Sustainability

Sustainability

Airtel's evolution as an organization has centred on customer obsession, leading us to continuously raise the bar of innovation to make a positive impact to the lives of our customers. We are led by our strategy of responsible growth and guided by a strong foundation of ethics and transparency as we deliver on our commitments to our customers and stakeholders.

Our strategy to create long-term sustainable value for our stakeholders draws on the synergistic aspirations of our financial and non-financial goals. With this in mind, we have moved from the stand-alone reporting of our performance on sustainability goals to an Annual Integrated Report since FY 2017-18. An Integrated Report enables us to present both material financial and non-financial aspects of our performance against the backdrop of a stringent governance framework and robust business model. Timely and transparent reporting and disclosures are key to earn and retain our stakeholder trust.

At Airtel, we conduct periodic stakeholder assessments for determining material issues every two years to gather insights on emerging environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues that may impact our business. In FY 2020-21, we undertook a comprehensive materiality assessment exercise following GRI Standards and guided by Account Ability's AA1000 principles (2018).

At the centre of our focus to create sustainable value for many lives, our commitment is to foster new connections, experiences, and possibilities for a new generation of customers. These customers are evangelists and powerful disrupters who use digital power to re-balance asymmetrical access to information, knowledge, and resources and create a more equitable world. In 2011, we created a 'Blueprint for Social Inclusion' that envisioned a sustainable social and economic growth plan for a million more people.

In 2018, we launched our Sustainability Targets and we are fully committed to achieve the same. The growing awareness of ESG issues are no longer a choice but a necessity. At Airtel, we consider climate change as one of the most critical emerging risk and for the same, we have taken a public goal to reach net-zero emissions (aligned with 1.5ºC emission scenarios) by no less than 2050 in line with Science-Based Target Initiatives (SBTi) recommendations.

We will continue to endeavour to create holistic and sustained value for our people, communities, environment, partners, shareholders, and other stakeholders while protecting our environment and the planet. We stay customer-obsessed and innovation-driven as we reimagine possibilities in the digital world led by a purpose beyond profits.