MTN Group pledges net zero emissions by 2040
South African telecom giant MTN Group announced late last week that it will pledge to achieve net zero emissions by 2040, as it plans to lead by example combatting climate change on the African Continent.
With global warming on the rise and impacting countries, communities, and people everywhere, MTN has set science-based targets to achieve a 47 percent average reduction in absolute emissions (tCO2e) for scope 1, 2 and 3 by 2030.
“As we build and operate the telecommunications infrastructure to drive greater digital and financial inclusion, we believe that our growth and success should not come at the expense of the future of our planet,” MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said in a statement. “We must keep addressing the needs and challenges of society, which include playing our part in mitigating the effects of climate change.”
To realize its targets, MTN has launched its Project Zero program to leverage the latest technologies and service partners to enable business sustainability via greater energy efficiencies, low carbon emissions, risk reduction and cost control.
The program prioritizes renewable solutions, efficient emerging technologies, and energy storage.
GHG emission-reduction target-setting, like that adopted by MTN, is in line with an ICT sectoral target-setting approach recently developed through a collaboration between the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), the GSM Association (GSMA), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).
These targets support the Paris Agreement’s central aim of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change.
“We believe ICT companies and mobile operators have the potential to significantly contribute to global decarbonization efforts,” says MTN Group Chief Technology and Information Systems Officer Charles Molapisi. “We are pleased that Project Zero is in full swing, actively driving energy efficiency and carbon emission sustainability.”
The GSMA supports the science position on climate change realities and emissions limits set by the Paris Agreement. MTN is a member of the GSMA’s Climate Action Taskforce driving the mobile industry-wide plan to back the Race to Net Zero.
The aim is to ensure a resilient, zero-carbon future that leaves no one behind.
“We are excited about this next chapter in the MTN story and we recognize that we need to run and operate our business with sustainability at the core. We have a role to play in Africa and the Middle East to contribute meaningfully on much-needed actions to mitigate the impact of climate change, that’s why we are committed to achieve net-zero emissions by no later than the end of 2040,” said Mupita.
MTN Group is a part of the Carbon Disclosure Project in alignment with the Taskforce Recommendations on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, in a big to remain transparent.
MTN Group offers voice, text, and data services to consumers in 21 distinct markets across Africa and is one of the continents largest telecommunications service providers.