IHS Towers to Invest Over $200 Million on New Emissions Reduction Strategy
Emerging markets-focused telecommunications infrastructure provider, IHS Towers, announced today its Carbon Reduction Roadmap, a comprehensive strategy working to decrease carbon emissions from the company’s tower operations.
The new strategy includes a goal to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 kilowatt-hour emissions intensity of the company’s tower portfolio by 50% by 2030, on a 2021 emissions data baseline.
Sam Darwish, IHS Towers Chairman & CEO, said:
“We believe that our business model is inherently sustainable in that we deliver shared infrastructure solutions in emerging markets that promote digital connectivity and inclusion and improve the lives of the communities we serve. However, I believe that the true benefits of mobile connectivity can only be realized if we and our sector continue to develop in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.”
With nearly 40,000 towers across 11 countries worldwide, IHS is one of the world’s largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure. Under the new roadmap, emission savings will be achieved by connecting more sites to the electricity grid and via the deployment and integration of battery storage and solar panel solutions.
IHS Towers also unveiled Project Green as a step in its Carbon Reduction Roadmap, under which the company expects to spend $214 million in capex towards its emissions reduction efforts between 2022 and 2024. The company anticipates its will deliver annual Recurring Levered Free Cash Flow (RLFCF) savings of $77 million in 2025, implying a 30% return on investment.
Project Green will see the company connect more sites to the electricity grid and via the deployment and integration of battery storage and solar panel solutions in its operations in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kuwait, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia, where reliance on diesel generators has been traditionally greater.
Darwish added:
“Our Carbon Reduction Roadmap is the next step in our journey to reduce our carbon footprint by setting tangible emissions targets.”
