Energy efficiency
As demand for connectivity, data services and network expansion rises, energy use increases alongside business growth. Still, stc is focused on managing this growth through responsible energy practices, targeted efficiency improvements and transitioning to cleaner energy sources. These efforts are supported by stc’s Environmental Management System (EMS), which helps monitor environmental performance, identify improvement opportunities and ensure compliance with relevant environmental requirements across operations.
Energy optimization for data centers
stc continues to optimize energy use across its operations, with a strong focus on data centers and network infrastructure. Data centers built after 2018 are required to achieve an average annual power usage effectiveness (PUE) of no more than 1.6 at full IT load. In 2025, stc recorded a PUE of 1.5 at full load.
stc continues to enhance the environmental performance of its data centers by improving energy efficiency, optimizing cooling systems and integrating smart monitoring technologies to reduce energy consumption and operational emissions. These efforts focus on improving infrastructure efficiency while supporting reliable digital services and scalable network operations.
Key initiatives include:
- Advanced cooling systems with hot/cold aisle separation
- Optimized mechanical equipment using variable frequency drives (VFDs) on chilled water networks
- Smart monitoring and energy-efficient design targeting a PUE of 1.5
- Local sourcing of materials to cut transport-related emissions
These measures, combined with strict energy policies and TCOS certification, minimize environmental impact while ensuring high performance.
Optimizing energy efficiency at stc’s headquarters
stc continues to enhance energy performance across its headquarters and operational facilities through a combination of technology upgrades, operational optimization and strengthened climate governance. Building on the Smart Campus centralized Building Management System (BMS) and earlier efficiency measures, the focus is increasingly shifting toward deeper system optimization, digital monitoring and infrastructure improvements that support the group’s broader decarbonization roadmap.
The established Climate Action Working Group (CAWG) will strengthen oversight and accelerate implementation of climate initiatives across departments with significant emissions, to enable cross-functional coordination across Shared Services, Technology, center3 and the Sustainability department, ensuring that energy efficiency and emissions reduction initiatives are effectively tracked, prioritized and implemented across operations.
In line with this approach, stc is implementing and continuing to advance several high-priority initiatives aimed at improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions across its facilities and operational activities. Key initiatives include:
- Optimizing building energy use through automated controls, including the installation of timer-based systems to shut down exhaust fans and internal and external lighting outside of operational hours, reducing unnecessary electricity consumption.
- Upgrading cooling infrastructure, through the replacement of outdated chillers and air conditioning systems with high-efficiency chillers and pumps, significantly lowering energy consumption associated with cooling operations.
- Enhancing building envelope efficiency, through the installation of double-glazed windows in existing buildings to reduce heat transfer and improve overall energy performance.
- Transitioning to energy-efficient lighting systems, by replacing conventional halogen and fluorescent lighting with LED technology across facilities, with implementation completed across key sites.
- Deploying smart lighting controls, including motion sensors to automatically regulate lighting usage based on occupancy, minimizing energy waste in low-utilization areas.
- Strengthening centralized energy management, through the ongoing and planned implementation of a Smart BMS to enable real-time monitoring, control and optimization of energy consumption across facilities.
Performance metrics
In 2025, total electricity consumption declined across both stc KSA and the wider stc group, reflecting efficiency improvements and boundary changes in reporting.
For stc KSA, the total electricity consumption decreased by approximately 4% primarily driven by enhanced energy efficiency measures across the offices and facilities operation in addition to network operations and efficiency optimization efforts. Similarly, for stc group the total electricity consumption has dropped substantially largely attributable to the change in reporting boundaries. Overall, the 2025 results demonstrate operational efficiency gains in core infrastructure, partially offset by growth in energy-intensive digital services.
In addition, stc KSA made measurable progress in reducing fuel use, underscoring its commitment to lowering dependence on fossil fuels. Petrol consumption declined by 7.2% in 2025 demonstrating positive efficiency gains in mobility-related operations.
Adjusting for data traffic growth, energy intensity per petabyte (PB) of data has improved significantly, with energy consumption (in gigajoules (GJ)) reducing for both stc KSA and stc group. At stc group, energy intensity improved from 112.07 GJ/PB in 2024 to 106.52 in 2025, underscoring stc’s dedication to enhancing energy efficiency in data processing and network operations, reinforcing stc’s commitment to delivering more with less energy.
Waste and circular economy
Effective waste management and resource circularity remain key priorities within stc’s environmental strategy. As a telecommunications provider with significant reliance on electronic equipment and network infrastructure, responsible management of materials throughout their lifecycle is essential to minimizing environmental impact and supporting circular economy principles.
