Mobile network operators are continuing to show their leadership in working towards our industry ambition to be net zero by 2050. Over half of the global mobile connections are now represented by operators publicly disclosing their climate impacts.
In the last year, eight new operators submitted new near-term science-based targets, to align with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C, bringing the global total to seventy operators. Fifty of these have been validated by SBTi, representing more than 40% of all mobile connections.
Improvements in data sharing and target setting are enabling us to piece together the industry puzzle. The latest Mobile Net Zero 2024: State of the Industry on Climate Action report dives deeper into Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, providing a more comprehensive insight into industry progress towards net zero by 2050 than ever before.
What’s clear is that our puzzle is taking shape. In 2023, nearly two-thirds of operators disclosing to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) reported on ten or more Scope 3 categories, the most difficult emission to measure. But what are the missing pieces? Which piece should we try to solve next? And who do we need to collaborate with?
Assembling the Pieces: Decoupling Connections from Operational Emissions
Collectively, operational emissions from fuel and electricity usage (Scope 1 and 2 emissions) were reduced by 6% between 2019 and 2022. Despite a significant growth in connections and an explosion in global internet traffic, the energy intensity of data transmission also fell. Improvements in energy efficiency of networks and increasing renewable energy consumption have contributed 50% and 30% to that reduction, respectively.
Despite these encouraging signs and genuine progress, we don’t have the whole picture. The 320 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity purchased by operators in 2022 (1.3% of global electricity use) does not fully include the electricity consumed by tower companies (TowerCos). TowerCos build, maintain, and develop the passive communications infrastructure required to host operator’s network equipment. For scale, one of the largest TowerCos operating more than 200,000 sites, consumed 3.6 TWh in 2022, but two-thirds were generated on-site from fossil fuels. In part, this is due to a broad range of energy access challenges, felt especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. With operators attributing three-quarters of their Scope 2 emissions to running their networks, it will be increasingly important for TowerCos to disclose their carbon emissions to CDP, while mobile network operators (MNOs) and TowerCos partner to find solutions to reduce emissions that benefit them both.
Illuminating Hidden Pieces: Bringing Indirect Emissions Out of the Shadows
The indirect emissions of the mobile industry make up three-quarters of the mobile industry’s carbon emissions, are inherently difficult to attribute, and are even more challenging to reduce. But they are now coming into focus. Thanks to operator disclosure, we are building a better picture of Scope 3 emissions, both from the supply chain and the customer purchase and use of products and services.
The one (and only) simple truth is that there is no ‘one size fits all.’ The relative shares of Scope 3 emissions from fifteen different categories can differ substantially between operators and regions. Sometimes this is because of actual differences in business size and activities, but it can also be because of methodological differences or lack of data.
To address methodological differences and improve Scope 3 data collection, last summer the GSMA released the Scope 3 Guidance for Telecommunications Operators with the ITU and GeSi. Encouragingly it has already been used by a number of operators.
What is known, is that Scope 3 categories (1, 2, 3, 11 and 15) i.e. purchased goods and services and capital goods like mobile phones and network equipment, fuel and energy related activities, use of sold products, and investments, account for more than 90% of the industry’s Scope 3 emissions and are the obvious target for future industry intervention.
The Picture Coming into Focus: Committing to circularity
Speaking of intervention, there is no doubt a key measure to reduce Scope 3 emissions lies in circularity. Research the GSMA conducted last year estimates that more than five billion inactive phones are lying dormant, containing thousands of tonnes of critical minerals, like copper, silver, gold, and cobalt.
Acknowledging this as a large emissions hotspot, sixteen operators have committed to two new industry targets. One, increasing the number of phones collected by operator take back schemes to at least 20% by 2030. And two, 100% of phones collected through take back schemes to be repaired, reused, or recycled, by 2030.
Turning ambition into action is the next step. Galvanising and harmonising the industry, both MNOs, as well as upstream and downstream suppliers, and customers. Many operators already have takeback, reuse, and recycling programmes, but to achieve anything at the scale we intend, suppliers, manufacturers and repairers will have to get on board.
Crucially, they will have to see the value in doing so. This will mean designing for circularity, making devices easier to disassemble, using modular designs and standardised components; investing in advanced recycling technologies and infrastructure; and ensuring a reliable supply of recovered materials. What is really needed is a business case that stacks up, or at a minimum to understand the conditions which would bring our ideal circularity scenario to life.
It does seem that the jigsaw is coming together. But, unlike a real puzzle, the final few pieces of the jigsaw are the hardest to put in place. That’s why more mobile operators are joining the Climate Action Taskforce, to work together on these shared challenges.
Scope 3 especially, is not a path well-trodden. Putting the hard yards into collaboration between MNOs, manufacturers, suppliers, governments, and international institutions is more important than ever. Being laser-focused on achieving science-based targets by 2030, as well as being innovative in the approach to areas like Scope 3 means the industry is much less likely to slip on the journey to net zero.