Stakeholders in Nigeria’s telecommunications and technology sectors have called for the institutionalisation of measurable sustainability standards across the industry, saying transparent metrics are critical to attracting investment, improving infrastructure resilience and strengthening Nigeria’s digital economy.

The call was made at the Telecoms and Technology Sustainability Working Group (TTSWG) Stakeholder Strategy Breakfast held on Thursday in Abuja, with the theme, “Shaping the Future of Sustainable Telecommunications and Technology in Nigeria: A Shared Vision for 2027–2032.”

The stakeholder engagement brought together representatives of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), technology and telecommunications companies, sustainability professionals and other industry stakeholders to examine the proposed sustainability framework and provide inputs before its formal adoption.

Speaking at the event, Abdu-Waya Mohammed, Chairman of the TTSWG Board, said the proposed strategy was designed to address some of the most pressing challenges confronting the sector, including rising energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions, electronic waste, inadequate digital inclusion and the need for stronger governance structures.

He said the three-year implementation strategy would focus on accelerating the transition to renewable energy, promoting digital inclusion and social progress, strengthening governance, fostering innovation and developing industry-specific sustainability metrics.

Mohammed stressed that the document presented at the event remained a draft and was intended to be refined through stakeholder contributions.

“This is a stakeholder engagement. Whatever we are presenting today is a draft from the Secretariat, and we expect feedback from participants to further sharpen the way forward for the implementation of the strategy that we are proposing,” he said.

Bankole Oloruntoba, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC), said TTSWG was established as a multi-stakeholder platform to institutionalise sustainable practices within Nigeria’s telecommunications and technology ecosystem.

According to him, the working group is deliberately structured as a membership-driven initiative rather than a programme owned by a single corporate organisation.

He said sustainability should not be viewed merely as an obligation of individual companies but as an ecosystem-wide responsibility capable of creating jobs, encouraging innovation, improving investment prospects and supporting Nigeria’s broader economic ambitions.

Oloruntoba identified environmental, social and governance integration, accountability, innovation, energy efficiency, digital inclusion, e-waste management, gender inclusion and policy advocacy as some of the group’s priority areas.

He said the sustainability agenda was particularly important as Nigeria seeks to deepen digital transformation and position its economy for increased global investment.

“Some of the global financing structures have requirements that many organisations may not yet meet here in Nigeria,” he said, noting that stronger sustainability reporting and accountability could improve the sector’s ability to access international capital.

He also disclosed that TTSWG would continue to support research, knowledge management, webinars, industry engagements and innovation programmes, including its Innovation Makers Challenge scheduled for September 24 in Lagos.

Proposed sustainability index

A major component of the engagement was the presentation of a proposed National Telecom Sustainability Index (NTSI) by Chris Uwaje, a TTSWG board member, who explained that the proposed framework was intended to provide measurable indicators for assessing sustainability performance across Nigeria’s telecommunications industry.

The framework is built around five pillars: Environment and Energy; Digital Inclusion and Affordability; Digital Integrity, Privacy and Consumer Trust; Infrastructure Resilience and Governance; and Supply Chain and Local Value Creation.

The first pillar covers issues including energy mix, dependence on diesel, emissions and e-waste circularity.

Digital inclusion and affordability focus on coverage, penetration, affordability and equitable access, while digital integrity incorporates data protection, fraud, complaint handling and service quality.

The infrastructure resilience and governance pillar covers issues such as vandalism, theft, restoration, right-of-way, compliance and IPv6 readiness.

The fifth pillar, specifically designed around Nigeria’s operating environment, addresses local content, local currency financing, decent work and job creation.

Uwaje said the framework was intended to bridge Nigeria’s local realities with internationally recognised sustainability reporting practices, while providing a consistent basis for measuring the performance of the telecommunications sector.

He said the proposed metrics were particularly relevant to investors because sustainability-linked financing increasingly requires companies and markets to demonstrate measurable environmental, social and governance performance.

“An investor relies on a market that builds confidence and has the metrics to measure,” Uwaje said, arguing that credible sector-wide measurements could improve confidence in Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure and potentially support greater investment.

The proposed index would combine weighted scores from the different pillars into a composite score, with performance bands ranging from “leading” to “lagging”.

However, Uwaje emphasised that the framework had not yet been adopted by the NCC and remained a proposal being subjected to stakeholder review.

Three-year implementation proposed

The framework proposes a phased three-year implementation process.

Under Year One, the proposed pilot phase would involve testing core indicators with the major mobile network operators and leading tower companies, refining definitions and templates, building a reporting module and establishing an IPv6 baseline.

Year Two would move towards a mandate-core reporting system for qualifying licensees, with extended reporting for major operators and the publication of an internal sector baseline.

By Year Three, the proposal envisages publication of an annual Nigerian telecom sector sustainability report, expansion of the index and independent assurance of reported data.

The framework is designed to allow the regulator and industry operators to gradually incorporate sustainability reporting into existing regulatory and operational processes.

Uwaje identified four factors driving the need for such a framework: the NCC’s statutory data mandate, critical infrastructure obligations, investor and capital-market expectations, and the alignment of climate and digital-economy policies.

He also drew attention to the growing importance of infrastructure resilience, particularly in relation to fibre cuts, vandalism and theft, arguing that disruptions to telecommunications infrastructure have implications beyond individual operators because of the sector’s importance to the wider economy.

He further highlighted IPv6 migration as an infrastructure issue requiring greater attention as the demand for internet-connected devices continues to expand.