “The burning of fossils fuel remains one of the highest sources of greenhouse gas emission with it attendant global warming and climate change implications”.
The bank says it is therefore committed to mitigate this risk by running energy efficiency operations bank wide. “To this end, we have adopted energy efficiency policies and environmentally responsible practices across our branches network.”
The bank targets to reduce its total energy consumption by 40 per cent by 2020 and further down to 40 percent by 2025. As part of the measures to achieve this target , it planned to shut down business operations in it branches and head office for two hours earlier that it currently do. From the recent cost/ benefits analysis, this will save for it between 8 and 13 per cent of its current energy consumption.
According to the bank in its 2015 Sustainability report which is titled ’Nurturing People and Planet’ said as an emerging global brand, Zenith Bank is committed to limiting its overall negative environmental footprints.
It explained that using 2015 as its base year, its goal is to cut emission by 20 per cent by 2020. It hope to achieve this by increasing the use of renewable energy it its energy mix, upgrading it business processes for enhanced efficiency, deploying energy efficient technologies, and ensuring that it effectively capture , measure and monitor emission from all business office and subsidiaries.
One of the steps currently being taking by the bank includes the retrofitting of its light fittings with energy saving LED bulbs and fluorescents in order to optimise it energy plans. Presently 37 branches of the bank branches no longer use modular fitting with high wattage bulbs and fluorescents. “Our goal is to ensure that 60 per cent of our branches are retrofitted for energy saving by 2017 and 100 per cent by 2020”
Plans are also in place to install eco-friendly, energy efficient air conditioners. It has also installed gas power generators sets in the head quarter of the company with plans to replicate this in all branches. In addition to saving cost, this will also reduce the level of carbon emissions and pollution.
Zenith Bank since inception has been a technology- savvy brand. It had pioneered the use of several banking technologies in the banking industry and promise to continue to use state of the art solution to deliver optimal, customised banking experience and products offering.
Parts of the banks emission remedial strategy include migrating to the use of low carbon, hybrid and energy efficient vehicles, phase out all diesel powered vehicle from its fleet. Just as it promises to patronize only low emission, energy efficient and noise proof electricity generators and completely phase out use of generators as soon Nigeria’s generations and distribution improve.
Olusola Bello