How Telefónica Balances Digital Inclusion With Net Zero

Telefónica, a major telecom company from Spain, plans to reach net zero emissions by 2040. Its climate goals have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Since 2021, Telefónica has used double materiality analysis to find the impacts, risks and opportunities in its sustainability work.

Double materiality means companies look at sustainability in two ways: how outside factors affect their business and how their business affects the wider world.

Telefónica’s latest ESG report shows a 49% decrease in emissions across all three Scopes since 2015.

This includes a 91% absolute reduction in emissions for Scopes 1 and 2.

To make this happen, Telefónica used only renewable energy for its operations in Europe and Brazil. Overall, 93% of its global energy needs were met with renewables.

Circularity efforts

As part of its goal to send zero waste to landfill by 2030, the company reused or recycled 95% of its waste.

“The circular economy is a priority pillar in our sustainability strategy and a key driver for advancing toward a more efficient, innovative and competitive company,” says Maya Ormazabal, Global Director of Sustainability at Telefónica.

“Through this approach, we contribute to a more responsible use of resources and the reduction of environmental impacts associated with technological activity, aligning with our purpose of facilitating more sustainable access to digital capabilities for society.”

In 2025, Telefónica managed more than four million devices from customers, operations and offices, in accordance with reuse and recycling criteria. Of the devices collected, 75% were reused, with the remaining 25% recycled, including three million routers and set-top boxes.

Bridging the divide

Alongside its environmental goals, Telefónica is also focused on social efforts to boost digital inclusion and accessibility.

Telefónica’s coverage in rural Spain is now at 95%, over 99% in Germany and the UK, and 86% in Brazil.

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For 5G access, the newest generation of telecom network technology, coverage is above 98% in Germany, 95% in Spain, 87% in the UK, and 64% in Brazil.

Telefónica also says it has provided intermediate or higher-level digital skills training through Fundación Telefónica to over 940,000 people to improve digital literacy and increase employability.

Smart water meters

Through its digital business unit Telefónica Tech, the company has won a ten-year contract to lead the digitalisation of the water cycle in Castilla y León, northern Spain.

Supported by the regional government and the local public infrastructure and environment utility, the project aims to shift the region from manual water meter readings to an automated system.

Telefónica will provide 175,000 smart IoT meters to deliver hourly data, allowing predictive infrastructure management, rapid incident response and early leak detection.

“Our managed IoT connectivity is enabling us to offer more and better services to customers so that they can, in this case, optimise water resource management in a more efficient, secure and sustainable way through remote water meter reading," says Darío Cesena, Director of IoT at Telefónica Tech.

“The project to digitise the full water cycle in Castilla y León helps to anticipate incidents, improve operations and deliver a higher quality service and reaffirms Telefónica’s commitment to becoming the best gateway for citizens, businesses and public administrations to digital technologies.”