Safaricom has received an honorary recognition from the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) East African Climate Action Awards. The company was honored for its strategic approach towards managing environmental impacts.
The ICPAC Awards aim to highlight persons and organizations with groundbreaking innovations and ideas to mitigate the effects of climate change.
In its latest Sustainable Business report, Safaricom registered is carbon reduction goals with the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), which independently assesses and approves companies’ targets. This is in line with a strict range of target-setting resources and guidance.
In an effort to increase air quality awareness as part of climate action, the company recently partnered with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to launch digital billboards placed in four critical locations in Nairobi. The billboards are currently providing real-time air quality information that will assist with the issuance of health advisories as well as the formulation of smart traffic controls that minimize congestion.
Safaricom has also announced its intention to plant 5 million trees through a carbon offset tree growing initiative which it estimates will offset 26% of its emissions. In partnership with M-Kopa Solar, the company has also provided access to solar energy to over 800,000 households impacting 3.3 million lives and resulting in over 1.7 tonnes of avoided emissions.
Speaking at the awards event, Linda Ogallo, Climate Change Adaptation Expert at ICPAC said, “Immediately after the submissions closed, the judging committee poured over dozens of submissions before arriving at the final winners. They were judged purely on merit as the adjudicators assessed, among other things, clarity of pitch, scalability, climate focus, impact on sustainable development, and innovation. Through their Carbon Trust initiative, Safaricom was recognized as one of the companies who are taking a strategic approach towards net zero.”
“We are committed to becoming a net zero-emitting company by 2050 through managing our operations responsibly, decreasing our environmental impact and partnering with our stakeholders to do the same. This recognition shows that our efforts, which include transitioning to the use of renewable energy sources and leveraging technology to provide clean energy, are starting to pay off”, said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom.
Other Kenyan corporates recognized by ICPAC include Kenya’s electricity producer KENGEN for leading the region in clean energy production.