Safaricom has announced that it is on course to plant one million trees by end of this year as part of efforts to grow five million trees. The telco has already planted 700,000 trees covering 700 hectares in South Marmanet, Kieni Forest and Nandi South.
As part of this year’s World Environment Day, over 100 Safaricom staff members planted 5,000 trees in Kieni Forest. “We recognise that environmental considerations are not separate from our core business because they are an integral part of our overall business sustainability and success,” said Steve Chege, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Safaricom.
Mr Chege said the company’s original plan was to grow one million trees in South Marmanet over five years. “In response to our calculations of what we require to offset our carbon emissions, we have since expanded the target of the project to growing five million trees across the country over the period,” he said.
Kakamega Forest and Lamu are the next sites in the plan with 500,000 seedlings targeted for mangrove forests in the coastal county. These tree planting exercises in partnership with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) are in line with Safaricom’s ambition to become a net-zero emitting company by 2050.
Safaricom estimates that the initiative will offset 26% of its carbon emissions once the trees have grown to maturity and stimulate economic growth in the local community who can generate income from sales of tree seedlings, eco-tourism and beekeeping.
The telco has also installed air quality sensors in 10 of its sites as part of a pilot project with the UN Environment.
