SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023
01 | About the Report | 03 |
02 | Company Overview | 05 |
03 | Message from the Board of Directors | 08 |
04 | Message from the Vice-Chairman & Group CEO | 10 |
05 | Message from the Chief Sustainability Officer | 12 |
06 | 2023 Highlights | 14 |
07 | Awards | 18 |
08 | 4Sight Strategy | 21 |
09 | Corporate Governance | 27 |
10 | Enterprise Risk Management | 34 |
11 | Human Rights | 40 |
12 | Materiality Assessment | 45 |
13 | Regulatory Context | 52 |
14 | Stakeholder Engagement | 56 |
15 | Products & Services | 64 |
16 | Customer Base | 70 |
17 | People & Purpose | 72 |
18 | Sustainability Agenda | 84 |
19 | Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures | 106 |
20 | Looking Forward | 116 |
21 | Appendix | 119 |
22 | Independent Assurance Report | 130 |
23 | Contact List | 133 |
02
Table of
Contents
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023
C H A P T E R | 0 1 |
About the
Report
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023
For its 13th consecutive year, Zain's 2023 Sustainability Report provides an overview of the company's social, economic, environmental, and human rights impacts across its operating companies. The report covers the period 1 January 2023 - 31 December 2023, published on an annual basis.
ABOUT THE REPORT | 04 |
Headquartered in Kuwait, Zain's countries of operation referenced in this report include Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and South Sudan as well as key subsidiaries ZainTECH and Zain Omantel International (ZOI).
The report is in line with the company's financial statements that can be found n the annual report. Zain also holds a 15.5% stake in INWI in Morocco through a joint venture. As Zain does not manage INWI operationally, this entity is not part of the scope of the Sustainability Report.
Zain also ensures its Sustainability Report is independently verified under limited assurance by Ernst & Young (Al Aiban, Al Osaimi and Partners). The independent assurance report can be found on page 130.
The Vice-Chairman and Group CEO, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Sustainability Officer, and relevant Executive Management at Zain Group review, assess, and approve the publication of the Sustainability Report.
Zain's Sustainability Report is developed in alignment to the AA1000 Accountability Principles (AA1000AP) 2018; the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) standards; the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards, where it follows the 'Telecommunications Sustainability Accounting Standard'; Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGP) on Business and Human Rights Reporting Framework; ESG Reporting Guide published by Boursa Kuwait, GSMA ESG Metrics for Mobile; and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) principles.
Centered on the Corporate Sustainability's strategy mission, the 2023 Sustainability Report demonstrates the company's efforts to provide Meaningful Connectivity leading to equitable systemic change. The report provides the required context of its markets to showcase how it continued to execute its five-year2020-2025 Corporate Sustainability strategy. Throughout 2023, the company remained committed to achieving its targets whilst maneuvering through the various challenges and deficits faced by its operating markets.
The strategy's four pillars were created based on a comprehensive stakeholder engagement exercise in addition to being rooted in understanding the deficits and context of its economic, societal, environmental, and human rights impacts.
- Climate Change: Decarbonize the business and transition towards Net-Zero by 2050
- Operate Responsibly: Embed Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles across the entire value chain
- Inclusion: Reduce the digital inequality gap
- Generation Youth: Build resilience across Zain communities by targeting 16 million children and youth
More information on how Zain's efforts in achieving the above-mentioned objectives can be found in the 'Sustainability Agenda' section on page 84.
Please note, some information deemed significant that was mentioned in previous reports is repeated in this edition, while redundant or easily available information may have been omitted to ensure fluidity and clarity of the current report. The report also describes situations where considerable organizational changes have taken place during the reporting period.
This report is published on March 28, 2024.
Zain welcomes any comments, feedback, or suggestions regarding the content and aspects related to Zain's sustainability performance.
Please reach out to us on:
FACEBOOK-FX-TWITTERLINKEDIN-ININSTAGRAM
Email: cs@zain.com
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023
C H A P T E R | 0 2 |
Company
Overview
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023
COMPANY OVERVIEW | 06 |
The 2023 Sustainability Report coincides with the company's 40-year anniversary. Zain, formally known as Mobile Telecommunications Company K.S.C.P., was established in 1983 by an Amiri decree. Headquartered in Kuwait, the company is considered the region's first mobile operator, and following its expansion strategy is currently operating in eight countries in the Middle East and Africa with a workforce of around 7,900 employees. The largest shareholder is the Group of Oman Telecommunications, with a 21.9% ownership, followed by Kuwait Investment Authority with 15.9%.
