ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethio telecom has launched the eighth round of its nationwide Green Legacy campaign, planting 250,000 additional seedlings across Ethiopia while highlighting a sustainability strategy that extends far beyond corporate tree planting to encompass renewable-powered telecommunications infrastructure, electric mobility and energy-efficient digital networks.
The initiative, launched simultaneously across Addis Ababa and the operator’s 18 regional offices under Ethiopia’s national “Planting Hope” campaign and Ethio telecom’s corporate theme “For a Green Ethiopia,” brought together more than 3,500 employees and partners in one of the company’s largest annual environmental programmes.
While the nationwide reforestation campaign serves as the public face of the initiative, it forms part of a broader sustainability strategy integrated into Ethio telecom’s three-year “Next Horizon: Digital & Beyond 2028 Strategy,” which combines digital transformation with environmental stewardship, green infrastructure development and inclusive economic growth.
The operator said its Green Operator strategy is helping accelerate Ethiopia’s transition toward a greener digital economy through investments in renewable energy, energy-efficient network infrastructure, hybrid power systems, green data centres and low-carbon technologies.
According to the company, it has now commissioned 190 fully solar-powered telecom sites, deployed 867 hybrid solar-and-battery power systems and installed 1,114 lithium-ion battery storage units, reducing diesel generator operating time by up to 40 percent across its nationwide network.
During the past financial year alone, Ethio telecom commissioned 215 new solar-powered sites while modernising 774 existing stations, adding 12.72 megawatts of renewable generation capacity and increasing its total installed solar capacity to 39.72 megawatts. The expansion demonstrates how digital infrastructure and climate action can reinforce one another, enabling cleaner network operations while extending reliable connectivity to rural and off-grid communities through renewable energy rather than conventional diesel-powered infrastructure.
The company’s sustainability strategy also extends to green mobility. Since launching its electric vehicle charging service in February 2025, Ethio telecom has deployed nine ultra-fast EV charging stations capable of charging 108 vehicles simultaneously. Between February 2025 and July 2026, the network facilitated more than 481,000 charging sessions, delivering 11.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and helping avoid approximately 15.4 million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions—an environmental impact the company says is equivalent to the carbon sequestration capacity of more than 76,000 trees.
Alongside technological investments, Ethio telecom continues expanding one of Ethiopia’s largest corporate environmental restoration programmes. Over the past seven years, the operator has planted more than 4.6 million seedlings across 889 locations, creating temporary employment for over 24,800 people while achieving an average seedling survival rate of 82.7 percent.
The eighth-round campaign is expected to create an additional 2,000 temporary jobs through seedling planting, nurturing and protection activities. The company has allocated more than 42.4 million Ethiopian birr for this year’s programme, bringing cumulative investment in environmental protection and green development to over 159.9 million birr.
Ethio telecom’s environmental initiatives have received increasing recognition beyond Ethiopia. The operator has twice received the Brand Africa 100 “Most Admired Ethiopian Brand Doing Good for Society and the Environment” award and was also honoured with the Ethiopian Green Award 2025 by the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority for its leadership in advancing the country’s green development agenda.
Now in its 132nd year of operation, Ethio telecom says it will continue embedding sustainability into network expansion, digital infrastructure and community development as it advances Ethiopia’s digital transformation while supporting national climate and environmental objectives.
As telecommunications operators worldwide face increasing pressure to decarbonise their operations, Ethio telecom’s Green Operator strategy offers a compelling example of how digital infrastructure, renewable energy, ecosystem restoration and community development can advance together in support of both climate goals and inclusive digital development across Africa.
