Sustainability

The contribution we make to the long-term sustainability of the communities in which we operate and the relationships we have which are central to our business contribute to our stock of social and relationship capital. Our social and relationship capital includes the intangibles associated with our brand and reputation and our social licence to operate. Our relationships with our stakeholders, which include communities, the investor community, government, regulators and joint venture partners, impact directly or indirectly on our business and its reputation. These relationships form part of each capital and are vital inputs to our business model that are constantly being increased, decreased and transformed through our activities.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG)

Telkom is committed to uniting our people and leveraging our capabilities to deliver on the Group's purpose. We aim to create shared value for all our stakeholders in a manner that is environmentally responsible, supports broader social imperatives, and respects the rights of all. In addition, we have selected SDGs where we can have a substantial impact and influence.

Our ESG Strategy has clear focus areas and goals that seek to unlock long term success for all our stakeholders. It formalises our approach to sustainable business practices, with outcomes tracked and measured to ensure we deliver against our ESG commitments. Telkom is intentional and unequivocal in its pursuit to deliver sustainable value to all our stakeholders, and our ESG Strategy provides a framework for deliberate action to achieve this. Our ESG operational model is a hybrid model led by a small Group central team, that is supported by ESG champions in each of the business units in the form of an established ESG Impact Council for oversight and accountability.

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Environment

Telkom is a business that advocates for environmental stewardship by utilising natural resources responsibly to mitigate the impact of climate change through our energy consumption, water and waste management practices. As part of our environmental pillar, we have developed two focus areas, namely, operational efficiencies and digital planet, which are defined by goal statements.

solar pannels

Operational Efficiencies

In February 2019, the GSMA (Groupe Speciale Mobile Association) set an ambition on behalf of the ICT industry to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Telkom is a member of GSMA and has developed targets to align with the ambitions of the GSMA. As part of the operational efficiencies focus area, we have committed to the following:

  • Reach carbon neutrality by 2035
  • Achieve net-zero emissions by 2040

Our environmental performance

We have committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions year on year, with specific reduction targets. Using FY2022 as a base year, Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions will be reduced by half by FY2033, and almost completely eliminated by FY2040.

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has acknowledged progress towards this commitment to keep global heating below catastrophic levels and reach net-zero by 2050 at the latest.

Read more about Telkom's Near-Term and Net-Zero targets, and the SBTI’s assessment thereof.

Goal statements
FY2022 baseline
FY2023 performance
FY2024 performance
% change from FY2023
Status
Carbon neutral by 2035 (tCO₂e)   852 782 704 740 639 041 (9%)
50% Reduction in fossil fuel  
consumption by 2030 (tCO₂e)		 55 466 85 100 66 119 (23%)
100% Renewable energy
sources by 2035 (GWh)		 <1% 0.528 3.7 600% increase in generation
Net-zero by 2040
Determine Scope 3 emissions
and set a target*		 1 764 216^ 1 951 155 1 724 460 (12%)
75% Reduction in waste to landfill
by 2030 (tonnes)		 743^ 686^ 644 (6%)
50% Reduction in potable  
water consumption by 2030 (kL)		 997 617 930 900 777 722 (16%)
25% Migration from R22 refrigerant
gases in 2025 and 100% by
2035 (tonnes)		 38 36 34 (7%)

Digital Planet
70 000 IoT devices deployed by 2025 15 220 58 567 73 679 26%

  External moderate assurance on selected sustainability indicators. Please refer to the FY2024 Independent Assurance Report available online.    Page reference  66

* As per prior guidance, Scope 3 emissions have been refined for FY2024 and this will be a continual process given the complexity of these calculations and that they are out of our direct control. The methodology was refined with the use of our carbon accounting platform. This will be assured in FY2025.

^ Scope 3 baseline restated due to refinements in the calculation methodology. Waste to landfill restated to include waste generated from our leased portfolio.

Legend
Achieved
Making progress but long-term target not yet achieved
Not achieved, progress needs to be improved
No specific target set as part of the initial ESG strategy

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Social

Telkom has worked on adapting our capabilities to find sustainable solutions to South Africa's challenges in education, skills development, technology innovation and entrepreneurship - these are key platforms for building an inclusive digital future for all. We strive to be an organisation that takes accountability for its actions and conduct our business activities in a manner that is socially responsible to support the development of societies within our sphere of influence. Our three focus areas will assist with realising the social pillar of our ESG strategy.

