Broadcasting
World Environment Day 2024: AstraZeneca Highlights Commitment to Tackling Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss
In recognition of World Environment Day 2024 under the theme; ‘land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience’, AstraZeneca has highlighted its commitment to tackling climate change and biodiversity loss—two of the most pressing challenges of our time.
Aligned with the UN Environment Programme’s call to action for #GenerationRestoration focused on three priorities: reviving lands, ending desertification, and securing water, AstraZeneca through the AZ Forest reforestation programme and comprehensive water stewardship initiatives is enabling the interconnectedness of environmental health and human health, fostering resilience against climate change, improving air and water quality, and supporting biodiversity.
By 2030, AstraZeneca aims to plant and maintain 200 million trees across six continents through AZ Forest. This global project, which focuses on agroforestry, regraded agricultural land, and natural forest restoration, collaborates with local people and landscape restoration specialists, and is made to optimize the co-benefits of reforestation, which include lowering the risk of natural disasters, promoting sustainable livelihoods, strengthening climate resilience, and safeguarding biodiversity.
Deepak Arora, Country President, African Cluster at AstraZeneca, said, “At AstraZeneca, we recognise that the well-being of our planet is fundamentally connected to the health of its inhabitants.
“Our dedication to environmental sustainability in Africa, exemplified by projects like AZ Forest and our comprehensive water stewardship efforts, goes beyond tree planting and water conservation. It’s about nurturing resilience and enhancing the quality of life of the communities we serve.
“This World Environment Day, we are proud to stand alongside local partners and communities to protect our environment and ensure a healthier, more sustainable future for everyone.”
In Ghana’s Atebubu and Sene West districts, AstraZeneca is partnering with the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance and New Generation Plantation Technical Assistance to restore over 8,000 hectares of degraded land. By the end of 2023, 23 communities were engaged, and over 3.8 million trees were planted. This community-led project aims to plant 4.7 million trees and includes environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis to monitor freshwater biodiversity impacts.
Towards protecting the water basins, AstraZeneca is committed to enhancing water quality, promoting efficient use, and safeguarding ecosystems. We are working with local communities to identify shared challenges such as water scarcity, pollution, and habitat loss.
Through these collective efforts, we aim to enhance water security and resilience against climate-related impacts. So far, we have implemented rainwater harvesting systems and constructed wetlands to improve water quality and availability for local communities.
These efforts are part of our broader commitment as members of the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), where we actively participate in advancing good water stewardship practices across our sites.
We are working closely with our industry peers to craft a pioneering Roadmap to Nature Positive tailored specifically for the pharmaceutical sector. This roadmap is designed to expedite business involvement and initiatives aimed at achieving the overarching societal objective of nature positivity. By providing sector-specific guidance, our collective efforts seek to drive tangible progress and ensure a sustainable future for both the pharmaceutical industry and the environment.
AstraZeneca’s initiatives in global reforestation and water stewardship reflect our commitment to environmental sustainability. Through these collaborative efforts, we are actively contributing to the preservation of our planet. By nurturing partnerships and leveraging innovative solutions, we are forging a path towards a greener, healthier future for generations to come. Let us continue to unite in our mission to restore and safeguard our environment, ensuring a brighter tomorrow for all.
Broadcasting
Why your business needs unified data analytics for growth and success
By Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head, Zoho Nigeria
Most business leaders will agree that data analytics is a strategic necessity today. Without access to comprehensive data and effective ways to interpret it, organisational decision-makers may find themselves relying solely on intuition while navigating unfamiliar roads in the dark. Gut-based decisions can occasionally lead to success, however, those wins are often more coincidental than a reflection of true strategic insight.
More than 90% of the businesses derive benefits from data analytics strategies
A robust data analytics solution enables businesses to transform raw data into organised, actionable insights across numerous functions. They can span CX—helping personalise interactions based on an analysis of individual preferences and behaviours, growth strategies—allowing teams to identify distinct customer segments basis emerging deal patterns, post-sales support—enabling quick response times by analysing ticket allocation systems and discerning gaps, and so on. It’s no surprise, then, that nearly 92% of organisations reported measurable value from their data and analytics investments in 2023.
Unfortunately, many organisations fail to derive full value from their data analytics strategies. One of the reasons for that is analytics systems not having a full view of what’s happening across the company owing to data silos.
Information silos can affect the quality of data insights
There are numerous reasons why an organisation can end up with fragmented or siloed data, but a key factor is the existence of different tech platforms across various departments. Use of disparate tools for different functions can lead to decentralised management of data. For instance, while the sales team might know how many units of a product a customer has purchased, they may have no visibility into how quickly the customer pays their invoices or how many interactions they’ve had with marketing and communication collateral before making a purchase.
