Commercial, GHG Emissions  -  November 23, 2020

Vodafone ramps up carbon neutral goal to ten years earlier than planned

Vodafone announced Nov. 23 that it is committed to achieving net zero emissions in its global operations by 2040 and that its 2030 carbon reduction targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative, particularly its goal to eliminate Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.

In addition to eliminating emissions from its own operations and from purchased energy, the European telecommunications company plans to cut its Scope 3 emissions in half by 2030, including those from joint ventures, all supply chain purchases, the use of products it has sold and business travel. This will allow Vodafone to completely eliminate Scope 3 emissions by 2040, ten years earlier than its previous target of achieving net zero by 2050.

“Vodafone believes in leading by example, so today we have pledged to become fully ‘net zero’ by 2040 and the Science Based Targets initiative has confirmed that our 2030 carbon targets are in line with the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement,” CEO Nick Read said in a statement. “We are committed to reduce our carbon footprint through improved energy efficiency, renewable energy supply, reducing our network waste and new environmental criteria when we select suppliers.  Vodafone will also enable our customers to reduce their environmental footprint through use of our services, including the Internet of Things.”

Vodafone developed its science-based targets based on a framework established for the information and communication technology sector by a collaboration between ITU, GeSI, the GSMA and the Science Based Targets initiative. Currently, the company is targeting powering its European network with 100% renewable electricity by July 2021 and in 2019 issued its first €750 million green bond to finance or refinance projects to help meet its environmental targets.