For Hanane Mourchid, doing nothing is not an option when it comes to sustainable development. An engineer by training, she is now harnessing technology and innovation to make her Moroccan fertilizer production company carbon neutral by 2040.
“For me, sustainable development is a way of living, of thinking: it’s being responsible and totally in harmony with the communities around us, with the planet,” says Hanane Mourchid.
As Executive Director of Sustainability and Green Development at OCP Group, she strives to promote respect for the environment in this public company that supplies global agriculture. “I was a chemical engineer in charge of the production of fertilizers, power plants, and it really helped me to see the reality on the ground and to be more aware of the impacts on our environments,” explains Hanane Mourchid. “I also started to be aware of the effects of climate change; today we are starting to see a reality and real effects on the ground,” she continues.
Quest for sustainability
OCP manufactures fertilizer from phosphate mined in Morocco. The production process requires the consumption of very large amounts of water and energy. Ammonia is also part of the process. Hence this question: how can this activity be sustainable?
“For us, our mission is planetary, it serves humanity, working for food security, etc. We have invested a lot to make sustainable development a central element of our strategy,” continues Hanane Mourchid. “We also strive to provide sustainable roadmaps for water, energy and resource consumption,” she indicates. “Unfortunately, the amount of organic raw materials that exist in the world is not enough to supply all the planet’s needs in terms of fertilization, it is a very small amount,” says the engineer.
His group has invested heavily in technology and innovation such as water desalination and wind and solar power with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2040. But 18 years, the number of years before that deadline, is a long way to go in an ever-changing world.
“Many challenges are related to the need for technology, technology development, R&D and to be realistic, they cannot be met sooner,” explains Hanane Mourchid.
“Innovation is very important for technologies to be up to the challenges: we know how to produce green hydrogen, but we do not yet have the model to scale it up and supply it with energy. clean all day because you have to deal with the intermittence of solar, wind, etc. That’s why innovation is there to remedy it,” she points out.
“The biggest challenge is that of stereotypes”
For her, becoming a sustainability leader in a traditionally male-dominated sector has not been without challenges.
“The biggest challenge is that of stereotypes,” she acknowledges. “It’s the fact that a lot of people think it’s a male domain and women don’t necessarily belong there,” she describes before adding: “Many women around me also struggle with this kind of vision.”
OCP takes action to promote diversity and inclusion in its activities: today, 30% of its managers are women and they represent 60% of its new recruits in mining and chemical installations.
At the start of the year, Hanane Mourchid received an award from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)who praised his leadership during the pandemic.
We ask the engineer what, for her, characterizes a good leader. “I think it’s very simple,” she answers. “When with the people around you, you are in a process that makes sense and you have a common goal, then everything becomes very easy,” she summarizes.