NMG, TBL in new deal to mitigate climate change

Dar es Salaam. Nation Media Group and Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will see awareness raised on initiatives to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The agreement signed yesterday at Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL), a subsidiary of NMG in Tanzania, formalises TBL’s commitment to bring awareness to its initiatives towards achieving its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which have been embedded into its business strategies.

As per the MoU that was signed by the MCL Managing Director, Mr Bakari Machumu, and his TBL counterpart, Jose Moran, the brewer will partner with series of public and professional events to develop awareness of climate change and the importance of a deeper analysis of the possible impacts of the scourge to connect citizen science communities in Africa as a whole.

“The MoU is the first step the business has taken towards establishing full compliance and practices to the SDGs which are important for sustainable revenue streams, guaranteeing operational excellence and developing strong management frameworks,” said TBL’s country director, Jose Moran.

To solve the world’s biggest challenges such as climate change and inequality, Mr Moran noted, “We understand that the business community must play a critical role and act now to create a sustainable, diverse, and inclusive society which leaves no one behind.”

For his part, Mr Machumu, recalling the Cop 26 agreement in Glasgow, commended TBL for having taken a lead by walking the talk and promised that NMG will participate in creating awareness.

“What this partnership brings through the East Africa Newspaper and its social media and online platforms and by extension The Citizen newspaper bringing content to the local environment is awareness that would mitigate climate menace,” he said.

“So, we want to tell these stories and inspire others that if TBL has done this, why don’t you also follow suit? We will have the experts here who would come up with different forms of telling these stories by even talking to those whom you are working with to bring another perspective on the same.”

With the MoU in place, TBL will further bring awareness to its commitment to transition its operation to 100 percent renewable electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent across its value chain…

Following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommendation, they noted, in March 2018 the business set science-based targets that are in line with reductions required to keep warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

TBL says it’s committed to reducing absolute Scopes 1 and 2 greenhouse emissions by 35 percent by year 2025 as well as increase annual sourcing of renewable electricity from seven percent in 2016 to 100 percent by 2025…

According to the company, logistics including upstream and downstream distribution, represents around 8.9 percent of AB InBev’s global greenhouse gas emissions, which come from the burning of petrol, diesel and other fuels in all forms of transportation.

“As part of our commitment to reduce our emissions by 25 percent, we look to reduce our emissions from logistics and transportation through route optimization to reduce fuel usage and the use of alternative fuel vehicles, the latter of which we have piloted across all our zones,” said Mesiya Mwangoka, director Legal and Corporate Affairs at TBL.

Through its strategic plan, the company estimates it will eliminate over five million tons of CO2e across its value chain by 2025