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The Sustainability Professionals Institute of Nigeria (SPIN) has inducted 79 new members during its Cohort 6 ceremony in Lagos, marking a major step forward in professionalizing sustainability practices across the country.
The event drew professionals from various industries alongside major corporate players, including Access Bank, ARM, Dangote Cement, FirstBank, IHS, OANDO, and SEPLAT Energy. Their participation highlighted a growing corporate alignment toward evidence-based practices and collaborative leadership.
This year’s theme: “Effective Corporate Governance as a Core Sustainability Pillar – Leading the Change,” underscored a critical shift in the industry: sustainability is no longer just a reporting or compliance exercise, but a core governance imperative that must shape organisational strategy.
Delivering the keynote address, Professor Emmanuel Adegbite, Chairperson of SPIN’s Scientific Committee and Professor of Accounting and Corporate Governance at the University of Nottingham, challenged the inductees to move from simple compliance to true stewardship.
He noted that African markets cannot merely clone Western governance models, but must build frameworks tailored to local institutional realities.
Addressing the audience, SPIN Vice President Dr. Ini Abimbola emphasised the need to protect the integrity of the profession. “Today we reinforce our position as the fastest-growing community of sustainability advocates on the continent,” she said, while cautioning that the space is increasingly being diluted by unqualified practitioners.
Reflecting on the institute’s rapid expansion, SPIN President Professor Kenneth Amaeshi noted that the organisation has grown from seven founding visionaries in August 2019 to over 400 members today. “Sustainability is a movement. It is a mindset, not a box-ticking exercise,” Amaeshi stated.
To anchor its growth, SPIN has established a strategic partnership with the UK’s Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (ICRS) and is currently advancing legislation before the National Assembly to achieve chartered status. The institute also announced plans to launch an annual sustainability conference to further cement its position as the primary authority on sustainability practice in Nigeria.
