To combat the energy crisis, MTN South Africa has committed significant funds to enhance its tower infrastructure. This effort includes integrating backup batteries and generators to ensure a continuous power supply.
Charles Molapisi, the CEO of MTN South Africa, has announced an additional investment of R1.5 billion for the fiscal year 2023 to bolster these initiatives.
Highlighting the severity of the energy crisis in South Africa, Molapisi revealed, “In 2022 alone, we had to deploy over 2,000 backup generators, consuming more than 400,000 liters of fuel monthly.”
This new investment aims to address this challenge and strengthen MTN’s infrastructure for uninterrupted services.
South Africa stands at the forefront of climate change impact, and it is up to us to respond proactively, he said.
“The effects of climate change will take the harshest toll on our most vulnerable communities, and as an organisation that serves more than 36.5 million customers, we recognise the profound importance of doing that it takes to enable our transition to a climate-resilient, low-carbon country and society.”
Molapisi leads MTN SA in these efforts, taking his cue from the South African government’s 2017 National Climate Change and Adaptation Strategy; a pioneering blueprint aimed at bolstering the nation’s resilience against the adverse effects of climate change.
“Operations at the scale of MTN South Africa’s come with a significant environmental footprint and an even greater responsibility to ensure that we, as SA’s best network, do what is best for the environmental,” says Molapisi.
The company’s commitment to the environment is reflected in its comprehensive approach to addressing emissions, encompassing both direct and supply chain-related factors. Notably, while 81% of MTN South Africa’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 were associated with Scope 3 emissions, caused by an organisation’s activities, but occur outside of the organisation’s direct control, usually across its value chain e.g., purchased goods and services.
The company is proactively tackling this challenge and is working with key suppliers to get suppliers to pledge their support to set their own emission reduction targets in line with the science-based targets methodology, showcasing MTN’s efforts to take responsibility not only for its direct emissions but also for those intricately linked to its operations through its supply chains.
A total of 17% of MTN SA’s emissions were classified as Scope 2, arising from indirect sources like electricity consumption which the team is working hard to alleviate via the deployment of solar solutions. This approach underscores MTN’s proactive stance towards sustainability.
