Page 15 - SAMENA Trends - June-August 2021

EYE ON THE REGION SAMENA TRENDS

stc has rapidly become a global player in the field of ICT and
with that comes even greater responsibility. In a bid to remain
honest and transparent with its shareholders, stc produces a
detailed annual report highlighting the company’s activities and
performance in the environmental, social and governance aspects
of sustainability.

Telecoms giant stc has been demonstrating
visible impact through the implementation
of its sustainability framework and ground-
breaking digital technology currently being

rolled out across the nation. Examples of
these impacts include the company-wide
focus and achievements in measurable
reduction of resource consumption, direct
number of digital solutions. Another impressive partnership with economic impact through increasing
a global leader is with Western Union, which has bought into stc
Pay – the company’s foray into fintech, which is already worth stakeholder value, care for human capital,
over $1 billion. and building long-term resilience through

“Sustainability is the key to achieving the goals Vision 2030 has risk mitigation and good governance.
been set and we at stc realise the influence we have in ensuring
KSA is a world-leader when it comes to being environmentally What’s more, stc has committed to the ICT industry’s Net Zero
friendly,” says Eng. Olayan M. Alwetaid, Group CEO, stc. “As a project - a science-based pathway to reduce greenhouse gas
business we have come a long way in a very short space of time emissions across the telecoms sector completely by 2050. stc
and we have made sustainability a cornerstone of our business, will also develop renewable energy generation at its campus and
and we will continue to play our part in making Saudi Arabia one facilities throughout Saudi Arabia, to ensure energy efficiency in
of the world’s most important and thriving economies though this existing buildings and assets. New buildings will be designed and
transition into digital.” built with energy-saving features. If the progress of the last 12
months is anything to go by, those in Saudi Arabia could be living
By implementing its sustainability strategy not only is stc thriving, in the most technologically advanced country on the planet by
but it’s also helping to deliver the overarching sustainability 2030 – and also one of the most sustainable.
agenda of Saudi Arabia. As KSA’s main provider of information and
communications technology and services, stc is in the process of
laying down the physical, digital, and cultural backbone of Saudi
Arabia’s social and economic transformation for the years ahead.
This includes supporting the Saudi Green Initiative and Middle
East Green Initiative - twin roadmaps launched by the Kingdom's
Crown Prince HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman to rally the
Middle East region in confronting climate change.

The Saudi Green Initiative sets out a blueprint to raise vegetation
cover, reduce carbon emissions, combat pollution and land
degradation, and preserve marine life. It calls for the planting
of 10 billion trees in the Kingdom over the coming decades —
the equivalent of rehabilitating roughly 40 million hectares of
degraded lands. The initiative also draws an ambitious map for
reducing carbon emissions by generating 50% of the Kingdom's
energy from renewables by 2030.

15 JUN-AUG 2021