Climate risk disclosures will now be subjected to the exact same standards of corporate governance, audit and regulatory assurance as financial statements, the Government of Kenya has announced.

Speaking during the official launch of Safaricom PLC’s 2026 Sustainable Business Report at the Michael Joseph Centre in Nairobi, Environment and Climate Change PS Dr Eng. Festus Ng’eno, declared that environmental accountability is now a core requirement for commercial sustainability.

Dr Ng’eno emphasised that with the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S1 and S2 sustainability disclosures by public interest entities, transparent reporting is directly tied to capital flow and national development.

“A network that fails during a storm cannot carry the emergency signal that saves a life. Climate disclosure must now carry the same standard of governance and assurance as financial statements,” affirmed the PS, insisting that global capital will naturally flow to companies and countries whose environmental data can be trusted.

Further, he lauded Safaricom’s environmental stewardship, particularly its alignment with the presidential directive to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, highlighting the successful deployment of the Jaza Miti digital platform, co-developed by the Ministry and Safaricom, which has scientifically verified over 6.7 billion trees planted across the country.

Dr. Ng’eno also commended the firm’s operational decarbonisation, including its expansion toward 3,000 solar-powered base stations and full recycling of network hardware waste.

Reinforcing the government’s position, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kenya, Dr. Gary Conille, urged the private sector to move beyond traditional corporate social responsibility and integrate sustainability directly into executive decision-making.

Dr Conille noted that traditional philanthropic models are no longer sufficient to address regional economic and environmental challenges, emphasising that public funding alone cannot bridge the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) financing gap.

“The old model of development treated business as a sponsor, inviting executives to a lounge and thanking them in a corporate report. Today, that model is finished,” Dr. Conille declared.

“Public money alone will not finance sustainable development. The private sector is not a sponsor of development; it is the co-author,” he added.

The UN Coordinator further highlighted that routine commercial choices carry the practical weight of public policy, noting that digital pricing, network resilience, and algorithmic transparency dictate market access and community safety during crises.

Therefore, he called for unified action among government, the private sector, and multilateral agencies to ensure digital transformational benefits reach vulnerable populations.

In his remarks, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa underscored the company’s long-term strategic focus, affirming that commercial success must remain aligned with societal impact.

“Our principle remains simple: purpose before profit, and reputation before revenue,” Ndegwa reaffirmed.

“For over two decades, our purpose has been to transform lives. Sustainability is not about a document we produce every year; it is about the daily choices we make and the value we generate for customers, communities, and society,” he added.

Importantly, the CEO revealed that Safaricom generated Sh1.24 trillion in total value for Kenyan society over the past financial year, with direct business activities generating Sh654 billion and sustaining over 1.4 million jobs across the broader economic ecosystem.

He also announced that the company has implemented a double materiality framework to evaluate both operational environmental impacts and external climate risks.

To safeguard the digital economy, Ndegwa noted that Safaricom now leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) to proactively detect and neutralise more than 94 per cent of potential fraud attempts before impact.

Meanwhile, the 2026 Sustainable Business Report marks Safaricom’s 15th consecutive year of corporate sustainability reporting.

By Zipporah Odionyi