It should be clear by now that the focus by companies on environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations is a trend that is only going to increase in uptake. This is because ESG criteria have moved beyond being viewed as little more than an optional standard, and instead, these principles have become an integral part of companies’ strategies – including those operating in the telco sector.
This is unsurprising, considering that ESG principles are increasingly emerging as a transformative force globally, prompting businesses to review their policies and practices in order to adapt to an ever-changing business landscape. The telecommunications industry is no exception.
Ashvir Singh, Senior Specialist, Special Projects and Network Quality at OpenServe, told delegates at the recent Southern African Telecommunications Association Conference, at the Sandton Convention Centre, that ESG principles are having a profound impact on the way telcos operate, innovate and interact with the world around them.
“With ESG, it provides organisations with a framework in which they can operate sustainably, by focusing on three key areas, all of which reflect areas of performance management,” he says.
Makgosi Mabaso, Chief Commercial Officer at OpenServe, states that broadly speaking, ESG is framed as the universe of topics that reflect areas of performance management around impacts and dependencies of the business on society and the environment.
“As such, ESG serves as a strong indicator of an organisation's shared value creation ability and its resilience – which is crucial to building trust with investors, evaluators, customers and other stakeholders. In addition, sustainable practices can translate into improved operational efficiency and reduced costs in the long run for businesses,” she says.
“At OpenServe, we have looked towards not only embedding ESG values into our strategy, but also embedding this into our culture. This allows for the integration of these principles directly into daily operational activities.”
AI enters the discussion
Singh adds that at the same time, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven predictive analytics can play a role in improving ESG further, by identifying potential risk areas for investigation before they escalate into full-blown crises. These tools can help prioritise investigations based on the severity and likelihood of systemic issues.
“Already, we are able to use it to create early warning systems and advanced weather management solutions, to help us predict natural disasters. Meanwhile, from a governance perspective, it also offers valuable insights into how to go about improving this.”
Of course, not all intersections with AI are positive – one social concern is its potential to lead to job losses. However, even here, responsible employers can stay ahead by ensuring that employees receive upskilling and/or reskilling to prepare them for an AI-led future.
“Another area of concern with AI is the power involved. Research by Goldman Sachs forecasts that the increase in power demands from data centres to service the increasing requirements of AI will be around 160%. It is rather difficult to achieve a net zero when we keep inventing technologies that consume ever-increasing amounts of power,” he states.
“How then can we power AI while still ensuring we have enough energy to power the nation as well? At OpenServe, we focus on reducing power consumption by eliminating power-hungry older technologies – essentially, energy conservation through decommissioning.”
This, he continues, has enabled OpenServe to adopt a hybrid energy mix, meaning the company is powered by solar photovoltaic technologies, which are in turn augmented by a standard power connection, with batteries as additional backup and generators to protect facilities from the country’s national power instability.
According to Maboso, this complex hybrid energy mix is where AI really shines. “We utilise AI models to provide dynamic autonomous power and HVAC control, allowing us to keep our network running in a more sustainable, cost-effective manner, while always prioritising customer experience,” she says.
Singh agrees, explaining that OpenServe understands the need to balance decarbonisation with the ability to provide services and continue evolving the technologies it uses.
“For example, we know AI models can ingest large amounts of data – including weather forecasts, power stability forecasts and generator fuel levels – so we can always determine the best method of leveraging power while ensuring optimum operations.”
Overall, he suggests that OpenServe has reduced its non-renewable energy consumption by almost a third, bringing down both its carbon footprint and its operational costs, and proving that intelligent sustainability is good for business.
The social focus
“For OpenServe, a major part of our adoption of ESG lies in always ensuring that we don’t lose focus on what the S stands for: it’s about the impact on both communities and employees. Thus, we have adopted a process of augmentation and enhancement, rather than replacement. In this way, we ensure our people are able to handle the challenges of both the present and the future,” continues Singh.
Maboso points out that OpenServe leads the investment in the Telkom Centres of Excellence (COEs), funding computing and engineering research at 15 South African universities.
“Run with industry partners, the programme has now expanded through a partnership with the National Research Foundation (NRF) to drive breakthroughs in selected high-impact, future-focused technologies. The Telkom innovation group collaborates with OpenServe and other partners to align these university programmes with critical industry skills gaps, while also driving impactful solutions for business and society.
“Finally, in our future-technologies strategy, we fund hubs researching large language models (LLMs) for South African languages, 5G applications for critical services in rural areas, and scalable smart agriculture. These areas were chosen for their potential impact and to accelerate the training of post-graduate students in high-demand scarce skills,” she concludes.
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