Environmental Responsibility
Respecting and protecting the environment as we grow our business
As Australia's digital economy expands, so does the use of telecommunications services. At TPG Telecom, we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment in our operations and throughout our value chain. We endeavour to use our technologies to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across society while also enhancing climate resilience. Managing our environmental impact is important to our employees, customers and investors, as well as the communities in which we operate.
Our strategy comprises the following areas of focus:
- Climate risks and disclosures
- Carbon footprint reduction
- Product stewardship
- Environmental products and services
We will work to keep our approach to decarbonisation and climate risk management aligned with global industry best practice. In 2021, we joined the GSMA’s Climate Action Taskforce. The GSMA is a global industry organisation representing the interests of over 1,200 mobile network operators worldwide and the Climate Action Taskforce is the primary channel for the GSMA to engage with its members on climate action issues. In 2022, we also became members of the Australian Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC). The CLC is a group of cross-sectoral Australian CEOs supporting the Paris Agreement commitments and setting public decarbonisation targets.
Net-zero by 2050
We have committed to reach net-zero GHG emissions across our value chain by 2050. Our emissions reduction targets, set at the end of 2022, were formally validated by the Science Based Target initiative in late October 2023. At the time of validation, we became the fourth company in the Oceania region and the first telco in Australia to have our long-term and net zero targets validated.
Supporting our net-zero commitment, we have set the following absolute emissions reduction targets (from a 2021 baseline):
- 2030 targets:
- Achieve a 95% reduction in scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions
- Achieve a 30% reduction in scope 3 GHG emissions (from purchased goods and services, fuel- and energy-related activities, upstream leased assets, and use of sold products)
- 2050 targets:
- Maintain the 95% reduction in scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from 2030 through 2050
- Achieve a 90% reduction in scope 3 GHG emissions (from purchased goods and services, fuel- and energy-related activities, upstream leased assets, and use of sold products)
Renewable energy commitment
We remain committed to powering our Australian operations with 100% renewable electricity, as this is critical to the achievement of our 2030 scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction targets. We recognise the need to shift to a low carbon economy and as a major energy user we are committed to doing our part. By moving to 100 per cent renewable electricity, we not only reduce our own greenhouse gas emissions footprint, but also hope to contribute to continued investment in renewable energy capacity across Australia.
Read about it in our Sustainability Reports, located on our Investor Relations page.
Managing climate-related risks
At TPG Telecom, we address climate change and its effects by identifying and managing risks and opportunities as we transition to a low carbon economy. Understanding the effects of climate change and climate-related events over the coming decades will help inform future business decisions relating to our operations and value chain. We recognize the growing demand for transparent, consistent reporting on climate-related risks and opportunities. Our Sustainability and Annual Reports detail our progress on climate risk management and efforts to reduce the impact of our carbon footprint. This should be read in conjunction with the detail on the findings of our climate risk assessment and scenario analysis, available in our dedicated Climate Change Report.
Read about it in our Sustainability and Annual Reports, Climate Change Report, and Sustainability Data Pack, located on our Investor Relations page.
Product Stewardship
We aim to be responsible for the products we sell by minimising their environmental impact throughout their lifecycle. We continue to monitor and report our operational waste footprint in our Sustainability Data Pack and aim to drive improvements across other parts of our value chain, working with our suppliers to reduce packaging and increase resource recoverability and with industry partners on e-waste management.
e-waste collection and recycling
Recognising the significance of e-waste in the telecommunications industry, we take seriously our responsibility to reduce the amount of e-waste from our products. We continue to work with MobileMuster, the product stewardship program funded by the Australian mobile telecommunications industry, to increase the collection and recycling of end user e-waste. MobileMuster manages a free recycling program across Australia, covering mobile devices and accessories, modems and routers, landline phones, smart home technology and wearables. We enable customer participation by providing MobileMuster collection points in our Vodafone retail stores or allowing customers to print a MobileMuster label from our Vodafone and felix websites for free device mailing. Our logistics facilities also recycle devices and accessories that cannot be sold or repaired.
Packaging recoverability and waste reduction
TPG Telecom remains a member of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, a not-for-profit organisation working with businesses and government to co-regulate the environmental impact of packaging in Australian communities. The majority of our packaging waste comes from materials for packaging SIMs, accessories, devices, and logistics transportation. Internally, our commercial product team has made a commitment to focus on recoverability for packaging related to the products we sell to our customers. Circularity and waste recovery is included as a defined aspect of our Supplier Engagement Program, where we collaborate with key suppliers on waste and e-waste reduction.
Read about it in our Sustainability Reports, located on our Investor Relations page.
Environmental Product and Services
Recognising our responsibility to respect and protect the environment, we also have the opportunity to help our customers do the same by enabling the reduction of GHG emissions through use of our products and services.
felix mobile
felix mobile, continues to operate on 100 per cent renewable electricity and is certified carbon neutral by the Australian Government's Climate Active initiative. It also continues to partner with One Tree Planted, where one new tree is planted for every month each felix customer maintains an active subscription. Learn more about felix at their website, found here
Read about it in our Sustainability Reports, located on our Investor Relations page.