Johnvents Group launches environmental charter to strengthen ESG compliance, sustainable cocoa operations
Johnvents Group embeds sustainability into operations with a new Environmental Charter, advancing ESG compliance, cocoa traceability, and food safety standards across its agribusiness value chain.
NIGERIA – Johnvents Group has launched its Environmental Charter, marking a significant step toward embedding sustainability into its operational framework and strengthening compliance across its value chain.
The Charter provides a structured approach to improving environmental performance, with a focus on resource efficiency, waste management, pollution prevention and climate action.
Unlike traditional policy documents, the framework is designed to be integrated into daily operations, ensuring accountability across production, procurement and logistics functions.
Group Managing Director John Alamu said the initiative reflects the company’s commitment to translating sustainability policies into measurable actions.
“Moving beyond a conventional policy document, the Charter defines clear priorities across resource efficiency, waste management, pollution prevention, and climate action, each backed by implementation plans, timelines, and measurable targets,” he said.
He added that the Charter is embedded within operational processes to drive execution at all levels. “Crucially, it is embedded within daily operations rather than isolated within a sustainability function, placing execution in the hands of teams across production, procurement, and logistics,” Alamu stated.
The initiative aligns the company with international environmental, social and governance expectations, particularly in the cocoa export sector, where compliance with global due diligence standards is increasingly required.
The Group also reported progress in its FMCG arm, Johnvents Foods, which recently completed the FSSC 22000 Stage 2 audit conducted by Bureau Veritas on March 3–4.
“The audit evaluated the effectiveness of the facility’s food safety management systems, including hazard analysis, operational controls, and compliance procedures,” Alamu said.
“The outcome confirmed that our systems meet international standards and positions us on the threshold of full certification.”
Upstream operations have also been strengthened through enhanced cocoa sourcing practices. The company trained 28 Licensed Buying Agents on traceability protocols, record-keeping and regulatory compliance, ensuring alignment with international requirements such as European deforestation regulations.
Further efforts have focused on social compliance and governance. Thirteen field officers from the company’s Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System received advanced training from the International Cocoa Initiative, while 105 cooperative leaders in Owo and Akure participated in governance training programmes.
“These milestones reflect a Group that is systematically closing the gap between ambition and execution,” Alamu said.
“The progress recorded is evidence of a long-term strategy taking root—one that positions us to capture higher-value opportunities, strengthen relationships with global partners, and lead the next chapter of Nigerian agribusiness on our own terms.”
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