Sustainability is not only about finance or risk management but an issue that should be part of every conversation within a business, Ini Abimbola, DBA, FSPIN, Founder, ThistlePraxis and Vice President of the Sustainability Professional Institute of Nigeria (SPIN), has said.
Abimbola made the remarks at the recently held SPIN 2026 Conference at Eko Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos, where she challenged sustainability professionals and businesses to see sustainability as a core part of how organisations operate.
According to her, sustainability is not an addendum to business but the way businesses will operate going forward.
“Nobody is going to come by the sidelines and tell us that sustainability is only about finance, that sustainability is only about risk. It is an encompassment of every conversation that every business must have,” she said.
She said SPIN is currently at a critical point in defining the sustainability profession in Nigeria, stressing that the institute is determined to lead the conversation around how the practice should develop.
Abimbola said sustainability is governance and business, adding that Nigeria’s sustainability conversation should be led by professionals and practitioners who have worked in the field for years.
She said SPIN does not want to remain on the sidelines of national and global sustainability discussions, noting that the institute wants to be at the forefront of conversations around sustainability in Nigeria.
She also called on sustainability professionals whose organisations are not yet part of the movement to join the effort, saying the conversation would change significantly by the end of the year.
According to her, SPIN is working towards becoming a chartered institute, which she said would be a major turning point for the sustainability profession.
“Once we become chartered, we will state how this practice will be run,” she said.
She further explained that there would be a distinction between being a sustainability professional and being a practitioner.
Abimbola said the institute plans to introduce a practicing licence for sustainability professionals, similar to the system applicable to some other professions.
She explained that practitioners would be expected to maintain their professional development through conferences and training, adding that the validity of a practicing licence would depend on meeting the required conditions.
She also questioned the growing involvement of professionals from other sectors in sustainability leadership roles, particularly the idea of marketing and communications professionals becoming Chief Sustainability Officers without being recognised as sustainability practitioners.
According to her, sustainability practice requires proper professional training and licensing.
The SPIN Vice President said the institute had taken time to organise its first national conference because it wanted to properly consider how the event should be structured and how the sustainability profession should be represented.
The conference, themed “The Adaptive Enterprise: Sustainability Strategies for Challenging Times,” brought together sustainability and ESG professionals, C-suite executives, financial institutions, government regulators, development organisations, entrepreneurs and students.
The event also featured a keynote address delivered on behalf of Aminu Umar-Sadiq, Managing Director and CEO of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), by Mr. Kolawole Owodunni, Executive Director of NSIA.
The keynote address focused on the growing uncertainty facing businesses and the need for organisations to adapt.
It noted that economic volatility, climate change, geopolitical shifts, energy transition and technological disruption are changing how organisations operate, how capital is created and how value is created.
The keynote speaker stressed that adaptability is becoming a requirement for survival and long-term competitiveness, while sustainability must move from the margins to the centre of organisational decision-making.
The conference also featured three panel sessions.
The first panel, “Sustainable Finance as a Catalyst for Resilient Growth,” examined the role of sustainable finance in supporting resilient businesses and development.
The second panel, “The Future-Ready Sustainability Professional: Skills for Navigating Volatile Times,” focused on the knowledge and capabilities sustainability professionals need to influence business decisions and navigate changing conditions.
The third panel, “Adapting Sustainability Strategies Across Sectors for Greater Impact,” examined how businesses can strengthen sustainability strategies and create greater impact across different sectors.
At the close of her remarks, Abimbola expressed appreciation to participants for staying through the conference and described the event as a dream come true for SPIN.
She also appreciated organisations that supported the conference, particularly FirstBank, IHS and Seplat, describing them as institutional members that had supported the institute and demonstrated their belief in its work.
She thanked the institute’s members, conference team and participants for their support, while stressing that the conference was only the beginning of what SPIN intends to achieve in defining and strengthening sustainability practice in Nigeria.
