That is “of key importance”, says a report from the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance this morning. Operators need to select “suppliers whose own sustainability strategies are aligned with these goals”, says the report.
Anita Döhler (pictured), CEO of NGMN, said: “Green Future Networks is a core strategic priority … Collaboration between operators and their partners is so critical to both parties’ success in tackling climate change.”
NGMN said it “provides the platform to enable the industry to work together on key topics such as sustainability, network disaggregation and 6G – all of which require extensive industry-wide collaboration to be truly successful”.
The report, compiled by staff from Bell Canada, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, HPE, IBM, KPN and Orange, sets climate action targets in alignment with the Paris Agreement.
It says: “According to the latest Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) report, data disclosed by the majority of the operators indicate that a significant portion of emissions are generated in the value chain. This is obviously greater for the network operators that have managed to switch fully to renewable energy in their operations.”
Arash Ashouriha, senior VP for group technology at Deutsche Telekom, said: “Cutting carbon emissions to tackle climate change is an issue that challenges all industries. The mobile industry is meeting this challenge head-on.”
Ashouriha, who chairs the NGMN board, added: “Our work at NGMN is an important step in enabling operators and their suppliers to identify practical ways in which they can work together to reduce carbon emissions. Deutsche Telekom targets net-zero emissions at the latest by 2040. With more than 95% emissions generated from our value chain, partnering with our suppliers is critical to meeting our net zero goals.”
He said that Deutsche Telekom “shared our best practice examples in this publication”.
Orange group CTO Laurent Leboucher reinforced Ashouriha’s remarks: “Climate change is the single biggest challenge facing global society today. At Orange, we are proud to have collaborated with the industry to create these impactful NGMN guidelines to help operators and their supply chain partners meet their sustainability objectives and reduce carbon emissions.”
Döhler added: “NGMN provides the platform to enable the industry to work together on key topics such as sustainability, network disaggregation and 6G – all of which require extensive industry-wide collaboration to be truly successful.”
