Telco giant Safaricom has revealed that during a period of the past one year, it has been among key employer contributing to the rise in toxic gases emission in the environment at a time when the world is preaching green energy through calls to combat carbon emissions.
The telco’s Director, Sustainable Business and Social Impact, Karen Basiye acknowledged that the firm should look into the matter which is gradually getting out of hands.
She has, however, affirmed commitment to champion for sustainable development goals, confirming to be in the know that the company carbon footprint spiking and probably getting out of control.
“On the Environment Front, our carbon footprint has gone up by 10.5 per cent which is attributed to the recurrent power outages that forced us to use diesel and our aggressive network expansion. We also have a few sites running on diesel 24/7,” she said.
Her sentiments were echoed by cement processing counterparts Bamburi through Group Managing Director, Seddiq Hassani, claimed that the company is committed to decarbonise its operations, because it uses a lot of fossil fuels, considering the main component used in cement processing being Zinc.
Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa stated that when it comes to the environment, the world has experienced unprecedented global climate events in the last few years with a growing impact on the African continent contributing to food insecurity.
“Our sustainable business report is about transparently talking about our successes and our setbacks, all of which are important to our business and of interest to our various stakeholders. This year’s theme, ‘Partnering for Growth; Transforming Lives’, is about recognising the power of partnerships and collaboration in solving societal issues and driving responsible and sustainable businesses,” observed Ndegwa.