Orange & Deutsche Telekom: Reducing Scope 3 Telco Emissions
Manufacturing a single smartphone can produce up to 70Kg of CO₂ emissions according to the European Environment Agency.
The Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance has released a crucial publication, titled Green Future Networks: Environmental Sustainability and Reporting, to tackle emissions produced by smartphones.
The report is aimed at supporting mobile network operators (MNOs) in tackling the most challenging and significant part of their carbon footprint, Scope 3 emissions.
Tackling Scope 3 emissions
Scope 3 emissions, indirect emissions generated across the value chain, account for roughly 90% of total emissions for MNOs according to the NGMN.
These are emissions that are created not from the operators' own facilities, but from upstream and downstream activities, including suppliers’ operations, logistics and the energy use of sold products.
“Tackling Scope 3 emissions is one of the greatest challenges for our industry – and it can only be done through stronger collaboration across the value chain,” says Laurent Leboucher, Chairman of the NGMN Alliance Board and Orange Group CTO and EVP Networks.
“This new guidance marks an important step toward more accurate, transparent reporting and provides a clear path for the industry to prioritise meaningful carbon reduction.”
A central recommendation of the report is for MNOs to shift from using traditional financial (price-based) emissions factors to primary (unit-based) ones.
Financial factors, while accessible, can lack precision due to price fluctuations, currency exchanges and bundled service costs.
However, primary emission factors provide specific carbon data per unit of product or activity, offering a far more accurate picture of environmental impact.
“Reducing emissions across the value chain requires close collaboration with our supply chain partners to identify the main sources of emissions,” comments Saima Ansari, GFN Project Lead and CR Segment Lead, Technology & Innovation at Deutsche Telekom.
“By working together to ensure we all have access to accurate data on emissions factors and energy mix, we can better assess our carbon footprints and take targeted action to meet our reduction goals.”
Key industry challenges
The report identifies a number of persistent issues that influence effective Scope 3 reporting:
- Inconsistent data availability and estimation methods, making emissions assessments unreliable
- Lack of standardisation in regulatory frameworks and sustainability indicators, adding complexity
- Insufficient supplier engagement and supply chain maturity, causing slower progress on data transparency and carbon reduction.
The report reviews the major frameworks currently in use, GRI, CDP, CSRD and ISSB, and calls for greater harmonisation to reduce reporting burdens and align efforts across the industry.
Collaborative solutions
To support its recommendations, NGMN outlines a series of collaborative actions.
NGMN highlights that companies should prioritise high-impact products and suppliers (“high runners”) for targeted emissions reporting.
The report states that companies should promote the use of carbon accounting tools that integrate with ERP systems and can automate emissions factor mapping.
“Since 2021, our Green Future Networks programme has brought together operators, vendors and academia from around the world to collaborate, share insights and co-develop strategic guidance on one of the most critical issues facing our industry,” says Anita Doehler, CEO of the NGMN Alliance.
“We are proud of our members’ continued commitment to advancing sustainability.”
The report encourages joint projects between operators and manufacturers to scale best practices, such as circular economy initiatives and renewable energy sourcing
As telecommunications networks underpin increasing volumes of global digital activity, their environmental footprint is growing in significance.
NGMN’s guidance says that transparency, collaboration and methodological rigour are essential to reducing emissions meaningfully.
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