Climate Change Data

Helios Towers plc

Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2020, 2021, 2023)

Reporting Period: 2020

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:117,886 tCO2e (2020)
Renewable Energy Share:7% (solar)
Total Energy Consumption:662,749,744 kWh (2020)

ESG Focus Areas

  • Safety
  • Ethical, social and environmental standards
  • Connectivity
  • Economic growth in Africa
  • Diversity and inclusion
  • Local employment
  • Anti-bribery and corruption
  • Tax transparency
  • Data privacy and cybersecurity
  • Climate action
  • Waste reduction
  • Energy efficiency

Environmental Achievements

  • >40% reduced average diesel emissions per tenant on a tower with two tenants compared to one
  • 31% of our sites use hybrid solutions, of which 481 (7%) use solar power
  • 17% fuel reduction per site in Tanzania by restoring or improving grid connectivity and optimising hybrid and solar sites
  • 24% reduction in fuel consumption through optimisation of power applications in Ghana
  • 736 litres average fuel saving per site per month in DRC as part of private electricity grid initiative

Social Achievements

  • 98% of the workforce in operating companies are local employees
  • 37% of employees trained in Lean Six Sigma (orange and black belt)
  • 90% employee engagement score
  • Six graduate internships and learnerships offered in South Africa (three women and three men)
  • 15 students sponsored for a one-year programme in Tanzania to increase their employability and boost entrepreneurial skills

Governance Achievements

  • ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery certification achieved
  • ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 opco certifications maintained
  • First Employee Engagement and Culture Survey conducted with a 93% response rate
  • New Group Head of HSE and Quality role created
  • New Group Head of Compliance role created

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Analyse carbon footprint and climate risk across our value chain and set an emissions reduction target in 2021
  • Achieve an average one minute weekly downtime per tower by the end of 2025
Medium-term Goals:
  • Expand to 12,000+ towers in 8+ markets by 2025
  • Increase the number of sites in rural and underserved regions by 1,500 by the end of 2025
  • All new towers to have an average of two tenants per tower, within five years of construction
  • All maintenance partners to achieve ISO 45001 certification and 100% in the Helios Towers SHEQ assessment by the end of 2025
Short-term Goals:
  • Start bespoke community needs-based partnerships in 2021
  • Pilot phone-charging points for free community use on selected sites in 2021
  • Assess all key suppliers against sustainability criteria by the end of 2022

Environmental Challenges

  • Limited access to mains electricity in many operating areas
  • Comparatively low levels of regulation and enforcement in some markets
  • COVID-19 pandemic impacting operations and supply chain
  • High unemployment rate for youth in South Africa
  • Persistent rural-urban gap in mobile internet access
Mitigation Strategies
  • Using hybrid solutions (diesel generators with batteries) and solar power
  • Developing bespoke framework to drive safe behaviours
  • Adapting due diligence processes to incorporate virtual assessments
  • Offering graduate internships and learnerships
  • Working on lower-cost, more sustainable solutions for rural coverage

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 0 in 2020 due to COVID-19; adapted due diligence processes to incorporate virtual assessments

Responsible Procurement
  • Code of Conduct
  • Third Party Code of Conduct
  • ethiXbase platform for screening high- and medium-risk suppliers

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks
  • Extreme weather events affecting towers, operations and supply chain
Transition Risks
  • Economic, technology or regulatory changes affecting operations
Opportunities
  • Development of energy-efficient products and services

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, SASB, TCFD

Certifications: ISO 14001, ISO 9001, ISO 45001, ISO 37001

UN Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth)
  • SDG 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure)

Helios Towers' activities contribute to these SDGs through local employment, infrastructure development, and support for mobile connectivity

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • New, upgradeable, lighter-weight tower designs with lower environmental impact
  • Longer-life lithium-ion batteries

Awards & Recognition

  • Silver rating for sustainability by EcoVadis

Reporting Period: 2021

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:281,185 tCO2e/year (Scope 1, 2, and 3)
Scope 1 Emissions:115,917 tCO2e/year
Scope 2 Emissions:65,009 tCO2e/year
Scope 3 Emissions:100,259 tCO2e/year
Renewable Energy Share:31% of sites have hybrid and solar solutions by 2021
Total Energy Consumption:666,489,953 kWh/year
Carbon Intensity:22.41 tCO2e per tower in 2021; 10.43 tCO2e per tenant in 2021

ESG Focus Areas

  • Network access and sustainable development
  • Business excellence and efficiency
  • Empowered people and partnerships
  • Governance and ethics
  • Climate action

Environmental Achievements

  • 7% reduction in carbon emissions per tenant in five established markets (against a 2020 baseline)
  • 99.99% record power uptime, achieving 2025 target of less than one-minute downtime per tower per week for four months

Social Achievements

  • 97% of employees in operating companies are local
  • Launched Helios Towers Wellbeing Program
  • Launched flagship internship programme ‘Helios Towers School of Engineers’ in DRC
  • 72% of spend used with local suppliers

