Yahoo Finance Vodafone commits to net zero carbon emissions by 2040
Vodafone (VOD.L) has announced a commitment to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of its original goal.
It also confirmed that its 2030 carbon reduction targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative as in line with reductions required to keep warming to 1.5°C, the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement.
Over the next decade the telecoms giant said it plans to eliminate emissions from its own operations and from energy purchases and uses.
It additionally pledged to halve carbon emissions from sources including joint ventures, all supply chain purchases, the use of products it has sold and business travel.
Vodafone Group chief executive Nick Read said the company “believes in leading by example.”
“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," he said.
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Last year, Vodafone committed to purchasing all electricity from renewable sources, halving its environmental footprint by 2025 and reusing, reselling or recycling 100% of its network waste.
In May 2019, it then issued its first €750m (£561m) green bond to finance or refinance projects to help meet the company's environmental objectives, reporting which projects were eligible under the use of proceeds and how they were selected.
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) firm also later revealed an ambitious new target to help business customers who use its services reduce their own carbon emissions by a cumulative total of 350 million tonnes globally over 10 years between 2020 and 2030.
Two months ago it became one of the first global companies to announce it would assess supplier commitments to the environment, diversity and inclusion when they tender for new work.
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