Thursday 17 June 2021

Vodafone vows to eliminate all UK carbon emissions by 2027

Vodafone has vowed to eliminate all carbon emissions from its entire operations in the UK by 2027.

The announcement is part of Vodafone Reinvent, which aims to give customers flexibility, reduce carbon emissions and connect one million people living in digital poverty.

Vodafone is using Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor its base stations: Smart Site allows the company to manage issues remotely, eliminating the need to sent out field engineers and therefore reducing its carbon footprint.

In three years, Vodafone reduced its energy consumption by 100GWh and its carbon footprint by 25,000 tonnes by improving energy efficiency across 90 UK sites and 100% of its network equipment is reused or recycled.

By July 2021, its European network, across 16 countries, will be 100% powered by renewable energy sources like solar and wind and its fleet of cars and vans will be electric by 2027.

The latest pledge follows the telecoms giant's previous ambition to reduce its total global carbon emissions to net zero by 2040.

Andrea Dona, UK Network & Development Director at Vodafone said: “As a technology and communication business, our network is the foundation for the connectivity and digital services we all rely on today. Our network connects 16 million people at any time and in one year it uses 560GWh of power. It's the single biggest impact we make on the environment.

“We have some of the most ambitious global climate targets in the industry. Vodafone Group, across 21 countries, will eliminate all carbon emissions from its own activities and the energy it purchases and uses by 2030.

“And today, I can announce that, here in the UK, we will achieve this by 2027.”