By Yemi Olakitan
The Federal Government has ordered banks and telecoms companies to conduct environmental audits in their respective fields in order to safeguard the environment and get rid of toxic waste.
It said that toxic waste from the impacted organisations was increasing and that representatives from the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, banks, and telecommunications corporations attended a meeting earlier this week in Lagos.
This was told by Prof Aliyu Jauro, Director-General of the Federal Government’s NESREA, to our correspondent in Abuja while the group was presenting its first National Environmental Compliance Award.
We talked with banks and operators in the telecommunications sector, he said. These two industries have an effect on the environment as a result of their operations.
When we discuss the telecommunications sector, we also discuss radiation’s impact on human health, including its role in diseases like cancer. They also create other types of garbage, including electronic waste. He also mentioned how wasteful banks were with their usage of technologies like computers, ATMs, generators, and printers. NYSC website
Therefore, it is necessary for them to make sure that everything that is outdated is transported to the proper location, Jauro continued. These trash can be turned into something useful thanks to our collectors and recyclers.
In one way or another, the banks and telecommunications firms destroy the environment by using diesel-powered generators that release toxic gases into the air and cause global warming. The director of NESREA highlighted that most businesses do not keep their generating facilities in good condition. He claimed that when repairing their generators, they frequently experience oil leaks. Over time, the oil seeps into the water below and contaminates the drinking water. When such water is eaten by people or animals, a terrible tragedy results, according to the JAMB webpage Jauro.
Therefore, we contacted the banking and telecommunications companies because their operations have an influence on the environment. Some of them have complied with our request for them to begin performing environmental audits. The purpose of the meeting was for us to gather and inform them of the importance of others following suit in order to protect the environment.
In the meantime, Jauro said that between 2012 and 2022, NESREA carried out environmental compliance monitoring on more than 8,122 corporate facilities as required by national regulations and sealed 269 businesses for a variety of environmental breaches.
