Vodacom’s TCFD programme

The Group’s Climate and TCFD report includes our GHG emissions reduction strategy as well as additional information on our climate transition plan and associated activities. We validated our key climate risks and opportunities and participated in a global Vodafone risk review process.

Notable severe weather impacts

Climate change-related weather events are escalating, with cyclones and flooding impacting areas in southern Africa

• We donate to support relief efforts, including providing daily hot meals, blankets, and personal hygiene items, among other essential items.
• Our Foundations launched a campaigns to support affected communities, which included free calls, SMS and data, free money transfers through M-Pesa, and community recovery programs.

Creating customer and employee awareness

Our RedLovesGreen journey aims to unite Vodacom, our customers and our partners to create environmental awareness and encourage action towards a more sustainable future. Through this, we communicate and educate for a positive impact on climate change.
Activities such as inter business challenges to recycle electronic waste take place across our OpCos to mark World Environmental Day. We also launched the Tweak Carbon Calculator in South Africa, a platform that supports employees with profiling their individual GHG emissions inventory.

Forging partnerships and collaborations

Partnerships are essential to addressing the climate and nature crises and reducing environmental impact. We work with global, regional and local partners to deliver on our planet strategy initiatives. We are a signatory of the UN Global Compact African Business Leaders Coalition’s climate statement, and we partner with organisations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Read more in papers where we have collaborated on various business and sector initiatives:

• GSMA: Energy Challenges for Mobile Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa
• UNGC ABLC Policy blueprint paper

Managing network consumption

We manage network consumption by sourcing and implementing more efficient network equipment and reducing energy demand by:

• Introducing energy-saving network features;
• Modernising our network equipment and ancillary equipment like cooling; and
• Designing and selecting energy-efficient equipment for new sites.

Managing building and technology-centre consumption 

We maintain best practices in our technology centres and properties by installing efficient cooling equipment, lighting and control systems, and ensuring good housekeeping. Ongoing energy efficiency initiatives include:

• Hot and cold aisle containment where possible;
• Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) upgrades are implemented where technology centres are due for refurbishment (with more advanced controls, including AI); and
• Improved controls and configurations to reduce unnecessary use of equipment such as lighting and managing heating and cooling set points (for example, through a building management system).

Investing in onsite renewable energy

Our footprint of base stations extends across multiple geographies. Most electricity supply from these national grids is intermittent and suitable replacements for diesel generators are required.

Investing in offsite renewable energy 

We engage governments to facilitate the development of renewable energy infrastructure. By working with governments, we are creating new opportunities for renewable power purchasing in Africa, and building a more accessible market for renewables in regions where access to reliable, safe and environmentally friendly power has been challenging. 

Market-based instruments 

Purchasing RECs forms part of our energy management strategy in the following instances:

• In countries where fossil fuel-based electricity consumption is high, where grid availability is low or full onsite conversion to renewable electricity supplies are limited; and
• As an interim mechanism to achieve our renewable energy sourcing commitments until we find suitable renewable solutions.

Increased diesel consumption increases our scope 1 GHG emissions and impacts our ability to decarbonise. This further introduces reputational risk due to the noise and air pollution caused by diesel generators near communities.

In the short term, we focus on prioritising batteries over diesel generators. In the long term, we seek alternatives to diesel, including connecting offgrid sites to the grid where possible, deploying wind and solar where applicable, and exploring newer technologies such as microturbines and hydrogen fuel cells.

• Vodacom uses Vodafone’s key global supplier benchmarks. Suppliers provide details of their GHG emissions and management programmes through the CDP, a global disclosure system that helps companies measure and report their environmental impacts.
• Our supplier evaluation request for quotation processes includes a 20% weighting for environmental and social criteria.

Our IoT services, including logistics, fleet management and smart metering, are underpinned by a robust commercial rationale with three main opportunities for customers.

• Increased efficiency and reduced wastage: IoT enables organisations to monitor operational processes, identify waste and address the source.
• Using IoT to deliver cost efficiencies: Connectivity allows products and services, such as shared distribution networks and vehicle sharing, to be automated and shared, reducing the cost and carbon impact.
• Monitoring and changing customer behaviour: IoT products connect directly to customers, allowing us to monitor trends, such as shifting demands for energy.

Our resource efficiency and waste disposal management programmes minimise the environmental impacts of network and IT equipment waste. When reuse options (either through resale or redeployment) are exhausted, we recycle obsolete equipment responsibly using approved recycling agencies.

We are committed to reducing our impact by implementing circularity initiatives with our partners and other operators. To raise consumer awareness of e-waste and incentivise our customers to bring back their used devices for trade-in, donation or recycling, we have the following programmes:

• Vodafone’s WWF ‘1 million phones for the planet’ campaign (Egypt and South Africa only).
• RedLovesGreen campaign encourages customers to return their devices to any of our 35 repair centres in South Africa.
• Good as New programme aims to drive smartphone penetration and reduce e-waste by providing certified pre-owned smartphones at an affordable price in South Africa.
• e-TADWEER solution, which drives circularity solutions for electronics and devices in Egypt.

We continue replacing single-use plastics with lower-impact alternatives across all our retail stores, offices and logistics operations in collaboration with our logistics providers.

Our general waste management programmes involve reviewing our consumption choices, making more sustainable decisions and working with suppliers to reduce environmental waste. We responsibly manage the waste streams involved in delivering our products by digitalising branch processes to become completely paperless; pursuing green lease agreements for stores including water, waste and electricity management targets; and reducing our plastic usage.

While we are not a water-intensive user, majority of our operations are in countries which are classified as medium-high to extremely high-water risk and so we work to reduce our water usage across all our operations. Our water management focuses on different areas including:

• Water use assessment: We have a structured water data sharing and monitoring system across our OpCos. Water use assessments are conducted to identify opportunities for water efficiency improvements. Each OpCo aligns its local water use and efficiency programmes with its local context and sustainability objectives.
• Actions to reduce water consumption: Water saving measures include installing low-flow fixtures and aeration taps with reduced water flow, smart irrigation systems and water wise gardens, waterless urinals, chemical toilet flushing, waterless hand sanitising stations, rainwater harvesting, pressure-reducing valves, efficient cooling systems, regular leak detection and maintenance.
• Education and awareness: Environmental days are used to bring awareness around efficient water use. Capacity building is undertaken with property teams who have the main responsibility of improving water efficiency.
• Digital solutions: Our digital solutions and IoT products can help our customers, such as governments and businesses, reduce their water consumption through real-time monitoring and early detection of water leaks.

We have a large and widespread infrastructure footprint. We conduct environmental impact assessments and cooperate with the relevant authorities to minimise negative impacts. Some of our sites are in or near biodiverse-sensitive areas.

We require an environmental permit from the national environment agency in most countries to construct base stations owned by us or through a third party. We enable this through environmental impact assessments of the actual or potential impact on habitats and species from the construction and maintenance of base stations.