We'd like to touch on a topic often spoken about in the industry, but rarely delved into in detail. Sustainability in telecom. Though it is an urgent, existential human issue, we often hear the same question from our telco customers: how can we make a difference in sustainability? In this blog, we will empower you with the groundwork for understanding what sustainability in telecom is and the quantifiable steps and actions you can take to improve your carbon footprint.
What Is Sustainability?
First, we will start with the basics. Sustainability encapsulates a wide range of environmentally friendly and renewable practices focused on climate change, natural resource conservation, biodiversity, and sanitation. For the sake of this blog, we are focusing strictly on climate change. When scientists and experts discuss climate change, they are referring to the rising of global temperature levels, through the burning of fossil fuels, compared to pre-industrial times. These increased temperatures result in the melting of polar ice caps and increased likelihood of wildfires. To avoid the worst effects of climate change, the world must limit global temperature increase to below 1.5°C (or 2.7°F) within the next 25 years. 2050 is the target set by the Paris Accord. Most countries are setting even more aggressive targets for net-zero impact, as early as 2025/30.
Greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions are the main contributor to rising global temperatures through the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas). The emissions include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. Due to their presence of GHGs in the atmosphere, heat that would normally escape the planet through natural processing remains trapped instead, warming the planet. (See diagram on the right.)
To quantify the gases released into the atmosphere each year through industrial processes, we use the measure of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) tons. This is an accumulation of all greenhouse gases (not only carbon dioxide) released each year.
Please note: Because different greenhouse gases have a different intensity and duration, this is an imperfect measure. Methane, for instance, is twenty-eight times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere but lasts only 12 years in the atmosphere compared to centuries, like carbon dioxide. That said, while imperfect, CO2e tons serves as a baseline used for climate discussions.
How to Level Up Telecom Sustainability?
Now that we have completed the groundwork, we return to the original question: What is Sustainability in Telecom? The answer is that it relates to the specific practices and actions that occur within the telecom industry to increase or decrease greenhouse gas emissions (in CO2e tons) worldwide. In 2022, the telecom industry was responsible for 1.4% of the global economy’s total emissions (thirty-seven billion CO2e tons), a figure on par with that of the aviation industry. Over 45% of the emissions released in 2022 from the telco industry relate to data center usage.
How does this affect telecom companies? Threefold.
| Policy | Legislature | Impact |
| Due to the urgency of climate change, many world organizations and countries are adopting strict GHG emission guidelines such as those proposed by the 2016 Paris Agreement. | To enforce these policies, governments (EU, UK, VCMDA in California) are passing stricter GHG emissions standards and anti-greenwashing laws. | To ensure that your business does not receive significant fines or risk being ostracized by consumers and enterprises, you’ll need to properly report your carbon footprint. |
In 2023, for instance, the EU released a new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which effects over 10,000 companies operating in or doing business with the EU, including over 33% of companies from the United States.
Policies like the CSRD, along with Science Based Targets, provide guidelines for how corporations report their emission outputs and targets. In general, emissions fall into three categories:
- Scope 1, which refers to emissions produced directly from a business operation,
- Scope 2, which refers to emissions produced indirectly such as the purchase of energy, and
- Scope 3, which refers to emissions generated up and down the product stream. (See diagram below.)
Any telecommunications company looking to improve their carbon footprint would benefit from tracking and reporting their Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and emissions targets (for the future). By planning emissions targets, companies can begin planning strategies for reaching their goals. Equally important, their partners can make educated decisions on which vendors/customers they want to do business with.
One of the most significant changes telecom companies can make in achieving a net-zero impact (near zero GHG emissions output by 20XX) is by prioritizing energy purchases through renewable energy sources. Not only will this reduce their over carbon footprint, but also help fund further research and development of renewable energy technologies. In addition to monitoring their energy purchases, telecom companies can also improve their data systems and processes to ensure that they use the minimal amount of computing power. (Also known as “green coding.”)
Telarix’s Direct Actions and Results
At Telarix, computing optimization is a critical pillar of our software products and business. We are consistently investing significant R&D efforts into improving our traffic loading and KPI processes.
For more on topics related to the telecom industry, please reach out to us via the link below or visit our LinkedIn page.
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