Business Talk SDGs Meeting with K-Electric
DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY: GLOBAL COMPACT NETWORK PAKISTAN ACKNOWLEDGES K-ELECTRIC’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO SDGs
KARACHI 23rd November 2022: Executive Director of the Global Compact Network Pakistan Fasihul Karim Siddiqi commended KE’s contribution towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, sharing their initiatives as an opportunity for others to mobilize towards building resilient, environmentally conscious communities.
These comments were made at a session inviting industry leaders and experts to learn from KE’s progress. With the climate crisis impacting people, many organizations are adopting environmentally conscious approaches into their business plans and daily operations. The UN Global Compact (UNGC) is a worldwide network of over 20,000 companies spanning 150 countries committed towards achieving this goal.
“In this decade of action, tackling the climate crisis and energy conservation agenda is gradually entering the DNA of companies. For the last 17 years, UNGC has been mobilizing private sector entities to support governments in achieving the SDG targets. We appreciate companies in Pakistan including KE which is one of the largest participating organizations in the country for their diverse initiatives tackling multiple SDGs in a proactive manner.” said Fasihul Karim Siddiqui
KE’s sustainability agenda touches on 11 of the 17 SDGs, with a focus on SDG-5 (achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), SDG-7 (deliver clean and affordable electricity), and SDG-11 (build sustainable cities and communities). Speaking about the initiatives on these fronts, Director of Environment, Sustainability and Governance, Zehra Mehdi Malik shared “These goals revolve around the company’s core operations, for e.g. The S&P award-winning, “Roshni Baji” program saw 100 women get trained as certified electricians. A first of its kind for Pakistan, these women began educating over 463,000 families on safety and energy conservation for individual households. We are also increasing diversity through employment of 5 female Grid Operating Officers (GDOs) and 24 female Meter Data Maintenance Officers (MDMOs).”
This engagement is in tandem with grassroots development with the company’s Sarbulandi Program (aligned with SDG-11) that is improving existing infrastructure in Karachi’s densely populated neighborhoods. Furthermore, KE is supporting 40 organizations working in service of the city under its institutionalized platform of the KHI Awards providing them a chance to extend their impact, serving approximately 9 million lives on an annual basis.
Speaking on SDG-7 and KE’s energy ambitions, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Sadia Dada shared that KE is aspiring to achieve ‘30 by 30’ – by FY30, renewable energy which will constitute 30 percent of the company’s generation mix. This is in line with the company’s vision to make electricity affordable and available for its growing customer base. Asked about what the roadmap for sustainability entails, she added “Climate change is at our doorstep, and if we go by current rates of progress, it is estimated that we will be able to achieve our targets by 2061. But we should not keep our ambition on the backburner; companies, governments, and organizations working in the climate change space must embed sustainability into our businesses to accelerate our collective progress. We must keep innovation at the center of our focus and apply this lens to every aspect of our business to succeed in today’s environment.”
At the onset of the session, Mr. Fasih remarked that we are all ambassadors of sustainability, of ourselves, our homes, communities, and our larger circle of influence. With perseverance and commitment, we can overcome the challenges of the future.
