2019 Sustainable Business Report

SAFARICOM SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2019 INTRODUCTION OUR BUSINESS OUR MATERIAL TOPICS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT CONCLUDING REMARKS 32 DATA CENTRE TIER III DESIGN CERTIFICATION Opened in 2015, the Thika Data Centre is our main data centre for co-location services. In FY19 we applied for a Tier III Design Certification for the centre from the Uptime Institute. The certification confirms that the data centre design supports any planned works on site infrastructure (maintenance or modification) without disrupting operations, providing our enterprise customers with a differentiated service, verified by a global expert, and an assurance of 24/7 infrastructure availability. The certification was awarded following a thorough forensic assessment of the Safaricom Data Centre design by international experts. THE B-TEAM: KEEPING ETHICAL, SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS ON THE AGENDA Safaricom is a founders circle member of the B-Team Africa, not-for-profit alliances of business leaders who are committed to responsible and sustainable business practices for the wellbeing of people and the planet. RESPONSIBLE TAX PRINCIPLES Oxfam reports that tax and benefits systems can reduce inequality and poverty, provided a government takes proportionately more tax from those on higher levels of income, and redistributes welfare benefits to those on lower incomes. 6 The B-Team and leading companies (including Safaricom), through engagement with civil society organisations, institutional investors and international institutions, have developed a set of Responsible Tax Principles. These provide a framework for what good tax practice (a key element in reducing inequalities) should look like and a benchmark for businesses to work towards in areas such as tax management strategy, interactions with authorities and reporting. Safaricom and KCB Group have endorsed the principles, and B-Team Africa is mobilising other business leaders to do the same in key countries including Kenya and Ghana. ENDING ANONYMOUS COMPANIES AND ADVOCATING FOR OPEN CONTRACTING B-Team Africa, with the Open Government Partnership (OGP), continues to advocate for government progress towards transparency in public, open data registers, starting in Kenya and expanding to Ghana. This will combat corruption by demanding that organisations operate transparently. Safaricom, Invest in Africa and other B-Team Africa members continue to mobilise private sector support for transparency in public and private procurement. In partnership with HIVOS East Africa, the Government of Kenya-Business Registration Service and the private sector and the private sector, B-Team Africa joined the conversation on the new beneficial ownership requirements in the amended Companies Act of Kenya. 7 Our supply chain team has kept ahead of the curve by being vigilant in requesting that potential and existing suppliers provide detailed beneficial ownership information before we undertake any business with them. 6 Oxfam (2018), “The Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2018”, available at https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/commitment- reducing-inequality-index-2018 (accessed 22 June 2019) LOOKING AHEAD TO 2020 Future focus areas pertaining to governance, risk and regulation include: • building on policies and processes to ensure cyber security for our business and stakeholders; • continuing to promote and support customer awareness around social engineering fraud; • maintaining an active role in collaborative advocacy action to promote ethics and integrity among all our stakeholders; • expanding initiatives to ensure KYC compliance across the business and among our partners; • promoting ethical business practices and a culture of integrity within Safaricom and among its business partners and supporting the efforts of other organisations to abide by the same;