The European Green Digital Coalition will help towards meeting the environmental targets for 2050, but the telecoms sector has already made a strong head start
Joining forces to meet the European targets for 2050: The CEOs of 26 companies in the digital sector formed the European Green Digital Coalition last week. 11 of these are telecoms operators, including the largest European groups (e.g. Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, Vodafone). Vendors such as Ericsson and Nokia have also signed up. The coalition will coordinate these companies’ effort to achieve the targets set by the European Commission in the European Green Deal, which aim to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
What are companies committing to do? Companies signing up to the coalition make three main pledges. Firstly they will invest in green digital solutions that achieve a net positive impact in a wide range of sectors. Secondly they will engage with relevant organisations to develop standardised, credible and comparable assessment methodologies for the net impact of green digital solutions on the environment and climate in priority sectors such as energy, transport, manufacturing, agriculture and the building sector. Thirdly they will promote cross-sectoral dialogue and contribute to the development of guidelines and recommendations for green digital solutions in different sectors, and to encourage workforce upskilling. To measure their progress on the last two commitments, the coalition will publish progress reports and organise a dedicated event during 2022.
The telecoms sector is already taking the lead: The telecoms sector has already been mindful of the importance of sustainability for some time. Our Sustainability Tracker shows that five telecoms groups (BT, MTN, Telefonica, Orange, Vodafone) have set their net-zero target deadline at least five years ahead of 2050. The Tracker counts 53 initiatives announced by operators for the years ahead, most of which (68%) relate to a reduction in the carbon footprint. 17% of the objectives aim to foster the circular economy (for example by encouraging reuse and repair of devices), and 15% of the initiatives involve the adoption of renewable energy.
