Vodafone Aims to Half its CO2 Emissions by 2020
Vodafone has said that by 2020 it intends to reduce its CO2 emissions by 50% against its 2006/7 baseline of 1.23 million tonnes. The company said that this target will be achieved principally by improvements in energy efficiency and increased use of renewable energy.
In addition, as part of its climate change strategy, Vodafone will be focusing on developing products and services which will help customers limit their own emissions.
Arun Sarin, the CEO of Vodafone Group said, "This is the right decision for a responsible business to take. It is good for the environment but also makes sense for the business. It resonates from a financial perspective as improving energy efficiency helps us to control costs. It also resonates with customers as developing new products and services, such as our plans for solar-powered phone chargers, and universal phone chargers for Vodafone-branded handsets will help customers to limit their own emissions and this is something they value more and more."
He added, "Vodafone has been working hard to address climate change issues for a number of years. For example, in 2006/7 we reduced the amount of carbon dioxide emitted relative to network traffic by 29% and improved the energy efficiency of new network equipment by 25%.
Jonathon Porritt, Founder Director of Forum for the Future, which works with Vodafone on sustainability issues, said: "This is a significant commitment from one of the world's largest companies. It signals to its millions of customers around the globe that Vodafone is serious about tackling climate change. With a simultaneous focus on the products and services that they offer - and thus on helping their customers to reduce their emissions - Vodafone has the opportunity to show real leadership. 2020 may sound a long way away, but it is what Vodafone does over the next two or three years which will determine whether or not they hit that 50% target."
Vodafone's Energy Consumption (2006/07)
Energy use in 2006/07 resulted in a total of 1.23 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, reflecting an overall 6% increase in total energy consumption over the previous financial year on a like for like basis. Vodafone has an existing target to reduce network carbon dioxide emissions relative to network traffic by 40% by 2011 (from a 2005/06 baseline). The Company is on track to achieve this target, achieving a reduction of 29% during 2006/07.
The energy used to run the networks accounts for more than 80% of this total, with offices, transport and retail accounting for the remaining 20%
Renewable energy accounted for 17% of Vodafone's total network energy consumption, the majority of this through purchasing agreements with power companies, supplemented by on-site renewable generation through mini-turbines and solar panels. This proportion (17%) represents an increase of 28% over the previous year
Existing Climate Change Initiatives
Vodafone's focus has been on its networks, due to these being responsible for 80% of total emissions.
The company detailed its initiatives in the following areas:
Operational initiatives - significant savings can be made by allowing a higher ambient temperature within base station cabinets, thus reducing cooling requirements. Average energy use in some base stations can be cut by more than 10% by increasing the ambient temperature by 4°C.
Technological initiatives - working with suppliers to improve the efficiency of network equipment. For example, the average energy efficiency of power amplifiers has improved from around 9% in 2004 to 15% in 2006.
Use of renewable energy on-site - a number of Vodafone's operating companies have been piloting renewable energy solutions to reduce climate change impact and improve the operational performance of remote base stations. This includes the use of solar power, wind power and fuel cells. Using these and other approaches, Vodafone businesses are already making good progress on addressing climate change issues.
Posted to the site on 21st April 2008