There are other data issues that businesses face too. Among them is poor data quality. This can be caused by manual data collection practices that often yield inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and redundancies. Poor data quality forces businesses to spend a lot of time and resources on cleaning up, which further prolongs the analysis process. The best approach to solve these issues is to digitalise and unify data sources with the right tech platform that interconnects all departments.
The right software matters
Fortunately, with the right software, achieving a unified view of data becomes much simpler. Effective data analytics software will bring disparate data points together and make analysis easier. To do this effectively, the software should provide native integrations with a diverse array of data sources, including local files, feeds, databases, and business applications.
Beyond that kind of integration and unified view, what should organisations look for in business analytics software?
First, it should be accessible to all users—whether they are business users, data analysts, data engineers, or BI specialists—ensuring ease of use and value for everyone. The software should also offer pipeline builders, be compatible with other forms of software, support streaming analytics, deliver real-time insights, and provide unified metrics.
In addition,the software must evolve with a business’ changing data analytics needs. This means supporting features like generative AI analytics, predictive AI, and machine learning capabilities. The ability to trigger actions based on alerts and pipelines, connect to niche business apps, and integrate multiple BI and data analytics tools will further enhance its benefits.
Ultimately, the software should demonstrate clear value by reducing manual effort and streamlining processes, handling large datasets efficiently, and delivering cost and time savings.
The data’s there; now bring it together
Given the clear benefits that good data analytics software offers businesses, embracing it should be a no-brainer. Most organisations already sit on a treasure trove of data; it’s simply not being put to effective use. A unified data analytics software can change that by bringing together disparate data points and providing a consolidated view with actionable insights. Implemented correctly, those insights can supercharge a business’s growth trajectory.
Broadcasting
King Shipping Felicitates with Aluo, NNL Chairman as He Bags Sports Administrator of the Year Award
A leading shipping company in the country, King Shipping Trading Maritime Services Limited has congratulated the Mr. George Aluo, chairman of Nigerian National League ( NNL), on his nomination for the Sports Administrator of the Year Award by the Imo State Chapter of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria ( SWAN).
In a congratulatory message he personally signed, the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the company, Bob Chukwuma Hyacinth, the company described Aluo as a Sports administrator per excellence whose nomination for the award did not come as a surprise to anyone. ”
The award to Mr. George Aluo, is well deserved and did not come to us as a surprise considering the various transformation he has brought to the country’s second tier League within a short period of time of being n charge of the league. ”
As he receives this award, we urge him not to relent in his efforts at making the NNL a household league in the country but to see it as a call to more meritorious service to the country”, concludes the statement by the company whose operations covers Ship Chandelling, Ship handling and repairs, supply of Diesel, commodities , beverages , shipping logistics, clearing and forwarding. Meanwhile, the company has also congratulated the wife of the Managing Director Mrs.Loretta Bob-Chukwuma on her birthday.
In a congratulatory message, the CEO described her as his pillar of success and prayed that God Almighty will continue to clothe her with garment of blessing, and good health ” I also want to use this occasion to congratulate my wife who is a year older today.
She has been the pillar of my success and I pray that the Almighty God will continue to bless her, clothe her with garment of blessings and good health as well as give her long life and prosperity to celebrate many more years in good health.”
Broadcasting
Northern Broadcasters Sue Arewa 24, 7 Others over Licensing
Board of Trustees of the Northern Broadcast Media Owners Association (NBMOA) has filed a lawsuit against the broadcast company Arewa 24 Limited and seven other entities, alleging they are operating without proper licenses.
The case, set for hearing before Justice Omotosho at the Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), lists the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council (FCCPC), MIPAN, MultiChoice, StarTimes, and ADVAN as defendants.
In a statement issued in Abuja, Alhaji (Dr.) Ahmed Tijjani Ramalan, chairman of the NBMOA Board of Trustees, highlighted concerns that the unlicensed operations of the defendants pose a threat to Nigeria’s established legal and competitive media landscape, impacting media owners and audiences nationwide.
Ramalan stated, “Our objective is to ensure a fair, regulated media environment in line with established broadcasting standards, while maintaining a commitment to the rule of law.”
The NBMOA affirmed its commitment to lawful broadcasting standards and noted that it would refrain from further public comments until the legal proceedings are concluded to respect the judicial process.
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s broadcasting industry are closely watching the case, as its outcome could have significant implications for media regulation and licensing across the country
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