The force for good to combat climate change
Safeguard
Safeguarding planet, people and data in the digital world and beyond
Safeguard means that Telenor constantly raises the bar for the safety, security and privacy for our customers, partners and employees, as well as the health of our planet to drive positive, long-term change.
Telenor Sweden believes that the telecom industry can be a force for good when it comes to climate change. The biggest climate initiative we can take is to help our customers make the best use of telecommunications to reduce their own emissions. As a leading telco company, we believe in the vast potential of technology to drive development towards a better society
Climate talk with Telenor Norway: Climate consciousness in everyday decisions
Telenor Group's EVP and Chief Sustainability Officer, Cecilie Heuch, have once again had a climate talk with one of Telenor's CEOs, and this time she met Björn Ivar Moen, CEO of Telenor Sweden.
Environmental considerations are a natural part of Telenor Swedens operations and in accordance with their ISO 14001 certification. In 2018, they became the first telco in the world to carbon offset through the Fairtrade Climate Standard scheme. In 2020, they took an ambitious next step in their environmental work when they committed to having carbon neutral business operations by 2030.
Cecilie: What is Telenor Sweden doing to reach Telenor’s 2030 climate ambitions?
Björn Ivar: We have come a long way and have reduced our emissions by 80 percent from 2008, and are aiming for zero emissions before 2030.
The carbon emissions and use of energy is mainly within our network operations. We aim to reduce the impact in this field by only using renewable energy while simultaneously saving as much energy as possible. We continously look into more ways to help reduce emissions in our operations.
We want to maximize the life of our products and ensure that all waste ends up where it belongs. One major way of doing this is to make sure older network infrastructure comes to use in connection to our net modernization and 5G rollout. While reusing as much as possible as we modernise, we also need to make sure that older net infrastructure is handled in a responsible and productive way, either through recycling or reselling.
Cecilie: What is the opinion of climate change by customers in Sweden and how is Telenor Sweden responding to these opinions and expectations?
Björn Ivar: Sustainability and climate action is of high importance to our customers. We try to meet their requirements by expanding our portfolios and finding new collaborations, while also requiring that our partners act in a sustainable and responsible way. We look for new sustainable products that can enable our customers to decrease their own impact. One of our latest product additions is from the sustainable and fair trade company Fairphone.
The 5G expansion will help Sweden to harness the power of the new technology - something that, not least, will help us develop more sustainable solutions.
Meanwhile, the pandemic showed that remote working with the help of digital tools and good connectivity is fully possible. Today, we can communicate regardless of time or place. But we are also more aware of the impact our way of living, working and doing business has on the environment. Customers are requiring us to step up, which is a good thing.
Telenor’s climate targets towards 2030
Cecilie: What do you believe is needed from the telecom industry in general to achieve the UN’s 2030 climate goals?
Björn Ivar: We strongly believe that smarter and better connectivity will enable a more sustainable way of life. Right now, we are rolling out the largest network modernisation in Telenor history. A higher pace of 5G rollout and broadband expansion is the foundation for more digital solutions. As a telecom operator, we can contribute with secure and comfortable alternatives for a more sustainable lifestyle and work life.
However, we don’t do this alone. Co-creation is necessary for all of us to reach the UN 2030 climate goals. In this lies our responsibility to set higher demands on vendors, suppliers and manufacturers.