Below is the breakdown of the equity share of Zain across its markets:
Operation | Equity Stake |
Bahrain | 65% |
Iraq | 76% |
Jordan | 96.5% |
Kuwait | 100% |
Saudi Arabia | 37% |
Sudan | 100% |
South Sudan | 100% |
ZainTECH | 100% |
In 2023, the company provided voice and data digital products and services to 51 million customers. Prepaid and postpaid customer numbers can be found in the 'Customer Base' section of this report. Additionally, through its UAE headquartered integrated digital solutions entity, ZainTECH, the company provides the full stack of ICT enterprise (B2B) services for Governments and Enterprises of all sizes across
the region. Also, the newly formed UAE based Zain Omantel International (ZOI) is revolutionizing the international telecommunications wholesale landscape as the premier wholesale powerhouse serving regional operators, international carriers, and global hyperscalers.
Zain is a member of the GSM Association and continues to engage proactively in various regulatory affairs, sustainability, climate change, circularity, children's rights, and industry trend streams.
51M
Active customers
USD 6.2B
In consolidated revenues
USD 701M
In net income
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023 | COMPANY OVERVIEW | 07 |
The company continued to scale implementation of blocking mechanisms of child sexual abuse material across six out of its seven mobile operators.
To better serve its customers from the disability segment, the company provided bundles for this demographic in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and South Sudan
For the third consecutive year, Zain implemented 912 its Women in Tech (WIT) program that
fosters the development of undergraduate women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), having reached an accumulative of 912 women since 2022.
AN ACCUMULATIVE OF
WOMEN FROM THE WOMEN
IN TECH PROGRAM REACHED
SINCE 2022
Zain continued to scale its supplier self-assessment questionnaires to 441 suppliers, reaching a total of 23% of its active suppliers in 2023.
23%
ACTIVE SUPPLIERS TOOK SELF-
ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRES
AND TRAINING IN 2023
Zain achieved a score of 8.4/10 in the Children's Rights and Business 2023 Global benchmark, reaching a leader position against
a sector average of 5.8/10 and regional average of 3.4/10.
8.4/10
ACHIEVED SCORE IN THE
CHILDREN'S RIGHTS AND
BUSINESS 2023 GLOBAL
BENCHMARK
Zain established the Zain Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion University in collaboration with IE University with the aim of extending learning opportunities to 2,000 Zain employees to participate in an inclusive online Digital Transformation program, also offering the possibility of attaining a master's degree.
2,000
ZAIN EMPLOYEES TO PARTICIPATE
IN AN INCLUSIVE ONLINE DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM
In alignment to the company's ambition to become Net-Zero by 2050, Zain deployed 338 hybrid solutions across its footprint to reduce its emissions.
338
DEPLOYED HYBRID SOLUTIONS
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023
C H A P T E R | 0 3 |
Message from the Board of Directors
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2023 | MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS |
Mr. Osamah Othman | Mr. Bader Nasser | Mr. Talal Said | As the custodians of the company, its employees, |
AlFuraih | Al Kharafi | Al Mamari | various operating companies, subsidiaries, and |
Chairman of the Board | Vice Chairman and Group | Member of the Board | companies under management control, Zain's Board of |
of Directors | CEO | of Directors | Directors remain steadfast in proving a path of organic |
and equitable growth based on the intersection of | |||
business and society over the short, medium, and long | |||
term. | |||
The Board's focus on value creation is exemplified by | |||
its commitment to running the business with integrity, | |||
putting in place business KPIs that clearly articulate | |||
the company's vision for growth and development, and | |||
ensuring that the business has the required resilience | |||
to overcome the challenges of our time. | |||
Mr. Abdulrahman Mohammed | Mr. Yousef Khaled | Mr. Zaki Hilal Saud | Climate change, displacement, and access to |
connectivity are areas of material importance to the | |||
Ibrahim Al Asfour | Al Abdulrazzaq | Al-Busaidi | Board due to the impact on the business. Employee |
Independent | Member of the Board | Member of the Board | and social well-being continue to be a focus area, |
Board Member | of Directors | of Directors | especially in an era of great social turmoil. |
Mr. Atif Said Rashid | Mr. Aladdin | Mr. Nasser bin Suleiman |
Al Siyabi | Baitfadhil | Al Harthy |
09
We are happy to report that we continue to evolve and make inroads in our Corporate Sustainability strategy, and we look forward to fulfilling our strategic goals.
We would like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude and appreciation to His Highness the Amir of the State of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah and the members of the governments in the markets in which we operate, for their support, which is instrumental for the continued development of the organization.
Sincerely,
Zain Group Board of Directors
Member of the Board | Member of the Board | Member of the Board of |
of Directors | of Directors | Directors |
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ZAIN - Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC published this content on 07 May 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 07 May 2024 05:10:08 UTC.