MTN Rated Among Top Sustainable Global Companies by Newsweek

MTN Group has been rated among the top 500 global firms on corporate sustainability and environmental impact by Newseek in its 2014 Green Rankings.

Done in partnership with Corporate Knights Capital and top NGOs and academic and accounting communities, Newsweek Green Rankings are the world’s foremost corporate environmental rankings.

In markets without environmental regulation, MTN says the recognition is humbling.

“MTN is on this journey not only because it makes commercial sense; we operate in some of the most environmentally-vulnerable parts of the world, where our customers often have the fewest economic resources to cope with the effects of climate change. As a result, we are conscious of the positive role we can play,” says Paul Norman, MTN Group Chief HR & Corporate Affairs Officer.

The 2014 Newsweek Green Rankings measures the environmental performance of large public companies using eight clearly defined performance indicators, including Combined Energy and Waste Productivity. MTN is ranked in position 276, with a Green Score of 35.4 percent.

“This ranking is recognition of our years of hard work on being environmentally responsible across the business. By ensuring we take our environmental responsibilities seriously, we hope to mitigate our impact on our customers’ environments,” adds Norman.

Recently, MTN South Africa partnered with the National Business Institute’s (NBI) Private Sector Energy Efficiency (PSEE) to help MTN to further improve on efforts to reduce energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

MTN aims to reduce energy use and switch to alternative energy across Africa and the Middle East by affordable solar-powered charging solutions rolled out to customers in Uganda, Rwanda and Nigeria, and climate-friendly technologies implemented from Cyprus to Swaziland. MTN also offers cloud-computing and machine-to-machine products to address water leakage, air quality requirements, grid power and much more.

MTN has also successfully concluded a partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft fűr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), which saw the company handover approximately 469 tonnes of electronic waste and electrical equipment (e-waste) to waste handlers and recyclers. This initiative will help MTN ensure e-waste is responsibly dismantled, reused or disposed, while ultimately improving the financial sustainability and ability of the e-waste handlers to create more employment. Three of the four permanent handlers selected by MTN are SMEs. Along with over 40 other organisations, the e-waste handlers also received free training.