By NEWSCOUNT Desk
British American Tobacco Nigeria Limited (BAT Nigeria) has marked the 2026 World Cleanup Day with an employee-led clean-up exercise at its manufacturing facility in Ibadan, Oyo State, reinforcing its commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible waste management.
The exercise, held on September 21, brought together employees of the company who worked across the external environment of the Ibadan factory and adjoining areas, covering the stretch from Tobacco Road to Eagle Flour Mill.
The initiative was led by Alex Genehr, Factory Director, Operations, who said the exercise provided an opportunity for employees to translate the company’s sustainability commitments into practical action while promoting shared responsibility for the environment.
According to him, maintaining a clean environment should not be left to a few individuals, but should be regarded as a collective responsibility involving employees and the wider community.
“World Cleanup Day gives us an opportunity to turn our commitment to sustainability into practical action. Keeping our workplace clean is a collective responsibility, and today’s exercise reinforces the importance of every employee playing a part in protecting our environment,” Genehr said.
He said the clean-up exercise complemented environmental practices already incorporated into the operations of the Ibadan factory, noting that sustainability involved not only major investments and long-term targets but also everyday decisions about resource use and environmental management.
“Sustainability is not only about major investments and long-term targets. It is also about the everyday choices we make, how we manage our resources and how we maintain the environment in which we work,” he added.
The exercise coincided with the 2026 global observance of World Cleanup Day, whose theme is “From Clean Plates to Clean Cities.”
The company said the initiative was part of its broader environmental stewardship efforts at the Ibadan facility, which has maintained Zero Waste to Landfill status since 2021.
The factory has also sustained a 99 per cent waste recycling rate annually since 2024, while making progress in reducing its carbon footprint through a transition from diesel-powered generation to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and the installation of a 1.4 megawatt solar power system.
On water management, the facility is certified under the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard and has achieved more than 45 per cent reduction in freshwater withdrawal against its 2020 baseline.
The factory also operates a closed-loop wastewater treatment and storage system through which treated effluent is recycled and reused. The system supports water efficiency and resource conservation, while the company said the facility has zero wastewater discharge into the environment.
BAT Nigeria said the clean-up exercise demonstrated that environmental sustainability extends beyond investments in technology and infrastructure, stressing the role of employees and communities in maintaining cleaner shared spaces.
The company said combining measurable improvements in environmental performance with practical initiatives such as the World Cleanup Day exercise would help promote a stronger culture of environmental responsibility and resource efficiency around its operations.
