Deutsche Telekom : again scores highly on Climate...

Corporate Responsibility

02‑15‑2022

Deutsche Telekom again scores highly on Climate protection

• Share

  The icons are missing? - Try disabling your ad-blocker.

  Share
  Two clicks for more data privacy: click here to activate the button and send your recommendation. Data will be transfered as soon as the activation occurs.
• Print
• Read out

Another Supplier Engagement Leader accolade for the Group. Value chain emissions to be reduced to net zero by 2040. Extensive program helping suppliers with climate protection.

As a Supplier Engagement Leader, we're working with our suppliers to cascade environmental action down our supply chain.

The non-profit organization CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project) has once again rated the efforts of major corporations to combat climate change in their supply chain activities. Deutsche Telekom is once again, and for the fifth time, one of the "Supplier Engagement Leaders," a minority of 518 of the more than 11,000 participating companies. According to CDP, emissions generated during the manufacture of products are on average more than 11 times higher than the "in-house" emissions a company is responsible for. The organization therefore makes a point of checking whether companies also consider the key category of Scope 3 emissions in their climate protection activities. To identify Supplier Engagement Leaders, CDP analyzes the control logic and objectives of participating companies, the level and development of their Scope 3 emissions, and their interaction with suppliers on this issue.

"Climate protection is a race against time. Ensuring our in-house operations are climate-neutral gets us off to a flying start, but if you stop there, you're missing the fact that the race isn't over yet. In the battle against climate change, either everyone wins or nobody does," explains Melanie Kubin-Hardewig, Vice President for Group Sustainability Management at Deutsche Telekom. "That's why we're working collaboratively with our suppliers to systematically reduce our carbon footprint during the manufacturing and usage phases, too. This further CDP accolade as a Supplier Engagement Leader confirms we're on the right track," she adds.

Deutsche Telekom climate protection GOALs

In setting its climate goals, Deutsche Telekom is aligned with the Science-based targets initiative (SBTi). Activities are aimed at meeting the target set in the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. By 2025, the Group has committed itself to cutting emissions from in-house operations by up to 95 percent (base year: 2017). Only if emissions are unavoidable will they be offset using high-quality carbon sequestration projects.

Since 2021, Deutsche Telekom has been covering all its global electricity requirements with renewable energies - a milestone on the way to achieving its ultimate goal. This is already significantly reducing the Group's overall emissions, which also makes Scope 3 emissions - emissions from the supply chain and the usage phase - even more relevant when it comes to the remaining carbon footprint. The aim by 2030 is for these emissions to be 25 percent lower for each customer, and the ultimate goal is for the entire value chain to be climate-neutral by 2040 at the latest.

Creating a greener supply chain

The target is an ambitious one. After all, Deutsche Telekom has only an indirect influence over emissions in the supply chain. One key factor in this regard is that sustainability and climate protection are factored into the tendering process. That sends a clear message to the market that climate protection is becoming a compulsory criterion.

This same commitment continues once the contract has been awarded. The Group works closely with its suppliers, requesting details of their energy consumption, emissions, and climate protection targets. In joint workshops with suppliers, Deutsche Telekom develops specific measures for greener products and production/packaging methods. For example, the use of paper foam as packaging can result in a carbon footprint up to 85 percent lower than when using conventional packaging materials.

Cooperative cross-sector approaches such as the Eco Rating also help reduce Scope 3 emissions. Customers obtain transparency regarding how energy-efficient or long-lasting smartphones are, which gives manufacturers an incentive to keep on improving their products.

What are CDP and SER?

CDP is a global non-profit that runs a world-wide environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions. Founded in 2000 it is working with more than 590 investors with over $110 trillion in assets. Every year, the independent organization evaluates companies in terms of their commitment to climate and environmental protection in its investor program: In 2021, more than 13,000 companies worldwide took part, and Telekom secured a place on the coveted "A List". The CDP's Supplier Engagement Report (SER) is a partial evaluation of the higher-level Climate Report, scrutinizing the efforts of more than 11,000 companies to combat climate change in the supply chain. The companies from the Supplier Engagement Report with the highest score receive the "Supplier Engagement Leaders" award. In addition to the climate ranking, the CDP also publishes rankings on the use of water and forests. As the leading ranking in the area of climate protection, the CDP's ratings are also incorporated into other important sustainability ratings and influence the rating displayed to investors about Deutsche Telekom.