Safaricom has received an honorary recognition from the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) East African Climate Action Awards.
The telco was recognised for having a strategic approach towards managing its environmental impacts.
The awards shine a spotlight on people and organizations with groundbreaking innovations and ideas to mitigate the effects of climate change.
“The competition submissions were judged purely on merit as the adjudicators assessed, among other things, clarity of pitch, scalability, climate focus, impact on sustainable development, and innovation,” said Linda Ogallo, Climate Change Adaptation Expert, ICPAC.
Ogallo said Safaricom was recognised as one of the companies that are taking a strategic approach towards net zero, through their Carbon Trust initiative.
According to its latest Sustainable Business report, Safaricom has registered its carbon reduction goals with the Science Based Targets Initiative which independently assesses and approves companies’ targets in line with a strict range of target-setting resources and guidance.
“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,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom.
In an effort to increase air quality awareness as part of climate action, Safaricom 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 for some of the most harmful types of air pollution that will assist with the issuance of health advisories as well as the formulation of smart traffic controls that minimize congestion.
The company also intends to plant 5 million trees through a carbon offset tree growing initiative which it estimates will offset 26 per cent of its emissions.
ICPAC also honored Kenya’s electricity producer Kengen for leading the region in clean energy production.