IHS Holding Limited, one of the largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count, has today announced its Carbon Reduction Roadmap.

The Carbon Reduction Roadmap provides a comprehensive strategy for decreasing IHS Towers’ emissions, including a goal to reduce the Scope 1 and Scope 2 kilowatt-hour emissions intensity of its tower portfolio by 50% by 2030, using 2021 emissions data as the baseline.

Under Project Green, the next significant step of its Carbon Reduction Roadmap, the company expects to spend $214 million in capex towards these efforts between 2022 and 2024, and to deliver annual Recurring Levered Free Cash Flow (RLFCF) savings of $77 million in 2025. This, in turn, is expected to generate an implied return on investment of 30%.

As a result, and as previously mentioned in second quarter results, IHS Towers is raising its 2022 capex guidance. The company now expects to spend $645-685 million (previously $545-585 million), including $110 million of the $214 million spent for Project Green, as it is also taking this opportunity to narrow its former range based on actual spend year-to-date.

See related article: Deutsche Bank Publishes Targets for Carbon Footprint Reduction

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. In scope for Project Green are IHS Towers’ operations in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kuwait, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia where reliance on diesel generators has been traditionally greater.

Sam Darwish, IHS Towers Chairman & CEO, commented “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. Our Carbon Reduction Roadmap is the next step in our journey to reduce our carbon footprint by setting tangible emissions targets.”

IHS Towers has also taken this opportunity to revise its corporate values and incorporate a new fifth Sustainability value that focuses on health and safety, security, and the environment, to ensure that these topics are further embedded throughout the business. These values are our guiding principles that help foster teamwork and ensure we achieve our shared business goals.

Source: IHS Holding Limited