MTN Nigeria is stepping up its climate action strategy with measurable progress in reducing carbon emissions, increasing renewable energy use, and launching eco-friendly innovations across its operations.
Speaking at the Facts Behind the Sustainability Report presentation at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Thursday, Tobechukwu Okigbo, Chief Sustainability Officer at MTN Nigeria, revealed that the telecom giant made major environmental strides in 2024.
“In 2024, we reduced our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 11.0 per cent, lowering emissions from 113,826 CO²e which was our 2021 baseline, to 101,300 tCO²e, a 2.6 per cent increase from the previous year,” Okigbo said.
He also noted that MTN “expanded our renewable energy adoption by adding 194 solar-powered rural telephony sites and became the first telecommunications organisation in West Africa to launch eco-friendly SIM cards, reinforcing our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint.”
Okigbo added that the company “enhanced the global accessibility of our 2023 sustainability report by digitally tagging it with the extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), for easy access by investors, rating agencies, and other stakeholders.”
Okay.ng reports that MTN’s sustainability disclosures also featured improvements in ESG ratings. According to Okigbo, “Our commitment to transparency is reflected in our improved sustainability performance metrics, including a Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) rating of ‘B-‘ for Climate Change, a ‘C’ for Water Security, a Risk Insights ESG GPS sustainability rating of 3.6/4.0, up from 3.4/4.0 in 2023.”
He said the telco secured a “reputation Index score of 79 per cent, exceeding our benchmark of 75 per cent.”
In his remarks at the NGX event, Jude Chiemeka, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Exchange Ltd., praised MTN for its consistent transparency and leadership in sustainability reporting.
“With the engagement, MTN Nigeria reaffirms its commitment to sustainable business practises and transparent environmental, social and governance disclosures. This is upholding transparent accountability in the Nigerian Capital Market. It is also fostering greater market participation and boosting investors’ confidence,” Chiemeka said.
Olufemi Shobanjo, CEO of NGX Regulation Ltd., echoed this sentiment, adding that the company’s presentation “highlighted MTN’s social responsibility and environmental stewardship.”
MTN said its broader sustainability campaign “Sustainability in Action, Value for the MTN Everyone (SAVE)” was launched to improve internal awareness and employee participation in green initiatives.
While the company also reported a N3.5 billion investment in corporate social investment during the year, Okigbo stressed that environmental leadership remains central to MTN’s long-term strategy.
