Master's student wins United Nations award on business and sustainable development

Monday, January 18, 2021

The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), through its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Pioneer program annually recognizes the efforts of business leaders who are leveraging their positions within organizations to advance the SDGs through the UNGC Principles and make significant impacts. The first round of the competition is conducted across UNGC local networks and winners represent their countries at a global final.

Headshot of Tobi
The search for the UNGC Network Nigeria SDG Pioneer was launched in 2020. Seventeen (17) Environmental, Social and Governance Corporate Sustainability Specialists from different organizations applied. At the end of a rigorous independent assessment, Tobi Oyewole, a first year Masters of Environmental Studies in Sustainability Management (SUSM) emerged the winner. Tobi will next compete with other SDG Pioneers at the global final later this year.

Tobi’s passion for sustainable development was ignited during his undergraduate degree where he supported various student organizations, including Enactus, to implement community projects towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. For the past two years, he has put his talent to use at the Nigerian Stock Exchange as the Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Analyst. In this role, he supports the development and implementation of corporate sustainability strategy helping over 150 listed companies integrate sustainable business practices and mainstream Environmental, Social and Governance disclosures. He has fostered the growth of sustainable finance in Nigeria through the design of financial instruments for issuers and investors seeking to contribute to sustainable development.

As a research master’s student in SEED, he is interested in how businesses adopt Environmental, Social and Governance disclosures and the transition to a low carbon economy. He is supervised by Professor Olaf Weber. He recently relocated to Canada to complete his graduate program.

Learn more about SEED’s master’s program in Sustainability Management.