Waste management
stc is committed to enhance waste management practices across its operations. In 2025, stc group advanced waste reduction through initiatives focused on increasing the recycling of operational waste streams, improving the recovery of valuable materials from electronic equipment and raising awareness of responsible consumption among employees, customers and partners.
To support these efforts, stc has introduced an improved operating model for scrap recycling across its logistics and inventory operations. The initiative enhances material tracking, sorting and segregation of recyclable waste before collection, supported by the introduction of weight-scale verification and improved inventory records. These improvements enable more accurate valuation of scrap materials, increase transparency in recycling processes and support more efficient recovery of recyclable materials while helping maintain cleaner operational yards.
Performance metrics
General waste (t)
stc KSA *
stc Group
*KSA refers to stc KSA and its headquarters-based subsidiaries.
Towards a paperless operation
Digital transformation plays a key role in reducing stc’s environmental footprint by enabling a transition towards paperless operations, improving efficiency while minimizing resource use. Since transitioning to a paperless office approach in 2023, stc has monitored implementation through a quarterly reporting system that tracks paper consumption metrics and supports continuous improvement.
stc KSA
As part of its digitization and automation strategy, stc KSA continues to expand digital processes across the organization, with the number of group-wide processes and services available through the internal intranet platform stc Hub reaching over 4,000, enabling employees to complete administrative, operational and support functions digitally.
These efforts have contributed to a significant reduction in paper usage across operations. A key enabler of this transition is Sayen, a digital authentication service licensed by the Communications and Information Technology Commission and approved by the National Digital Certification Center, which supports secure digital document processing and electronic signatures across operations to ensure improvement of operational efficiency. By Q3 2025, Sayen facilitated:
1,778
documents
2,055
digital signatures
255
registered users
Additionally, stc KSA printed 203,705 pages in 2025, compared to 212,438 pages in 2024, representing a 4% year-on-year reduction in printed paper. Through these digitalization efforts and the implementation of the paperless office policy introduced in 2023, stc KSA (including headquarters-based subsidiaries) achieved a 92% reduction in paper consumption compared to the 2019 baseline.
Financial impact
~%78,177
Saved versus 2019
Environmental impact
~13.4tCO2e
Reduced versus 2019
Operational impact
Secure digital authentication and e-signatures through Sayen
End-of-life assets treatment
To advance its waste management practices, stc has partnered with Holoul e-waste recycling, a Saudi company that specializes in sustainable waste management. The collaboration focuses on handling stc’s end-of-life assets through collection, processing, reuse, recycling and safe disposal.
The partnership has improved stc’s adherence to circular economy principles: maximizing reuse and recycling to minimize the disposal of electrical and electronic equipment, furniture, vehicles, paper/plastics and hazardous materials into landfills.
Performance metrics
Total waste generated (t)*
Percentage of waste reused
Percentage of waste recycled
Percentage of waste safely disposed
* Data refers to stc KSA and its headquarters-based subsidiaries.
Trade-in program
stc’s trade-in program promotes circular economy principles in the ICT sector by enabling customers to recycle or exchange old devices for a credit toward new purchases. Through this initiative, used electronics are collected, refurbished where possible and resold or responsibly recycled, diverting significant e-waste from landfills, extending device lifecycles and supporting resource efficiency.
Number of recovered devices through trade-in program in 2025
19,611
Percentage of recovered devices reused through the trade-in program
100%
Water management
Operating in a water scarce region, stc recognizes the importance of responsible water management as part of its broader environmental stewardship. stc group prioritizes improving water efficiency across its facilities and operations to support sustainable resource use, operational resilience and long-term environmental protection.
In 2025, stc enhanced its water management practices by introducing IoT-enabled monitoring systems across key facilities. Smart flow meters connected to NB IoT terminals automatically collect and transmit water usage data in real time, enabling more accurate monitoring of water consumption and quicker detection of leaks or inefficient usage patterns.
The collected data is integrated into centralized digital dashboards, providing facility managers with real time insights that support more informed decision-making and improved water management. These systems also expanded monitoring coverage to previously inaccessible areas of the headquarters, ensuring more comprehensive visibility of water flows across the site.
Performance metrics
Water consumption (m³)
stc KSA
stc group
* The increase in water consumption at stc KSA in 2025 is primarily attributed to the expansion of the built-up area and construction activities.
** KSA refers to stc KSA and its headquarters-based subsidiaries.