The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Orange Sierra Leone, Sekou Amadou Bah has, on behalf of his telecoms company, received a meritorious award as the 2022 National Climate Ambassadors
The prestigious award is bestowed by Shout Climate Africa in recognition of Orange-SL’s giant strides in preserving the environment against the devastating consequences of global Climate Change.
It’s no gainsaying that such a meritorious award has not come on a silver platter as Orange has been accelerating its solar projects in Africa and the Middle East to reduce its carbon footprint to zero by 2040.
Orange Sierra Leone, therefore made good use of such an opportunity and engaged in the vigorous deployment of solar panels across the country.
The need for solar systems in the entire region was unleashed upon Orange’s realization that many sites were not connected to the electricity grid, and thus, alternative solutions were always compelling to back up the quality of the grid.
It can be remembered that before the advent of the solar panel system, generators were being used to generate electricity for the effective functioning of facilities, using fuel – fossil energy that emits CO2). With the avowed aim of protecting the environment in most operational areas of its subsidiaries, therefore, Orange put several mechanisms in place, the solar panels being inclusive, and with partners specializing in energy, has ensured the deployment of innovative solar solutions with the latest generation batteries, avoiding the use of fuel.
Orange Group has also positioned itself in its operational countries to reduce its environmental footprint and is the largest deployer of solar panels, with a renewable energy use rate already at over 65% for Orange Sierra Leone, 50% for Orange Guinea, and 41% for Orange Madagascar.
“These solar panel solutions have also been deployed in other African and Middle Eastern countries where Orange is present, like Liberia, for instance, where 75% of Orange’s telecom sites are equipped with solar panels. In total, Orange has installed solar panels at 5,400 of its telecom sites (some 100% solar, others hybrid) saving 55 million liters of fuel each year,” Orange official sources reveal, adding that as with other affiliates, Orange-SL has made environmental targets a core business concern and a major priority for our CSR in meeting the Company’s net zero-carbon initiative.
Official sources highlight that in 2021, Orange-SL launched the Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) committee to help implement, rollout and monitor all programs and make recommendations to the management on issues of EHS for onward action.
Further, the telecoms company expedited its green energy projects by migrating 334 out of its 505 sites to solar (+65% sites with solar), to increase its target for renewable energy ration from 33% to 41% by end of 2022.
Other giant strides of Orange-SL include the solarization of its Bo data center in 2023, the provision of an on-grid solar solution for the Freetown data center to reduce the load by 2023, the expansion of site footprint to install more solar panels, swapping of existing solar panels with high power panels, the provision of Li-on batteries instead of OPZ to all new sites, and the training of over 150 employees on EHS programs in 2021, as well as organizing 7 community engagements and circulated over 500 EHS awareness messages and tips.
“Our Ambition is to create as much awareness on EHS programs and increase the share of our renewable energy mix in Sierra Leone. For us putting Environment, Health, and safety into practice means implementing actions in the EHS field through training, awareness, and engagements,” Orange official sources state.
Meanwhile, the Salone Compass understands Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 42.3 billion euros in 2020 and 140,000 employees worldwide as at 31st March 2021, including 80,000 employees in France.
The Group has a total customer base of 262 million customers worldwide at 31 March 2021, including 217 million mobile customers and 22 million fixed broadband customers. The Group is present in 29 countries. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services. In December 2019, the Group presented its new “Engage 2025” strategic plan, which, guided by social and environmental accountability, aims to reinvent its operator model. While accelerating in growth areas and placing data and AI at the heart of its innovation model, the Group will be an attractive and responsible employer, adapted to emerging professions.
