Smart Energy Voices - Episode 116

Smart and Connected: AT&T’s Carbon-Neutral Future

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AT&T's Sustainability Goals

Carroll shares AT&T's multi-faceted environmental sustainability strategy. The company has set an ambitious goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035, focusing on reducing emissions through renewable energy, fleet transitions, and energy efficiency. Additional key initiatives include the adoption of smart climate solutions, transitioning from copper to fiber for a 70% reduction in energy consumption, and engaging consumers in sustainability efforts. Carroll highlights AT&T's leadership on the EPA Green Power Partnership list and the progress on their science-based target to reduce emissions by 63% by 2030, which the company is currently tracking ahead of schedule.

AT&T's Commitment to Renewable Energy and Corporate Responsibility

Carroll discusses AT&T's approach to renewable energy, highlighting their technology-agnostic strategy, investments in solar and wind, and commitment to diversifying their energy portfolio. As the fifth-largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy on the EPA Green Power Partnership list, AT&T emphasizes both environmental impact and business profitability. Carroll also elaborates on the company's internal culture, describing efforts to engage employees through communication, lunch-and-learns, and volunteer programs.

Gigaton Goal and Smart Climate Solutions

The AT&T Gigaton Goal aims to reduce one gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 for its business customers. Through innovative Smart Climate Solutions leveraging AT&T's fiber, wireless, and IoT technologies, the company helps businesses baseline their emissions, optimize energy consumption, and achieve significant cost savings. Carroll highlights the transparency of AT&T’s methodologies, developed with Carbon Trust, and its publicly available case studies demonstrating measurable emission reductions.

Addressing common challenges like capital allocation and resource efficiency, Carroll emphasizes AT&T’s ability to support businesses in monitoring and optimizing operations using connectivity solutions like 5G and IoT, positioning them as a key collaborator in helping companies meet their sustainability and operational goals.

Climate Data for Resilience and Preparedness

Carroll dives into the company's innovative approach to climate resilience and the actionable climate data they've developed in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory. By creating highly localized, forward-looking data and making it publicly accessible through the Climate Risk and Resilience Portal (ClimRR), AT&T empowers local governments, policymakers, businesses, and communities to anticipate and mitigate climate risks such as extreme heat, flooding, and wildfires. Carroll notes that climate resilience requires collective action, sharing AT&T’s journey in using climate data internally for network planning and externally to benefit broader communities.

Circular Economy and AT&T’s Future Steps

Shannon notes AT&T’s embrace of the circular economy, explaining that much of the groundwork was already in place before formalizing efforts under this framework. By aligning existing initiatives with a circular economy approach, AT&T has successfully engaged internal teams and identified opportunities for growth. Looking ahead, AT&T is focused on achieving its public sustainability goals, including its ambitious carbon neutrality and gigaton reduction targets.

Resources

• ClimRR Portal
• AT&T’s Goals and Progress
• AT&T Environmental Sustainability Website
• AT&T Carbon Neutrality Work Webpage
•  AT&T Climate Resilience Webpage

Connect with Shannon Thomas Carroll

• On LinkedIn

Shannon Thomas Carroll is AVP of Global Environmental Sustainability at AT&T. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s environmental leadership strategy, including its 2035 goals to be carbon neutral across its global operations and to save its business customers a gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions through AT&T connectivity solutions. The company is also using cutting-edge climate projections to build a more climate-resilient network and sharing that data publicly to help communities better prepare for extreme weather events. Shannon brings over 20 years of broad AT&T experience to his current role, including expertise in sustainability program management and supply chain sustainability.