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Safaricom Sustainability Report 2016
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ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
We understand the importance of sustainable business practices. We consider the effects of our activities on natural
resources and the environment and try to minimise these effects. We also recognise that responsible and effective
environmental management offers a host of benefits, including financial savings from reduced waste generation and
efficient energy consumption, easier compliance with environmental legislation, increased staff morale and pride, and
improved customer relations.
We continue to take our social and moral responsibility to manage our environmental impact very seriously. We recognise
that environmental considerations are not separate from our core business, but an integral part of our overall business
sustainability and success.
Our environmental responsibility is an issue that continues to grow in importance as the size of our network continues to
expand and we do more than just ensure that we comply with evolving environmental regulation and legislation. We remain
committed to:
•
operating in an environmentally sound and sustainable way, and
•
managing and reporting our environmental performance in an open and transparent manner.
Bio-degradable packaging
In response to our new customer-centric company strategy, we paid particular attention to ways in which we could include
our customers in our environmental initiatives this year. One prominent example is our switch to using bio-degradable plastics
for all of our retail packaging. Customers can now enjoy peace of mind when purchasing Safaricom products, knowing that
their purchase is not contributing to the environmental hazards of conventional plastic packaging.
The use of conventional plastic packaging presents Kenya with a significant environmental challenge as there is no proper
segregation during rubbish collection nor are there dedicated recycling plants or incinerators. As a result, surplus plastic
pollutes and clogs up almost the entire waste system. It is often the cause of blockages in drains as well and contributes to the
flooding that is now common in urban centres during heavy rains.
Safaricom packaging now uses d2w technology, which converts everyday plastic products (made from Polyethylene,
Polypropylene or Polystyrene) into materials that are biodegradable in the open environment at the end of their useful life —
in much the same way as a leaf, only quicker and without leaving any toxic residues or fragments of plastic.
New policy and workshop target EMF concerns
In conjunction with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), we hosted a three-day workshop on
Electromagnetic Frequencies (EMFs) in November 2015. A total of 224 people attended the workshop and were trained
on the environmental impact of EMFs. Delegates included NEMA staff, Safaricom field engineers and Safaricom EIA/EA
consultants. The workshop is part of an ongoing agreement between Safaricom and NEMA to help equip staff, contractors
and the regulator with accurate knowledge about Electromagnetic frequencies so that concerns raised by members of the
public can be addressed with confidence and veracity.
As part of this initiative, we also developed an EMF Policy during the year, which was signed by Chief Executive Officer
(CEO), Bob Collymore, on 25 February 2016. The Policy outlines our commitment to ensuring that our activities pose no risk to
the health and safety of our employees, contractors and the communities within which we operate. It also ensures that we
comply with the latest standards and international guidelines on non-ionizing radiations and provides a mechanism through
which EMF questions and grievances can be addressed.
We also revamped our EMF Booklet during the year, which is provided to interested members of the public and any
communities within which we set up Base Transceiver Stations (BTS).