The Social Value We Contribute

Our Natural Capital

We aspire to become a net-zero emitting company by 2050. To this end we carefully monitor and direct our energy usage and waste-management, with our network employing a variety of energy sources including the national grid, diesel generators and solar solutions. This is fundamental to our goal of transitioning to renewable energy and achieving our net zero target.

Greening Our Infrastructure

Our goal is to shift the primary source of energy for towers (BTS) from traditional grid power and diesel, to Solar Photo Voltaic (Solar PV), and thereby ultimately convert 90% of our sites within five years. We have so far:

  • Installed over 1,400 solar PVs at our network sites
  • Achieved a 50% reduction of emissions from supply and value chains
  • Instituted 100% of the UN Guiding Principles and responsible sourcing principles
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Fuel and Water Consumption

During the year under review we achieved:

  • 13.9% decrease in water consumption
  • A 11.9% decrease in our fuel consumption

Waste Management

During the year under review, through our Integrated Waste Management programme, we:

  • Collected 91,920 kg (FY2022: 81,642 kg) of waste from our administrative buildings in Nairobi and our switches in Athi River, Thika and Nairobi
  • Recycled 88,796 kg (23.8%), (FY2022: 71,748 kg)
  • Achieved a 97% reduction in paper consumption to attain 98% paperless operations
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Our E-Waste Programme

We have collected and recycled over 1,693 tonnes of e-waste since the inception of our e-waste programme.Our e-waste strategy during the under review, continued to be ensure:

  • Reduction in e-waste generation
  • Recycling where possible
  • Reusing or redeploying decommissioned systems at other sites

In addition, through external partnerships, we help train the informal sector on repairing electronic waste and device take-back schemes, with informal-sector waste collectors handling substantial amounts of e-waste in urban centres.

Biodiversity

In line with our commitment under the Business for Nature Action platform that calls upon businesses and governments to adopt policies that reverse nature loss, we continued during the year under review, to:

  • Invest in conservation and ecological projects
  • Partner with government and other stakeholders in biodiversity conservation
  • Engage with private sector players on biodiversity conservation, and specifically on reforestation
  • Support, through the M-PESA Foundation’s partnership with KWS, Northern Rangelands Trust and Back to Africa, Ruma National Park’s endangered roan antelope conservation initiativen

The M-PESA Foundation has previously also funded the fencing of the Mau Eburu Forest and Nairobi National Park as well as the construction of stables to secure orphaned elephants at the Reteti Sanctuary in Samburu.

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International Standards

We recognise and adhere to globally-accepted standards, and have accordingly:

  • Developed a company-wide purpose strategy that defines and outlines any impact in the communities in which we operate, through:
    Innovative products and services
    Our commitment to managing our environmental impact
    Our commitment to all our stakeholders to conduct business responsibly
  • Partner with government and other stakeholders in biodiversity conservation
  • Ongoing integration of UN SDGs into our business operations, in line with our view that the SDG Framework is also a business strategy for shared value opportunities
  • Recommended to maintain the ISO 14001 certification following successful conclusion of the external surveillance audit. Five opportunities for improvement identified for implementation in the following financial year (FY23–24)

Undertaking statutory environmental occupational health, safety and fire risk audits for BTS sites.

Biodiversity Impact

We ensure that all our network projects are subjected to a statutory Environmental Impact assessment to identify all associated impacts and develop alternatives that avoid or mitigate any biodiversity impacts.

In addition, in order to minimise biodiversity impact, we continued to:

  • Conduct continuous monitoring and evaluation of implemented project impacts, through annual environmental audits
  • Endeavour, at asset end-of-life, to enhance or restore the environment to its natural state
  • Encourage participation in voluntary initiatives that support biodiversity protection in Kenya, such as safeguarding endangered species and poaching prevention
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