Orange Sierra Leone (OSL) begins its Environmental Week celebration on Monday with the theme: We only have one earth! Let’s go green! The celebration is meant to raise awareness about environmental issues, and to showcase OSL’s accomplishments in lowering its carbon footprint while also reaffirming the company’s commitment to eco-friendly measures, policies and practices that support global sustainability of the planet.
In a brief ceremony held at the company’s headquarters to mark the occasion, OSL’s Chief Climate Officer, Danetta Younge, highlighted the company’s progress toward environmental sustainability, citing their tremendous achievement of a 20% renewable energy ratio in 2023 and the powering of 72% of OSL sites with a variety of solar energy solutions.
Ms. Younge emphasised that the company’s efforts in restoring ecological balance through its various initiatives remain on course; adding that in 2023 they planted 3,000 trees at the Mortomeh mudslide site, an activity which invariably earned them the enviable national distinction as the Net Zero Carbon Champion Mobile Company of the year awarded by Shout Climate Change Africa.
Ms. Younge also outlined the company’s ambitious environmental sustainability goals, which include planting 10,000 more trees this year, recycling unused Orange devices, reusing refurbished ITN equipment, solarising office buildings and data centres, and monitoring business operations to ensure compliance with environmental laws and standards. By 2025 Orange Sierra Leone aims to achieve a 30% renewable energy ratio, she concluded.
For his part, OSL’s Chief Executive Officer, Sekou Amadou Bah, recognises that modern civilization faces significant environmental challenges, listing pollution, deforestation, and biodiversity loss as worldwide issues with serious ramifications for the global south. He reaffirmed that OSL has taken concrete steps to reduce its environmental impact through the use of clean energy solutions, but emphasised that more work needs to be done to meet the Orange Group’s net zero carbon target by 2040. He further encouraged his staff and volunteers to work together to accomplish these goals.
In his address, Jiwoh Abdulai, the country’s minister of Environment and Climate Change, welcomed and praised OSL’s efforts in complementing the central government’s environmental protection and preservation strides. He stated that these activities are consistent with the government’s objectives and plans, as well as the national development framework. He then appealed for further support from OSL, with the goal of fostering strong private sector engagement to protect the environment.
