Manama: Zain Group, the leading mobile telecom innovator in seven markets across the Middle East and Africa, has published its consecutive 10th annual sustainability report, titled ‘The Ten-Year Journey’, which charts the sustainability agenda the company has undertaken in this area across its footprint over the last decade.
During this decade, Zain has evolved its operations by becoming a digital lifestyle service provider, establishing value-driven and purposeful activities, building resilience, adapting to market changes, addressing societal deficits, and establishing purpose driven activities centered on Meaningful Connectivity.
The 10th edition showcases how Zain continued to improve and adapt its activities to align to international best practices and report on its activities following the GRI Standards Framework. Moreover, for the first time, Zain also adopted the Sustainability Accounting Standard Board framework (SASB) for Telecommunications Services. Both standards were externally assured by Ernst & Young (Al Aiban, Al Osaimi and Partners) providing limited assurance.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated and further pronounced the huge societal discrepancies exposed in many areas of life across the globe. Zain’s latest report demonstrates the company’s firm commitment to creating positive, long-lasting systemic change to better address the socio-economic and environmental impacts across its operating markets and to facilitate socio-economic growth. This is achieved by building relationships based on transparency and trust with all stakeholders, setting meaningful goals, and placing sustainability at the core of Zain’s business activities.
The company’s earlier development of digitalization and sustainability programs placed it in a good position to react quickly to the unprecedented impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with operations in each market playing pivotal roles in support of their local communities.
“Publishing our 10th sustainability report is a significant achievement, and along with over 7,500 Zainers, we are extremely proud of the programs and initiatives we have implemented, and all the lives we have impacted for the better. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought the meaning of that mission sharply into focus and offers a profound reminder that beyond our commercial activities and providing essential connectivity, vitally important as they are, there are lives at stake, requiring all our best efforts to protect and save,” Zain Vice-Chairman and Group CEO, Bader Al-Kharafi, said.
“I extend my thanks to all the sustainability teams across our operations for working so tirelessly over the years in establishing Zain as the regional leader in this important area. We have a mission, to work in order to leave the world a better place than we found it and leave no one behind.”
During 2020, Zain Group’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Jennifer Suleiman set the foundation in establishing the company’s new 2020-2025 Corporate Sustainability strategy.
“This five-year strategy is based on providing access to Meaningful Connectivity to all the communities Zain serves, that ultimately leads to equitable systemic change grounded on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, ultimately creating room for development and growth.”
“The year 2020 was a significant year for sustainability at Zain, but we made it even more noteworthy through the COVID-19 initiatives we introduced during the course of the year. Notably, our ‘B’ scoring from the Carbon Disclosure Project, (the highest among all regional telcos) highlighted our leadership in addressing climate change in the industry. We continue to closely monitor the impacts of our activities on climate change and set goals to reduce negative impacts over time. In the years ahead, we shall continue being a force for good and look forward to being an even greater champion of the issues that affect our communities the most.”
