MTN goes green

Rudolph Muller

Rudolph Muller is the editor at MyBroadband and covers telecoms and broadband news. Rudolph comes from an academic background, but left the University of...

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MTN Group is the latest signatory to the Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change. As the signatory to the Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change, MTM Group had added its voice to the growing chorus calling for environmentally-friendly practises and has joined business leaders of over 500 global companies who did the same.

According to MTN recent studies have shown that the Information Communications Technology (ICT) has a huge environmental impact in terms of reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

A 2008 Global e-Sustainability Initiative report estimated that ICT can reduce emissions by up to 22% by 2020 through environmentally-friendly practices such as smart logistics, smart buildings, a smart power grid and reducing travel through videoconferencing and tele-work.

The signing of the Copenhagen Communiqué is expected to serve the following:

1. Communicate MTN Group’s commitment to ensuring sustainability in its business practises;
2. Elevate sustainability issues within MTN into business imperatives;
3. Add further weight to submissions, particularly those from markets where MTN operates in Africa and the Middle East.

Ms Nozipho January-Bardill, MTN Group Executive: Corporate Affairs, said it is MTN’s long term plan to manifest its pledge to protect the environment by demonstrating the company’s corporate commitment to the sustainability cause.
 
“Having a presence in Africa and the Middle East, we are acutely aware of how vulnerable our markets are to the adverse impact of climate change. Our signing of the Communiqué is a great leap for MTN’s Corporate Social Responsibility and demonstrates our commitment to the concept of People, Planet, Profit.

“Working as individuals and as a collective, we can give tangible meaning to these resolutions and bequeath a beautiful and habitable place to our children,” said January-Bardill.

MTN goes green – discussion