Governance Achievements

  • Maintained accreditations in ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and ISO 37001
  • Launched an integrated third-party risk management platform
  • Developed a sustainability survey to send to key suppliers in early 2022
  • Human Rights Policy launched

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Net zero carbon emissions by 2040
Medium-term Goals:
  • 46% reduction in CO2e per tenant by 2030
  • >70% sites will have hybrid and solar solutions by 2026
Short-term Goals:
  • Assess all key suppliers against sustainability criteria by the end of 2022

Environmental Challenges

  • Supply chain disruptions and labor shortages due to Covid-19
  • Decoupling business growth from emissions in markets with low electrification rates and unreliable grid electricity
  • Bridging the persistent rural-urban gap in mobile internet access
Mitigation Strategies
  • Business continuity protocols remained in place during Covid-19; employee assistance program launched
  • Carbon Reduction Roadmap launched with intensity-reduction target and net-zero ambition by 2040; Project 100 (US$100 million investment in cleaner, greener solutions)
  • Providing more sustainable solutions for rural coverage, including new tower designs and power solutions

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement
  • Third Party Code of Conduct
  • Sustainability survey for key suppliers

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks
  • Increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events
Transition Risks
  • Fuel availability and cost
Opportunities
  • Development of energy-efficient products and solutions

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, SASB, TCFD, UNGC

Certifications: ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 37001, Cyber Essentials

UN Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Mobile connectivity contributes to economic development, job creation, and infrastructure development; initiatives support skills development, education, and digital inclusion.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • Remote monitoring system (RMS)

Awards & Recognition

  • Gold rating for sustainability by EcoVadis

Reporting Period: 2023

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:195,151 tCO2e (Scope 1) + 119,191 tCO2e (Scope 2) + 88,823 tCO2e (Scope 3 Category 3)
Scope 1 Emissions:195,151 tCO2e
Scope 2 Emissions:119,191 tCO2e
Scope 3 Emissions:88,823 tCO2e (Category 3)
Renewable Energy Share:0%
Total Energy Consumption:1,118,662,481 kWh (total)
Carbon Intensity:27.00 tCO2e per tower; 12.01 tCO2e per tenant

ESG Focus Areas

  • Digital inclusion
  • Climate action
  • Local, diverse, talented teams
  • Responsible governance

Environmental Achievements

  • Initiated a rebaselining process to review our carbon target and roadmap
  • Development of our Group-wide climate risk register
  • Refurbishment of gensets (39%), batteries (10%), rectifiers (29%), and rectifier modules (74%) in 2023
  • Planted over 1,000 trees across Congo Brazzaville and South Africa

Social Achievements

  • 70% of senior management in our OpCos were hired from the local community in 2023
  • Launched a site community signage initiative (98% of sites completed installation as of 2023)
  • Initiated a mentoring circle for female leaders
  • Promoting women in STEM through our School of Engineers programme

Governance Achievements

  • Established a dedicated Sustainability Committee in 2023
  • Introduced an ‘Impact scorecard’ to the long-term incentive plan (LTIP) award in 2023
  • Refreshed the Group Anti-Tax Evasion Policy

Climate Goals & Targets

Medium-term Goals:
  • 46% reduction in carbon emissions per tenant by 2030
  • 30% female employees by 2026
  • 70% of employees trained in Lean Six Sigma by 2026
  • Tenancy ratio 2.2x by 2026
  • 6,000 rural towers by 2026
Short-term Goals:
  • All maintenance partners certified to ISO 45001 and achieve 100% in the Helios Towers SHEQ assessment by the end of 2025

Environmental Challenges

  • Data limitations in reporting market-based emissions due to lack of residual factors in many operating countries
  • Need to improve returns from site process and standardize data-collection processes for more detailed waste disclosures
  • Need to develop data collection methodologies to report more detailed disclosures around parental leave
Mitigation Strategies
  • Developing a returns from site process in 2024 to improve material returns and assess repairable materials
  • Implementing measures to improve data collection and reporting on waste in 2024
  • Developing data collection methodologies to report more detailed disclosures around parental leave in 2024

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement
  • Third Party Code of Conduct
  • Supplier sustainability requirements (environmental policies and ISO 14001 certification requested)

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks
  • Flooding
  • Droughts
Transition Risks
  • Regulatory changes
  • Market shifts

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI 2021 Standards, EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), SASB, TCFD

Certifications: ISO 45001, ISO 37001, ISO 14001 (mentioned for suppliers)

Third-party Assurance: Bureau Veritas

UN Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  • SDG 1: No Poverty
  • SDG 4: Quality Education
  • SDG 5: Gender Equality
  • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
  • SDG 13: Climate Action
  • SDG 15: Life on Land
  • SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
  • SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Contribution through digital inclusion, climate action, local employment, responsible governance, and community investment.