SBL launches 2024 sustainability report: Championing inclusion and diversity
Shabnam Mallick, the UN Resident Coordinator (center), SBL Managing Director Obinna Anyalebechi (far right), and SBL Board Chairman Paul Makanza (far left) at the launch of the Serengeti Breweries Ltd (SBL) sustainability report, with the company's employees and partners standing behind them at the event held in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, October 31
What you need to know:
- The report highlights SBL’s ongoing commitment to fostering an inclusive environment where people from diverse backgrounds can thrive, with a focus on breaking barriers and driving positive impacts across communities, suppliers, and partners.
Dar es Salaam. Serengeti Breweries Limited (SBL) officially launched its 2024 Sustainability Report themed Championing Inclusion and Diversity on Thursday, October 31, 2024.
The report highlights SBL’s ongoing commitment to fostering an inclusive environment where people from diverse backgrounds can thrive, with a focus on breaking barriers and driving positive impacts across communities, suppliers, and partners.
SBL operating the East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has earmarked adequate resources to invest in the community under their Spirit of Progress – an ESG action plan that envisions sustainable communities where they serve.
The event gathered hundreds of stakeholders who conversed on how to enhance collaboration to advance gender equality and economic empowerment in Tanzania by addressing salient challenges, opportunities, and policy interventions.
Shabnam Mallick, head of the Resident Coordinator’s Office at the UN Resident Coordinator Office honoured the event and shed light with her global perspective on the dialogue, underscoring the importance of partnerships, policy interventions, and collective action in advancing gender equality as a pillar of economic empowerment and sustainability in any organization.
She said, “I am pleased to see the great strides SBL has made in promoting gender equality and supporting women in leadership roles. I am also pleased to see that the company also has targets for spend on diverse suppliers, and that it is tracking this spend. This is being intentional, and these efforts are vital to achieving our long-term sustainability goals and ensuring that our progress is shared by all.”
SBL Managing Director, Obinna Anyalebechi, expressed the company's ongoing impact on inclusive growth and the economic empowerment of underrepresented communities in Tanzania, stating, “Our Inclusion and Diversityefforts reflect our commitment to empowering marginalized groups, including women, children, and persons with disabilities, to fully seize socio-economic opportunities. I am proud to report that nearly 40% of our farmer-partners this year were women and persons with disabilities who grow sorghum, a key ingredient in our beer production. Thanks to our partnership with Sightsavers, we have supported over 200 women and persons with disabilities in the Singida Region, helping them to grow sorghum for subsequent supply to SBL”.
The SBL Board Chairman, Paul Makanza, emphasized the strategies being used to ensure sustainability reports drive economic development in Africa.
He said, "When women have equal opportunities, economies grow, families thrive, and community’s advance. Closing the gender gap in Africa could add $316 billion to our economy by 2025. That is growth. And this is an area where SBL is committed to being more involved."
The report further outlines SBL’s strategic initiatives focused on removing barriers that hinder participation and advancement, particularly for women and people with disabilities. These initiatives, in alignment with SBL’s broader ESG commitments, contribute to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
