GP pledges greener future on World Environment Day

Grameenphone (GP) has reaffirmed its commitment to environmental sustainability and finding green energy solutions to combat climate change. 

To spark conversation on this important topic, Grameenphone brought together public and private sector experts and the diplomatic community to discuss the "Green Energy Ecosystem in Bangladesh" on 5 June on the occasion of World Environment Day, according to a GP press release.   

Yasir Azman, CEO, Grameenphone, said "Deploying solar powered towers is a stepping stone towards co-creating a greener future. It will significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions from our operations and help overcome the electricity supply problem. 

"As an early adopter of green initiatives in Bangladesh, we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint with a comprehensive set of initiatives. I believe if private sector organisations are given the opportunity to procure more renewable energy utilising the gridlines," the CEO added.

Grameenphone has set a target to reduce 50% carbon emissions (CO₂) by 2030, taking 2019 emissions as the baseline, the release said.

The digital enabler to 'Smart Bangladesh' has stepped up efforts to use renewable energy, deploying solar panels at towers. 

The organisation has so far converted around 1,200 towers into solar energy powered sites in remote places like Hatiya, ensuring connectivity in the most unconnected regions. 

Grameenphone's climate targets have been set based on the ICT sector-specific decarbonization pathway, approved by the Scientific Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Grameenphone, being a socially responsible organization, aims to combine off-grid and on-grid PPAs to reach its 50% CO2 reduction target by 2030. 

As the current market poses certain challenges in terms of power generation, distribution, and selling to BPDB, the roundtable discussion provided an opportunity to explore feasible solutions to these issues and consolidate further recommendations for the policymakers, the release said.

Committed to digital inclusion and sustainable development, Grameenphone has long been striving to harness the power of technology to drive positive change in society while minimising environmental impacts in every way possible, including spearheading the launch of eco-friendly eSIMs. 

Reflecting on this philosophy, Grameenphone expressed its keen enthusiasm and concern to foster collaboration between stakeholders and subject matter experts by facilitating a conducive environment for on-grid CPPAs and accelerating the transition to a greener energy landscape in Bangladesh thereby.