Safaricom 2018 Sustainable Business Report

12 INTRODUCTION OUR BUSINESS OUR MATERIAL TOPICS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT 2018 SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT MESSAGE FROM THE CEO USING INNOVATION TO CREATE SHARED VALUE Our approach to innovation is simple: use technology to create relevant products and services that transform lives and empower communities. Based on this premise we launched our innovation hub, Alpha, whose objective is to focus on innovating for long-term initiatives in health, education, agriculture and payments, as well as capture insights that will help the business tap into the full range of opportunities offered by Big Data. Prior to the creation of Alpha, we had been incubating and piloting a number of innovative solutions in the same priority sectors. I am delighted to report that some of these solutions have been successfully transitioned into our commercial business units and are now being scaled by the business. Among these are M-TIBA and Digifarm, two services that are successfully leveraging the power of mobile technology to drive sustainable growth while addressing local challenges in healthcare and agriculture. While these two represent some of the significant wins we have enjoyed this year, we admit that not all our ideas and experiments are instant successes. Innovation is about taking risks, and sometimes the only payoff from risks is the lessons learned. Some of the biggest lessons we have learned in the last year are a result of the failure of products and services such as M-PESA 1Tap and Masoko to take off as planned. Both have offered valuable lessons in agility, putting the customer first and building a business that is fit for the future. MIXED RESULTS ON OUR SDG INTEGRATION JOURNEY In 2016 we began the process of integrating nine of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into our business strategy. A year later, we have made considerable progress in aligning our business objectives to these goals, in line with our commitment to creating viable responses to the challenges faced by society. Some of the areas in which we have recorded progress include Good Health And Wellbeing (SDG 3), Quality Education (SDG 4), Decent Work And Economic Growth (SDG 8), and Industry, Infrastructure And Innovation (SDG 9). Additionally, we have introduced various initiatives in an effort to achieve SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption And Production), including the introduction of our internal ‘zero waste to landfill’ programme, which is already ensuring that 97 per cent of the waste generated within our administrative buildings in Nairobi is recycled or reused. This initiative is buoyed by the continued success of our e-waste programme, which has collected 855 tonnes of electronic waste since its inception in 2013, and complements the replacement of single use plastic bags at our retail shops with eco-friendly, reusable carry bags. This move alone is expected to replace up to 7 million plastic bags distributed per annum. While our performance in these areas is reason for celebration, it is unfortunate that these gains are somewhat overshadowed by the increase in our carbon footprint. We are cognizant of the very real threats posed by climate change, and have committed to becoming a ‘net zero’ carbon-emitting company by the year 2050. To get us there, we have reduced the number of sites running solely on diesel- powered generators, and are exploring ways in which we can do more, including: compensating for our emissions through carbon offsets, embracing hybrid or renewable power solutions and introducing science-based carbon reduction targets.