Waste and ESG Essentials for All Staff

About this course

Every workplace makes waste, and every worker decides many times a day where it goes. This course explains in plain words what waste is and why it matters for health, flooding and cost, what ESG means and why employers, banks and buyers ask about it, which Nigerian rules apply, how to sort at source, what each material is worth to a recycler, how waste links to climate change, and how your everyday actions and reports show up in your organisation's ESG figures. It is written by a working Nigerian recycling company that collects, buys and sorts these materials every day.

Who it's for: Every employee in a Nigerian company, bank, government agency or NGO, from cleaners, drivers, security and front desk staff to officers, supervisors and managers. No technical background is needed.

What you'll be able to do

• By the end you will be able to explain what waste is, name the main types found in Nigerian workplaces and describe how poor handling harms health, causes flooding and costs money.
• By the end you will be able to explain ESG in plain words, say why employers, banks and buyers care about it, and name the main Nigerian bodies and policies that govern waste.
• By the end you will be able to sort waste at source, recognise which materials are recycled in Nigeria and explain what makes them worth more or less to a recycler.
• By the end you will be able to describe how dumps, open burning and generators add to climate change, explain Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and judge whether a net zero claim is honest.
• By the end you will be able to choose simple daily actions for your role, report a waste or pollution problem correctly and show how your records feed your organisation's ESG report.

Course outline

1. Module 1: What waste is and why it mattersAbout 10 minutes
   1. What counts as waste, and where it goes
   2. Why it matters: health, flooding, burning and cost
   3. Check your understanding
2. Module 2: ESG and the rules, in plain wordsAbout 10 minutes
   1. What ESG means and why it matters to your employer
   2. Nigeria's waste rules in brief
   3. Check your understanding
3. Module 3: Sorting at source and what is worth recyclingAbout 10 minutes
   1. Sorting at source
   2. What is recyclable in Nigeria and what it is worth
   3. Check your understanding
4. Module 4: Waste and climate basicsAbout 10 minutes
   1. How waste and generators add to climate change
   2. Scope 1, 2 and 3, and net zero honestly explained
   3. Check your understanding
5. Module 5: Everyday action, reporting and how it countsAbout 10 minutes
   1. Everyday actions at work and at home
   2. Reporting a problem
   3. How your actions show up in the ESG report
   4. Check your understanding

Standards and frameworks covered

• National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) regulations, including its Extended Producer Responsibility programme for packaging
• National Policy on Solid Waste Management
• National Policy on Plastic Waste Management
• State environmental protection and waste management agencies
• Producer responsibility organisations such as the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA)
• Climate Change Act 2021 (Nigeria)
• Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles (Central Bank of Nigeria and the Bankers' Committee, 2012)
• IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures, with the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria's phased adoption roadmap
• GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and Scope 3 Standard
• GRI 306: Waste 2020
• ISO 14001 Environmental management systems and ISO 45001 Occupational health and safety management systems
• Child Rights Act 2003 and ILO Conventions 138 (Minimum Age) and 182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour)