Absa Botswana has challenged local companies to emulate global giants and some local entities who are rolling out innovations aligned with global ESG values.

Citing a local initiative, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ ( BUAN) agrivoltaic plant, Absa Botswana Chief Executive Officer, Keabetwe Pheko- Moshagane implored companies to embrace ESG.

Agrivoltaic is a concept that combines food production of both crops and livestock under the shade of solar panels and production of photovoltaic electricity.

“One can easily see the efforts made by the institution in its attempts to harness the abundant Botswana sunlight to generate clean and renewable energy. This is what other players in the country are encouraged to emulate,” said PhekoMoshagane, speaking at the first Botswana Transport and Energy, Summit & Expo 2023. The BUAN agrivoltaic plant exploits the state- of- the- art technology of a single axes tracking system that allows for sun tracking and a much higher sun harvesting ratio compared to standard fixed units.

Pheko- Moshagane warned that implementing and embedding ESG demands significant investment in time, as well as human and financial resources.

“However, the investment is worthwhile

as it creates value for the organisation. Not only that, if done at scale across the entire economy, the benefits outweigh the costs,” said Pheko- Moshagane.

She further implored companies in Botswana to embrace ESG linked standards, citing that Absa’s approach is informed by global best practice.“We will continue evolving as the market develops. We are currently adopting the Integrated Reporting Framework for non- financial disclosures and the International Financial Reporting Standards for financial reporting and disclosure.” She further said whatever companies disclose or report on should be safeguarded, “It is critical to safeguard against greenwashing, which is the act of making false or misleading statements about the environmental benefits of your organization’s product or practices.

“On the contrary, some organizations are green hushing, choosing not to share about their accomplishments. I foresee this being an issue in Botswana as our culture does not encourage us to blow our own trumpet.

Within Setswana culture there are teachings that encourage modesty,” said Pheko- Moshagane. However, she said ESG has been part of Botswana’s culture. “We have always taken care of our environment, and this is why today as a country we are one of the best tourism destinations,” said Pheko- Moshagane, adding that Botswana is one of the countries highly regarded when it comes to good governance.