Maha Alnuhait

Sustainability General Manager, stc (Saudi Telecommunications Company)

HOW ARE YOU CREATING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR THE REGION?

We consider ourselves more than just a telecom company, we seek to pioneer and champion digitization, always focusing on the innovation and evolution of digital solutions for a smart and sustainable future.

We focus our efforts on ensuring we leave the world better than we found it by creating a positive environmental impact, providing connectivity and accessibility to those who need it, becoming more representative to a diverse society we live in, as well as enhancing the long-term value through strong governance.

Our aim is to be at the forefront and take the lead in the broader digital transformation sphere, both nationally and regionally, and to use this as an opportunity to promote sustainability, innovation, and empowerment of people across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We are committed to supporting the national, regional and global goals in alignment with Vision 2030 and the SDGs, as well as aiming to ensure our business practices are in line with these goals to promote positive advances and avoid detrimental impacts on society and the environment.

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU FACE?

Climate change is one of the most serious challenges that humankind has ever faced. The evidence of climate change is unequivocal; and with recent events, we can all feel the effect of climate change from heat waves, flooding, heavy storms; and it only underscores the need for faster and stronger action.

Technologies today are evolving at a speed that we have never seen before. Simultaneously, the difficulty for some people or companies within the community to keep pace with this change is increasing every year. Poor access to technology and communication are key accelerators to the digital divide. Upskilling technical “know-how” and digital empowerment of the local community are critical to bridging the gap.

Businesses around the world, including ICT companies, need to rethink their production processes in order to shift towards more sustainable patterns of operation. We all have an active role to play in managing energy consumption and combating climate change by promoting the use of digital solutions in our own activities and within our customer activities.

Secondly, the COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for business operations as well as for employees and customers. The ICT industry was not only involved in social and environmental challenges, but it also was a key player in propagating them, so the challenge moving forward is to be better prepared for any future crisis as we move forwards to a safer and more hopeful world.

HOW ARE YOU OVERCOMING SAID CHALLENGES?

We consider the transition to sustainability as an opportunity to conduct business without compromising the needs of future generations. We use this opportunity to do things differently, promote change and bring innovation to people’s lives, our business, and the society at large. Our work includes managing risks, challenges and opportunities resulting from the rapid growth in the ICT sector.

We seek to be a stewardship for the environment by minimizing our own direct environmental impacts as well as the impact associated with the use of our products and services. Our aim is to achieve net zero carbon emissions. In line with other leading companies worldwide, we have aligned our business with the Paris agreement to reach net zero carbon emissions by no later than 2050. We are committed to adopting science-based targets and we aim to publish our carbon reduction targets by 2023. stc initiated its renewable energy pilot project to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 191,000 tons with an expected annual clean energy production of 15.236 GWh.

To bridge the digital divide, stc invests heavily in infrastructure development to provide universal and affordable access to information and communication to people in all geographical areas in the countries we operate in. We have also launched several programs and initiatives to digitally empower the local community. Through our sustainability platform, we provide the technical enablement program through which we offer non-profit organisations cloud-based digital solutions for free to increase their reach while at the same time cut costs and improve efficiencies. We also focus on groups that are at risk to be marginalized, such as the elderly, children, low-income households, those in remote areas and so forth.

At present, we’re working on launching the digital truck initiative to reach remote areas and fill the gap between the elderly population and fast-developing digital technologies. The first phase of this three-year initiative will focus on spreading awareness about the use of Internet through mobile phones, protection against cyber-crime fraud, and helping the elderly adapt to digital devices and social media.

The pandemic highlighted areas where digital services could help with the response by improving the provision of care through hospitals and health facilities. Our smart alert and reporting service enabled effective communication during the pandemic, saving time and increasing effectiveness in the delivery of care. Our clinical services such as virtual clinic solutions connected physicians and patients regardless of distance.

Following the unique challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, and in line with Vision 2030 to digitize the infrastructure of the health care sector, stc continued to focus on e-health solutions that facilitate and automate the work of our health care heroes. The services range from smart alert and reporting services, virtual clinic solutions to facilitate communication between patients and doctors, to an EMI service to manage, store, and display medical images easily and remotely.