Telefónica, founding member of the European Green Digital Coalition (EGDC)
Via Telefónica press room
Mar 19, 2021
- An initiative of the European Commission and leading European ICT companies to drive green digital solutions to create an innovative, sustainable and resilient economy.
- Its commitment to have zero net emissions by 2025 in its main markets has enabled the Spanish operator to join the new coalition.
- Telefónica brings its experience in green digitalisation, where it has 90 Eco Smart services that have enabled companies in all sectors to save 9.5 million tonnes of CO2 in one year.
Telefónica becomes a founding member of the European Green Digital Coalition (EGDC) presented today in Porto (Portugal) during Digital Day 2021, and framed in the Declaration "A green and digital transformation of the EU", signed by the EU Member States.
The EGDC is an initiative of the European Commission and leading European ICT companies - Deutsche Telecom, Ericsson, Nokia, Orange, Vodafone, Telefónica, Telenor and Telia, among others - committing to enable the EU's green transition by harnessing digitalisation. Companies, in order to be part of the coalition, must have science-based targets to reduce their GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions by 2030 and become climate neutral or net zero emissions by 2040 at the latest.
Telefónica's CEO, José María Álvarez-Pallete, signed the declaration and said: "It is an honour to be part of the European Green Digital Coalition to accelerate the EU's green and digital transformation and contribute to an innovative, sustainable and resilient recovery. This coalition unites us around one goal: to be part of the solution to climate change, a historic opportunity that we cannot afford to miss".
The company is committed, together with the other members, to contribute to the success of the EU's green digital transformation through a series of actions such as: investing in the development and deployment of green digital solutions with significant energy efficiency; collaborating with relevant organisations to develop standardised assessment methodologies for the net impact of digital solutions; promoting cross-sector dialogue; and contributing to the development of guidelines and recommendations for the deployment of such solutions.
Commitment to sustainability
Telefónica has efficient telecommunications networks (fibre and 5G) that are low carbon as they are powered by 100% renewable energy, and is committed to net zero emissions by 2025 in its main markets, and by 2040 at the latest across the entire value chain.
Its main contribution to the coalition will focus on green digital services to help decarbonise the economy. The company already has 90 connectivity-based services (cloud, Internet of Things, Big data and Artificial Intelligence) confirmed as Eco Smart solutions by AENOR. Thanks to them, companies in all sectors avoided 9.5 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere in 2020, which is equivalent to planting 158 million trees.
For more than a decade, Telefónica has been a group committed to sustainability, with all its actions based on the principles of the Global Compact and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It therefore works to minimise its environmental impact, taking into account that digitalisation is a key tool for this. In fact, for the seventh consecutive year, Telefónica has consolidated its position as the leading company against climate change in the world ranking prepared by CDP, a non-profit organisation specialising in environmental impact.
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