TELECOM INDUSTRY CONSIDERS NEW FRAMEWORK FOR MEASURING SUSTAINABILITY

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s telecommunications and technology sectors have proposed the creation of a National Telecom Sustainability Index to measure the industry’s environmental, social and governance performance. The proposal was presented at a Telecoms and Technology Sustainability Working Group Stakeholder Strategy Breakfast in Abuja on Thursday, where participants reviewed a draft sustainability framework designed to provide a common basis for assessing the performance of telecom operators.

The proposed index is built around five major areas: Environment and Energy; Digital Inclusion and Affordability; Digital Integrity, Privacy and Consumer Trust; Infrastructure Resilience and Governance; and Supply Chain and Local Value Creation. TTSWG board member, Chris Uwaje, said the framework was designed to reflect Nigeria’s unique telecommunications environment while also aligning with internationally recognised sustainability reporting practices.

Under the proposed framework, the environmental and energy component would assess issues such as energy sources, dependence on diesel, emissions and electronic waste management. The digital inclusion pillar would examine network coverage, penetration, affordability and equitable access, while the digital integrity component would focus on data protection, fraud, consumer complaints and service quality. Infrastructure resilience would cover vandalism, theft, fibre cuts, network restoration, right-of-way compliance and IPv6 readiness, while the final pillar would address local content, local-currency financing, decent work and job creation.

Chairman of the TTSWG Board, Abdu-Waya Mohammed, said the strategy was developed in response to challenges including rising energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions, electronic waste, inadequate digital inclusion and the need for stronger governance. The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre, Bankole Oloruntoba, also said sustainability should be treated as an ecosystem-wide responsibility involving businesses, regulators and other stakeholders. He noted that stronger sustainability reporting could help Nigerian organisations meet requirements for accessing international financing.

The proposed index would use weighted scores from the five pillars to produce a composite assessment of sustainability performance, with performance bands ranging from “leading” to “lagging.” However, Uwaje clarified that the framework had not yet been adopted by the Nigerian Communications Commission and remained under stakeholder review. Representing the NCC, the Director of the Digital Economy Department, Helen Obi, said the Commission would need to receive a formal document before reviewing the proposal and giving its position.

The draft strategy proposes a three-year implementation process. The first year would involve a pilot with major mobile network operators and leading tower companies, while the second year would introduce a core reporting system for qualifying licensees and establish a sector baseline. By the third year, stakeholders hope to publish an annual Nigerian telecom sector sustainability report, expand the index and introduce independent assurance of reported data. Further consultations and formal engagement with the NCC are expected before the indicators, reporting requirements and implementation structure are finalised.