GHG Emissions, Commercial, Sourcing Renewables  -  December 13, 2018

Verizon sets clean energy goal

Verizon has set a goal to reach 50% clean energy use by 2025. Now at 2% renewables, the company previously indicated that it would only go to 4% in the foreseeable future. Verizon has not yet announced any purchase agreements with wind or solar farms that will help the company meet this goal

A statement from Green America said the goal was set after their “Hang Up On Fossil Fuels” campaign led some 33,000 consumers to contact Verizon through social media and phone calls urging the company to power its networks and data centers with renewable energy. The statement said, “Green America estimates that, based on Verizon’s reported carbon emissions, this will result in a reduction of approximately 2.8 million tons of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent of taking nearly 600,000 cars off the road each year. That also equals the amount of carbon that 2.9 million acres of forest could sequester in a year.”

Verizon’s announcement follows T-Mobile's January 2018 commitment to reach 100% clean energy by 2021. AT&T also announced earlier this year its plan to purchase 830 MW of wind power, taking the company up to 30% clean energy.  Green America is asking all telecom companies to commit to 100 percent clean energy by 2025.

Green America Executive Co-Director for Consumer and Corporate Engagement Todd Larsen said: “Verizon management, shareholders and customers deserve credit for moving in the right direction on renewable energy. The company has gone from a meager commitment of 24 MW of new clean energy for its facilities to a commitment of hundreds of MW meeting 50 percent of its total energy usage."

The telecom sector uses enormous amounts of energy. The four largest companies in the telecom sector – AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile – collectively use more than 3 million MWh of electric power each year, according to Green America estimates.

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