Environmental Responsibility
We are committed to managing the environmental impact of our business activities, as the digital economy grows. As a major telecommunications services provider, our approach to environmental management focuses on our two most material environmental impacts – climate change and waste.
We recognise the threat of global climate change and are working towards aligning our business with the aims of the Paris Agreement. This includes reducing our emissions to help mitigate climate change, using our technologies to help reduce emissions within our wider society, understanding and building resilience to climate impacts, and being transparent in our disclosure of climate impacts, risks and opportunities.
We also aim to be responsible product stewards – by reducing the environmental impact of our products over their life. That’s why we are focused on working with our suppliers to reduce packaging and increase resource recoverability, and working with industry partners on solutions for management of e-waste.
We know this is important to our employees, our customers and our investors, and is an important part of being a sustainable business.
Our commitments include:
- Powering our Australian operations with 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025.
- Setting a Science-based Target for reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, aligned to net zero.
- Assessing climate risks and opportunities in line with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and integrating into our annual reporting.
- Continuing to expand felix as a carbon neutral brand and product targeting 1 million trees planted by the end of 2022.
- Working with our suppliers to reduce packaging and increase packaging resource recoverability across our products and networks.
Climate Change
TPG Telecom recognises the threat of global climate change and is working towards aligning our business with the aims of the Paris Agreement. This includes reducing our emissions to help mitigate climate change, using our technologies to help reduce emissions within our wider society, understanding and building resilience to climate impacts, and being transparent in our disclosure of climate impacts, risks and opportunities.
TPG Telecom will power its entire operations across Australia with 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025.
We will purchase renewable energy certificates for operation of our nationwide fixed and mobile network infrastructure, office buildings and retail network.
We recently raised the bar with the launch of felix - Australia’s first telco brand powered by 100 per cent renewable electricity. felix has been certified as a carbon neutral service by the Australian Government’s Climate Active initiative. In partnership with One Tree Planted, one new tree joins our nation’s canopy for every month each felix customer holds an active subscription.
Now this renewable drive is being extended across our family of brands.
This is just one step in our journey to align with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Not only are we reducing emissions in our own operations, but through our technologies, we are helping to reduce emissions across our broader society.
TPG Telecom’s roll-out of 5G will enable technological advances, which have enormous potential to avoid emissions through smarter cities, transport, energy, buildings, agriculture and other industries.
Energy efficiency
Over the past six years, across our Vodafone mobile network, older Uninterrupted Power Supply systems have been replaced with more energy efficient equipment.
Direct current power systems have also been implemented across all our data centres and air conditioning chillers have been replaced with computer room air conditioning units, typically delivering an estimated 25 per cent energy saving.
A range of design solutions have been introduced to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions associated with our mobile base stations including free cooling measures that improve airflow circulation using low powered fans, significantly reducing the need for air conditioning. At our Dean Park base station in NSW, we have seen a 90 per cent reduction in daily air conditioning use following the upgrade.
In partnership with ICS Industries, TPG Telecom has contributed funding to support the development of the Zonecool™ shelter - a more efficient and cost-effective base station equipment shelter solution which targets cooling to specific zones and utilises high capacity racking enabling optimal use of space for future technologies.
Our Vodafone operations achieved a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of more than 5 per cent in 2020 compared to the previous 12 months as reported in line with the requirements of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007.
Waste management and product stewardship
TPG Telecom is a member of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), a not for profit organisation that works with businesses and government to co-regulate the environmental impact of packaging in Australian communities.
We are reducing the environmental impact of packaging used for devices, accessories and SIMs. This has included, for example, launching half-sized SIM punch outs and smaller cartons to better fit non-standard sized products like Apple Watches and tablets.
Through membership of the government accredited Mobile Muster program, we collected 7,000 kg of mobile phone components for recycling through our in-store collection program in 2020.
And as part of City Switch - a leading Australian sustainability program that supports office-based businesses to improve their energy and waste efficiency - we are recycling paper, cardboard, plastics, metal and printer cartridges in our Vodafone corporate offices, and battery and express post recycling in our TPG Telecom head office.