Investing with purpose

We intend to enable shared value through our social investment, enterprise and supplier development and workplace programmes. As part of our goal statement to invest with purpose, we have committed to:

  • Impact 100 000 lives through SMME spend by 2025
  • Impact 30 000 lives through digital literacy by 2023
  • Grow our female talent pool for senior management positions and maintain a top employer status.

Digital services

As one of South Africa's leading telecommunications companies, we aim to deliver ICT solutions that enable socioeconomic uplift. Our goals within the digital services industry include:

  • Providing 4.3 million customers access to Telkom's diversified digital platforms by 2025.
  • Enabling the growth of SA's business segment by providing digital platform solutions to 500 000 businesses by 2025.

Empowered communities

Our vision is to broaden access to affordable and inclusive digital connectivity, thereby enabling a better life for our customers. We aim to:

  • Connect 15 million customers to broadband & fixed wireless broadband connectivity by 2025.
  • Provide access to over 1.5 million South African homes and businesses through our FTTX footprint by 2025.

Investing with purpose

Goal statements
FY2022 baseline
FY2023 performance
FY2024 performance
% change from FY2023
Status
200 000 Lives positively impacted through SMME spend by 2025** 91 357 129 561 221 308 71%
70 000 Lives impacted through digital literacy by 2025*** 14 420 30 120 58 417 94%
2023 Become a leading employer in South Africa Achieved Achieved Achieved -
35% Women in leadership positions by 2025 32% 33% 34% 1 ppt

Page reference 79, 80 and 89

Digital services

Goal statements
FY2022 baseline
FY2023 performance
FY2024 performance
% change from FY2023
Status
4.3 million Customers with access to Telkom’s diversified digital platforms by 2025 2 039 684 3 873 170 8 800 000 127%
500 000 Businesses with access to digital platform solutions by 2025 443 467 445 119 447 647 0.6%

Page reference 62

Empowered communities

Goal statements
FY2022 baseline
FY2023 performance
FY2024 performance
% change from FY2023
Status
15 million Customers connected to broadband and fixed wireless broadband connectivity by 2025 11 700 000 14 451 014 15 957 972 10%
1.5 million SA homes and businesses passed with our FTTx footprint by 2025**** 839 691 1 040 565 1 217 110 17%
Underserved areas Fibre rollout in townships (homes passed) 119 579 138 813 139 476 5%
Fibre rollout in townships (homes connected) 47 619 60 928 70 024 15%

Page reference 59

** Lives impacted by job creation = number of people employed at an SMME which can either be actual or x 4.1 average if no. of employed unknown (Small Business Institute SA). To calculate lives impacted, x 3.3 economic multiplier is used in addition – i.e. the average number of people in a household (StatsSA).

*** Digital literacy is the ability to use technology to connect with the world around us, to access opportunities and to use digital content to learn new skills/knowledge to contribute in a digitally connected society (UNESCO, UNICEF, EU).

**** This target is capex dependent.

****** Percentages have been rounded off.

Legend
Achieved
Making progress but long-term target not yet achieved
Not achieved, progress needs to be improved
No specific target set as part of the initial ESG strategy

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Governance

Business stewardship

We envision a culture of accountable and ethical operating practices, and encourage the responsible use of data and technology. We aspire to lead ethically and effectively, as well as ensuring that the organisation is a responsible corporate citizen according to the principles set out in the King IV Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa. The company's Board of Directors has established several committees to assist with executing its governance duties. We have set ourselves the following goal statements:

  • Creating a culture of responsible technology & information use within the organisation and broader industry.
  • Fair and ethical practices towards our customers and within the organisation.

Governance performance

Goal statements
FY2022 baseline
FY2023 performance
FY2024 performance
% change from FY2023
Status
Culture of responsible technology and information use
Reduction in number of data breaches       0       0       0       0%
Promote fair and ethical practices towards our customers and within the organisation
Reduction in escalated customer complaints*****     7 416     4 907     3 661     (25%)
Decrease in whistle-blowing incidents reported from FY2023     152     147     121     (18%)

Page reference 119

***** Excludes complaints managed at the call centre.

Legend
Achieved
Making progress but long-term target not yet achieved
Not achieved, progress needs to be improved
No specific target set as part of the initial ESG strategy

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ESG Disclosure references

Environment, Health and Safety

Group IT

Governance and Risk

Employee Relations

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