MTN Ghana is using its 2026 Sustainability Month to deepen awareness of responsible business practices among its staff, customers and small businesses, with activities focusing on waste management, environmental protection, sustainability and access to digital services.

The Acting General Manager for Sustainability and Shared Value at MTN Ghana, Georgina Asare Fiagbenu, said the company had planned a series of internal and external activities throughout the month to ensure that sustainability became part of everyday business and personal decisions.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, August 20, Ms Asare Fiagbenu said the company had deliberately balanced activities for its employees with engagements involving communities and other stakeholders.

“For the month we started, so what we've done is that we have one internal activity every week and we also have one external. And this is just to balance the inside out,” she said.

She said the month began with an internal launch, followed by competitions designed to test employees’ understanding of sustainability and the changes needed to promote responsible business practices.

“We started with a launch, and after that we started internal competitions to test our staff's knowledge about sustainability and all the things we have to adopt,” she said.

In the second week, MTN organised a “Lunch and Learn” session, where employees discussed how sustainability could be applied across different parts of the company.

The session, dubbed “ESG in Your Zone”, brought together staff from various departments and divisions to examine how environmental, social and governance principles could be incorporated into their daily work.

Ms Asare Fiagbenu said the discussions involved several teams, including energy, human resources, ethics and commercial operations.

“We had a conversation that we called ESG in your zone. So within every zone, within every department, within every division, how are you living and adopting sustainability to ensure that it goes down to everybody in the business?” she said.

She said the energy team explained measures being taken to conserve energy, while the human resources and ethics teams discussed issues relating to employees and responsible conduct.

The commercial team, she added, focused on both revenue generation and expanding access to broadband services.

She said access to telecommunications services was increasingly becoming essential to people’s daily lives.

“Telecommunication services is becoming like a human rights issue and everybody needs access,” she said.

According to her, the commercial team also explained how MTN was working with original equipment providers to make internet access more affordable and safe.

As part of the month’s activities, MTN staff also visited the Accra Composites and Recycling Plant to gain a better understanding of the challenges associated with waste management.

Ms Asare Fiagbenu said the visit was intended to make employees more conscious of the volume of waste generated in Accra and the need for individuals and businesses to take responsibility for how they dispose of it.

She disclosed that Accra generates about 4,000 tonnes of waste every day, but only about half is currently recycled.

“Accra generates about 4,000 tons of refuse every day and we are able to recycle only about 2,000,” she said.

She questioned what happens to the remaining waste and said the experience should encourage people to reconsider how they dispose of rubbish.

“So about 50% of the waste, where does it go?” she asked.

Ms Asare Fiagbenu said the visit had reinforced the need for MTN staff and the wider public to reject irresponsible waste disposal.

“It became more critical that we all have to join the fight against indiscriminate and irresponsible behaviour,” she said.

She also pointed to practices in other countries, where consumers are encouraged to carry reusable shopping bags and are charged for requesting plastic bags.

Her point, she said, was to highlight the need to think beyond generating waste and consider what happens to it afterwards.

“We generate the waste, but where does it go? How do we manage them?” she asked.

MTN Ghana is also bringing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into the sustainability campaign.

Ms Asare Fiagbenu said about 120 SMEs had been brought together by the MTN Business team for a sustainability engagement, with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) expected to provide training on how small businesses can adopt sustainable practices.

“And why are we bringing SMEs along? It's the same argument. We can't do it on our own,” she said.

“I mean, you can't just have one business talking about us living responsibly. You need to bring people on board.”

She said the training would help SMEs understand how to run their businesses sustainably while also contributing positively to their communities.

“So as a small business, how can you adopt sustainable practices for business running?” she asked.

She said businesses needed to balance growth with social and environmental responsibility.

“Whilst driving your business, you also ensure that you are investing in the community and doing things responsibly,” she said.

MTN also plans to organise a tree-planting exercise as part of the month’s activities.

The company is also working with its Human Resources team to establish a garden club to encourage staff to grow some of their own food.

Ms Asare Fiagbenu said food sustainability was an important part of responsible living and encouraged employees to grow vegetables regardless of the amount of space available to them.

“What you eat is very important. Very, very important. You have to be sustainable yourself to be able to protect the environment and do all that,” she said.

“No matter how small your space is, you can grow something,” she added.