In line with the work Safaricom led for the GISD last year on sector-specific, SDG-related metrics, the Kenya mobile operator and GISD member participated in the working group of 20 mobile operators that identified common ESG metrics for the telecom industry.

The working group was convened by GSMA, the industry organization that represents the interests of mobile network operators, which issued its report on ‘ESG Metrics for Mobile’. Featuring ten sector-specific metrics, the framework covers key material topics for the sector, from energy consumption and waste reduction to digital inclusion and data protection.

Like GISD’s metric recommendations last year, the metrics are designed to overcome the lack of harmonization currently endemic to sector-specific sustainability reporting and complement sector-agnostic reporting on issues faced by most companies.

Once adopted, the metrics will provide investors and stakeholders with a deeper understanding of the sustainability performance, and where the most material impacts and value are generated, of mobile operators.

The involvement of Safaricom in both GISD and GSMA work on sector-specific metrics had resulted in a great alignment between the two set of metrics.

The publication is an example of how a sector can unite to harmonize sustainability reporting and help companies and stakeholders evaluate the SDG performance of a company.