By Sam Otuonye
In a bold effort to build a safer, greener, climate-resilient, and sustainable transmission network while supporting Nigeria’s development, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has launched an Environmental Sustainability Charter.
The maiden event tagged, TCN Environmental Sustainability Week 2026, promises to be an annual programme to ensure environmental accountability amid transmission networking.
The charter launched on Monday, September 7, 2026, in Abuja, with the theme, “Powering Nigeria Sustainability: Advancing Environmental Stewardship, Climate Resilience and a Circular Economy Principles,” brought together policymakers, environmental regulators, industry experts, development partners, academics, and other stakeholders to chart a sustainable future for Nigeria’s power transmission infrastructure.
The Honourable Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, who unveiled the charter, urged TCN to make waste prevention, resource reuse, recycling and environmentally sound disposal of materials central to its corporate operations.
The minister, who was represented at the event, said climate change was no longer a distant threat but a reality already affecting Nigeria and its critical infrastructure.
He noted that recent extreme weather events had demonstrated the urgency of integrating climate resilience into national infrastructure planning.
“Climate change is not a distant event; it is an event that has already caught up with us,” the minister said.
He commended TCN for demonstrating what he described as a strong commitment to integrating environmental sustainability into Nigeria’s infrastructure development architecture.
According to him, while reliable electricity remains indispensable to economic development, the construction and operation of transmission infrastructure could have significant environmental and social consequences, including vegetation clearance, biodiversity loss, waste generation, pollution, displacement and loss of livelihoods in host communities.
He said such impacts must be properly identified and managed throughout the lifecycle of transmission projects.
The minister stressed that TCN must incorporate climate risk assessments, adaptation measures and resilience considerations into the planning, design, construction and operation of its transmission infrastructure.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Environment remained committed to collaborating with TCN in advancing climate-resilient infrastructure in line with Nigeria’s Climate Change Act of 2021 and the country’s national and international climate commitments.
The minister particularly urged the transmission company to embrace circular economy principles by reducing waste and optimising the use of available resources.
“TCN should, as a matter of priority and corporate responsibility, promote waste prevention, resource reuse, recycling, resource recovery and environmentally sound disposal of materials such as metals, chemicals, batteries, transformer oil and construction materials,” he said.
He explained that such measures would help reduce pollution, conserve natural resources and improve efficiency in the management of materials used in the power sector.
The minister also called for stronger collaboration among government agencies and stakeholders to ensure that infrastructure development minimises its impact on the environment and ecosystems.
He said appropriate mitigation, restoration and, where necessary, compensation measures must be implemented whenever vegetation clearance or environmental disturbance could not be avoided.
The Minister welcomed the Environmental Sustainability Charter and urged TCN to ensure that its implementation was backed by measurable targets, clearly defined responsibilities, effective monitoring and reporting mechanisms and continuous improvement.
He said the successful implementation of the charter could transform TCN’s organisational culture and make environmental sustainability an integral component of its operations.
Also speaking, the Assistant General Manager, Environment, Mrs. Comfort Sako, in her overview of the charter described environmental sustainability as no longer optional but a strategic imperative for the Transmission Company of Nigeria.
She said the maiden Environmental Sustainability Week represented a historic milestone and demonstrated TCN’s collective resolve to place environmental sustainability at the heart of its core operations.
According to her, sustainability would be integrated into electricity transmission planning, project implementation and the company’s daily operations and maintenance activities.
“As we work to expand and modernise Nigeria’s electricity transmission network, we carry a profound responsibility to ensure that our infrastructure is developed in a manner that protects the environment, conserves natural resources and strengthens climate resilience,” Sako said.
She explained that TCN’s goal was to safeguard biodiversity and promote the well-being of employees, host communities and future generations.
Sako said the 2026 edition was particularly significant because it combined activities marking World Earth Day and World Environment Day through a unified corporate platform.
According to her, sustainability would be integrated into electricity transmission planning, project implementation and the company’s daily operations and maintenance activities.
“As we work to expand and modernise Nigeria’s electricity transmission network, we carry a profound responsibility to ensure that our infrastructure is developed in a manner that protects the environment, conserves natural resources and strengthens climate resilience,” Sako said.
She said participants would engage in technical presentations, policy dialogues, tree planting exercises, environmental sanitation and sustainability demonstrations during the week.
She added that the programme would promote stronger environmental compliance, enhance institutional capacity and generate practical recommendations for future transmission projects.
“Most importantly, this inaugural edition lays the foundation for institutionalising this week as an annual corporate event, ensuring that environmental excellence becomes part of our organisational DNA,” she said.
In his keynote address titled “From Outages to Resilience,” the Managing Director of Natural Eco Capital, Dr. Eugene Itua, stressed the need for Nigeria to adopt a new approach to infrastructure development and power sector management.
Itua said sustainability required meeting present development needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
He said the theme of the programme was timely, particularly as Nigeria continues to expand and modernise its electricity infrastructure.
According to him, development that ignores environmental sustainability could ultimately harm the environment and undermine long-term national progress.
He argued that Nigeria could not build a resilient electricity system by merely responding to failures and repairing damaged infrastructure.
“Outages are not the problem; they are symptoms,” Itua said.
“Nigeria cannot repair its way to resilience if we ignore the conditions that cause the failures.”
He called for a shift from reactive maintenance to innovative and long-term solutions that address the underlying causes of infrastructure failures.
Itua advocated an integrated approach that combines climate considerations, finance, social outcomes and technical performance within a single accountability framework.
He said such an approach would provide a common language for engineers, policymakers, investors, financiers and other stakeholders involved in Nigeria’s electricity sector.
He maintained that sustainability could transform Nigeria’s power sector from what he described as a source of recurring challenges into a platform for long-term solutions and investment.
The Charter is standing on nine-point agenda: protect the environment, build climate resilience, manage Right- of-way responsibly, promote a circular economy, apply environmental and social safeguards, protect health and safety, engage stakeholders, ensure compliance, and build capacity.
