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By Josfyn Uba
Orevaoghene Atanya is an accomplished management executive and a leading voice in Africa’s sustainability landscape. With over a decade of experience, Orevaoghene who wears many hats has become a sought-after Board Advisor and Consultant, helping leaders navigate the complexities of the circular economy, sustainable finance, and social impact.
As the Director of the Sustainability Centre at Lagos Business School (LBS), she sits at the intersection of academia and industry, driving the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into the core strategies of organizations across the continent.
Beyond the boardroom and the classroom, Orevaoghene serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations focused on youth development and environmental conservation. A certified communications specialist, she is widely recognized for her ability to translate complex sustainability concepts into actionable community-driven storytelling and high-impact policy advocacy.
In this interview with Daily Sun, Oreva expresses cautious optimism about the 2030 SDG deadline but noted that climate change impacts and the recent geopolitical conflicts and wars pose a dangerous treat that can erode the gains made towards a more sustainable, fair and inclusive economy, social system and world.
We are just four years away from the 2030 SDG deadline. Are you optimistic about where women stand in the global sustainability agenda?
I am hopeful but cautiously optimistic. The global agenda for sustainable development has dependencies that are beyond any particular group in society or government, or countries. Climate Change Impacts and the recent geopolitical conflicts and wars pose a unique and dangerous treat because these can erode a lot of the gains made towards a more sustainable, fair and inclusive economy, social system and world. However, even if all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are not attained by 2030, we can review, learn from what has happened and chart a new way forward. In particular, I am optimistic about the Africa Agenda 2063, which is aligned to the SDGs but more in line with the needs and priority areas in African communities, economies and countries. The sustainable development journey is not just about 2030, it’s about building new systems in our work that will bring about more sustainable economic, social, and environmental outcomes in the long run.
As we move deeper into 2026, we are seeing a shift from “reporting” sustainability to “executing” it. What practical changes should businesses be making this year to stay relevant?
Sustainability is entering an era where stakeholders are expecting corporate ‘accountability’, and they care more about the impact (financial and non-financial) of the wonderful sustainability disclosure documented in sustainability reports. This is driven partly by regulatory pressure but also the maturity and coordination in sustainability/ESG codification and standardization, especially with the alignment of non-financial performance (E and S) with financial performance and risks. Therefore, if a business is practicing ‘sustainability’, the leadership of the business (the board and chief executives or even an individual entrepreneur, as is the case with a lot of SMEs in Nigeria) have to understand the materiality issues of the business and integrate the management of those issues in the business strategy and goal setting. The tone at the top should say ‘we understand our sustainability issues and this is how we involve every part of the business to manage and contribute to the company’s goals’.
Research shows that when we give women resources, we gain innovation.
Can you share a project where a woman-led initiative outperformed traditional methods because of a more inclusive approach?
Yes, studies like UN Women (2024): Facts and figures: Economic empowerment and International Monetary Fund (2024): Chapter 9: The Impact of Women’s Empowerment on Human Capital confirm the postulation which is evident even in everyday interactions that women have a ‘multiplier effect’.
From student projects I have supervised to development projects targeting economic growth and wealth creation I have seen first-hand that team that have a healthy mix of males and females and also people of different background (academic and socio-economic) often produce outstanding results. While I can’t share the specific organisation but I will try to give you a description of the project.
An FMCG company decided to build the micro-trading and retail business run by women into their value chain in a way that the company directly supported female run retail micro business by providing them with goods and a line of credit for the purchase of the company’s goods. This led to unprecedented amount of sales and levels of penetration their products especially in hard to reach (rural) areas.
A little seed funding, support for store set up and a few products to start with and the female entrepreneurs running microbusinesses in both urban and rural areas expanded their corner stores into shops and significantly improved the welfare of the immediate family. When the product they sold were related to issue like nutrition or hygiene we also saw a significant uptake in community acceptance and the improvement in health outcome of the customers and community as well.
We often hear about global climate goals. What are the most pressing sustainability challenges you see right now in our local context, and how are women uniquely positioned to solve them?
From my research work in this area and the findings and propositions of other scholars and practitioners I would put the top five sustainability challenges in Nigeria and similar contexts in Africa as – Youth Unemployment, Energy Poverty, Climate Change Impacts, Environmental Pollution and Natural Resource Degradation. These issues are complex and require long term commitment to an agile but clear development agenda with participation of government, businesses, development organisations, civil society and even media.
The theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026 is “Give To Gain”, which emphasizes the power of reciprocity—the idea that when we invest in and “give” to women (through resources, mentorship, and opportunity), the entire community “gains.”
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How does this philosophy resonate with your Work in sustainability?
The idea that giving leads to gains for the one who has given/invested does resonate with me and my work in sustainability. In my work I spend a significant amount of time engaging with businesses and their leaders on the value that sustainability brings to their business, society and the environment.
This idea of ‘Give to Gain’ is central to the idea of business, enterprise and commercial endeavors, just that we usually think of gain only a financial returns or profit. However ‘gain’ is not just financial, its good will, strong brand, investor confidence and equity, social improvements, natural resource replenishment and rejuvenation etc in the case of sustainability and business but similar to the agenda for IWD this year to highlight the gains that we can attain be being a more inclusive society.
In what ways has “giving” back to your community or industry helped you “gain” as a leader?
In so many ways, let me share this example which is a strong passion area for me – Giving to youths and investing in young talent in Nigeria. As the co-convener of the Naija Youth Sustainability Forum (NYSF) an initiative which we started in 2022, I have seen gains in young people finding their ‘why’ and using the platform we built to turn that ‘purpose driven why’ into business venture, social projects, NGOs etc. The gain may not look like a direct benefit to me but I see the jobs and solutions these young people are creating and other people and communities they create positive impact for and its so fulfilling and encouraging.
Can you recall that moment that led you to pursue a career in sustainability, and how you have navigated being a woman in a field that often intersects with male-dominated sectors like energy and construction?
I grew up in Warri, Delta State which is in the Niger Delta region and so I experienced first-hand the contradictions of positive and negative impacts that came with a booming oil and gas industry. I saw the lives of individuals and families transformed through jobs, wealth creation, social investments like hospitals, schools, educational scholarships and at the same time the presence of the companies that brought such good also brought gas flaring, oil spills and unprecedented damage to the environment and the livelihoods of people in communities.
It bothered me so much that while I was in business school in the United Kingdom I decided that my Masters Dissertation was to explore these issues comparing global best practices with the reality of business practices in Nigeria. I am privileged that that passion actually found expression in a profession as a sustainability executive, board advisor, consultant and academic. It has been an awesome journey and I am excited for the future and how my work can continue to shape what happens in industry and in the area of development and philanthropy aimed at sustainable development outcomes.
Who was the woman who “gave” to you early in your career, and how are you paying that forward to the next generation of female sustainability practitioners?
I have had the privilege of having support and empowerment from men in my career and my personal life. I would like to acknowledge and thank them because indeed I got to stand on the foundations and systems they built. In my personal life, my father, Chief Engineer Emmanuel Agajere, and my spouse, Barrister Victor Atanya,
In my career, there have been so many people who ‘gave’ to me as mentors, sponsors and encouragers, in particular the past and current Deans of LBS Professor Chris Ogbechie, Professor Enase Okonedo and Professor Yinka David-West and senior colleagues like Prof Kemi Ogunyemi, Mr Ismail Omamegbe.
I have gained so much from others before me and I love mentoring young people and early career professionals. I have served as a mentor with Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR) over the years and outside of that, in my job role, I have also directly mentored current and past staff of Lagos Business School, early career sustainability officers in sectors like telecommunications, banking, and manufacturing. It’s always a fulfilling experience to support other having been privileged to have support from those before me.
For a young girl reading this and wants to “save the world,” what is the first step she should take?
Start with your own world/immediate environment; it’s the perfect training ground for doing something impactful at scale and in the limelight someday. I am inspired by the story of King David in the Bible. He was a young shepherd at a time, but he learned to care for and protect the sheep under his care. He protected them from a lion and from a bear.
It’s not so surprising that he was used to protect a nation from an enemy. I would advise young girls to start solving problems at home, at school, in their immediate communities. You will make some mistakes, but learn from them. You will discover skills and talents that come naturally to you, and those are pointers to areas you can invest in learning and formal training to become an expert and leader in the future.
If there is one thing you want the government and private sector to “give” to women this year to ensure a sustainable future for all, what would it be?
I think government and private sector are doing a lot for women even though there is room for improvements. I would want political leaders across parties and community groups to take action on inclusion in the composition of leadership candidates for the 2027 elections. We could have every ticket have gender balance of one male and one female. Government and the formalized private sector have increasingly adopted policies aimed at gender equity, reduction for gender based discrimination etc. It would be great to assess the impact that these practices have contributed to efficiency, revenue growth, industrial and civil service productivity, improved organisational culture and even our nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
