IHS Holding Limited (NYSE: IHS), one of the world’s largest independent owners and operators of shared telecom infrastructure, has published its 2024 Sustainability Report, detailing environmental, social, and governance progress across its operations. The company reported measurable advances in carbon reduction, community investment, and education-focused digital inclusion.
The report, covering January through December 2024, outlines the group’s execution of its four-pillar sustainability strategy across ethics and governance, environment and climate change, education and economic growth, and people and communities.
Carbon emissions intensity from Scope 1 and Scope 2 sources fell approximately 11% year-on-year, with an overall 20% reduction since 2021. This improvement is part of IHS Towers’ ongoing Project Green, which has attracted a cumulative investment of $209.4 million since its launch in 2022. In Brazil, the company planted 7,800 seedlings in the Amazon, restoring four hectares of degraded land, and partnered with WaterAid to install rainwater harvesting systems in Rwandan schools, benefiting more than 4,000 students and staff.
In education and inclusion, 55% of the company’s sustainability spending in 2024 was directed toward programs aimed at economic empowerment. More than 100,000 students were trained in digital skills through Nigeria’s national 3 Million Technical Talent initiative. IHS also supported the deployment of ICT centers in Cameroon and Rwanda, serving over 2,000 young people, and expanded STEM access for 5,250 students in Nigeria and Brazil.
The report also marks the completion of IHS’s three-year collaboration with Giga, a joint initiative between UNICEF and the ITU, to connect schools to the internet globally. In Brazil, IHS’s infrastructure data helped Giga determine that the average distance between schools and telecom towers was under one kilometer, aiding in planning for rural connectivity.
On workplace safety and governance, IHS reduced the rate of recordable work-related injuries to 0.04, down from 0.17 in 2023. It introduced new health and safety protocols, while maintaining gender representation levels across its 2023 benchmarks. Employees completed an average of 12 hours of training via the IHS Academy.
The firm also reaffirmed its commitment to ethical operations. IHS South Africa earned a Level 4 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment rating in its inaugural audit. The group retained its ISO 37001 anti-bribery certification and trained over 4,500 supplier employees in compliance with its Supplier Code of Conduct.
In March 2025, IHS Towers was ranked in the top 9% of telecom companies assessed by Morningstar Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Rating.
With $8.2 million invested in community-centered projects in 2024 alone, bringing the total to $37 million since 2017, IHS positions its infrastructure strategy as closely tied to the socioeconomic development of the markets in which it operates, particularly in Africa and Latin America.
