Omantel, the leading integrated communication services provider has unveiled its annual “Sustainability Report” 2019 under the theme “Amazing Happens Together”. The report, which comes within the company efforts to enhance transparency with different stakeholders, is issued inline with the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Commenting on the launch of this report, Talal bin Said Al Mamari, CEO of Omantel, said, “In Omantel, we pay great attention to governance and sustainability in our endeavor to ensure the sustainability of our business and adhere to local and international frameworks and standards related to governance and sustainability. Besides being an important channel for communication with various stakeholders, sustainability reports also enable us to measure our performance in the economic, social and environmental fields, which in turn will help us in addressing any challenges facing the improvement of our performance indicators”.

“Sustainability reports provide an internationally recognized clear mechanism for each business sector to measure sustainability performance and provide us with the opportunity to make annual comparisons that highlight the key achievements and the gaps that we should address. While we are proud of the progress and achievements made over the past years, we also attach great importance to addressing any issues or gaps identified in the report’, he added.

Al Mamari pointed out that the Omantel Sustainability Strategy took into consideration the Sustainable Development Goals announced by the United Nations and the strategic direction of Oman Vision 2040. In 2014, Omantel developed its own Sustainability Framework that included a number of goals for digital inclusion and social responsibility to be achieved by 2020. Among these goals were investing RO 10 million in social responsibility programs and covering 95% of the populated areas in the Sultanate with broadband services at speeds of not less than 10 Mbps. Within the people theme, we also targeted enhancing the capabilities of employees and empowering them to become future leaders at various levels of the company. Today, we are proud to announce that we have reached the social responsibility objective a year ahead of schedule. “, he added

“The move to the new headquarters of the company has contributed to improving many indicators as we have taken into consideration many sustainability aspects at the design stage and while awarding the construction works to contractors. Among the key criteria was the purchase and procurement of local materials and services – which accounted for more than 46% in the project. We have also used recycled materials without compromise on the quality of the building to help conserving environment. The building is also in compliance with U.S LEED design criteria to provide a work environment that help employees in improving the productivity. We provided our staff with proper lighting, ventilation and means that help them rationalize power consumption”, he concluded.

It is worth noting that Omantel new headquarter has been designed to use the steel mesh surrounding the building to install solar panels to provide the energy required for the building. This will contribute to saving energy from non-renewable sources and preserving the environment.

On her part, Laila Mohammed al Wahaibi, Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility at Omantel said, “We are proud to be one of the leading companies that produce sustainability reports in the Country which reflects our transparency approach and commitment to all stakeholders. The report provides in-depth information about Omantel’s social, economic and environmental performance covering the period from 1 January to 31st of December 2019”.
Omantel CSR focus areas included improving the quality of life of the targeted groups and achieving digital inclusion by supporting important sectors such as education and health in addition to promoting HSE behaviours, entrepreneurship and small businesses,” she added.

“Omantel seeks to adopt best international practices to ensure that the environmental system in the Sultanate of Oman is not compromised despite the rapid and successive developments and the digital transformation that we are witnessing. Omantel, which pays great attention to electricity and water issues, closely monitors the consumption of electricity and looks for alternatives such as renewable energy. It also carries out several campaigns to raise awareness among members of society of the importance of saving electricity. In recognition of its noticeable efforts, Omantel has received in a special gala in Lisbon in Portugal the Green Era Award, one of the most prestigious global sustainability awards, she continued.

“Omantel, which launched 5G network last December, was the first operator to launch this technology in the Sultanate. The move is considered as a qualitative leap and the most important technical event during the past year. Omantel’s network is expected to contribute to meeting the growing demands for broadband services as well as enabling the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. This will be a valuable addition to the digital transformation efforts in the Sultanate”, she furthered.

“Our efforts in preserving the environment contributed to a significant reduction in the use of paper by 75% i.e. from 4 million paper sheets in 2017 to one million papers in 2019. During the past year, we sent more than 4.6 million e-bills, which represent 23% of 19.9 million bills we issue every year. This has resulted in saving of 1017 trees. ”