Among the winners of the 2022 “CSR Meetings” in Benin is ODD TV in the “Media” category. The new Cotonou-based online TV channel was awarded by the consulting firm MinDo Consultants for its news magazines and other digital productions that aim to promote initiatives to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
The jury chaired by Léon Anjorin Koboudé, the associate director of MinDo, also awarded the prize in the “Civil Society” category to the Agency for the Promotion of the SDGs, headed by Razak Oba from Benin, as well as to the association Engagement action sociale. Prior to the event, which took place on 30 September 2022, this platform initiated a clean-up campaign at Fidjrossè beach in partnership with the European Union (EU) delegation in Cotonou.
CSR at the service of the SDGs
The West African Development Bank (BOAD) received the “Trophy for the promotion of CSR”. The financial institution, whose headquarters are in Lomé, Togo, has financed several initiatives contributing to sustainable development in Benin, including the Rainwater Sanitation Programme for Secondary Cities (PAPVS), implemented since 2021. With a total cost of 20 billion CFA francs (30.4 million euros), this project is in line with the MDG 6 on water and sanitation.
At the same time, the Beninese authorities recently created the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations and Activists for the ODD Citizen Watch as part of the National Development Plan 2018-2025. This plan also allowed the adoption of the CSR Charter under the impetus of the National Employers’ Council (CNP) of Benin.
In this West African country, several companies have focused their CSR approaches on sustainable development, in particular the preservation and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems, as recommended in MDG 15. This is the case for the subsidiary of the French group Bolloré Transport & Logistics, which in July 2022 planted 3,000 trees in the locality of Togbin-Adounko near Cotonou where its facilities are located. This initiative will contribute to the reconstitution of Benin’s forest cover, as the country lost 215,000 hectares of land between 2007 and 2016, according to the World Bank.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi