Airtel joins global efforts to combat climate change

 

Commits to 50% reduction in GHG emissions by FY31 across its operations

·         Commitment aligned with the SBTi’s ‘Business Ambition for 1.5°C’ pathway to build a sustainable planet

·         Airtel is also the first Indian telecom company to company to join the UN Global Compact

Mumbai, 20 September, 2021: Bharti Airtel Limited (“Airtel”), India’s leading provider of telecommunications services, today announced its commitment to contribute to global efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change and build a sustainable planet.

Airtel has joined the Science Based Targets initiave’s (SBTi) ‘Business Ambition for 1.5°C’ campaign and adopted targets to significantly reduce its carbon footprint and emissions from its network operations. With this, Airtel joins the league of leading global corporations who have committed to the 1.5°C pathway outlined by the SBTi - a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

·         Airtel is committed to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 Green House Gas (GHG) emissions 50.2% by FY2031 from FY2021 as base year.

·         Airtel also commits to reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions 42% over the same timeframe.

·         Airtel will achieve this through multiple interventions including accelerated green energy adoption across its network operations, energy efficient infrastructure and processes as well as implementing sustainable business practices at its workplaces.    

Vidyut Gulati, Director – Legal, Bharti Airtel said: “Climate change is the biggest challenge facing humanity. We must act collectively without further delay to ensure we do not go past the point of no return and have a sustainable planet. Businesses have a fundamental responsibility to contribute to this effort and Airtel has adopted an ambitious target in this direction and will report its progress transparently.”  

In a related development, Airtel has also become the first Indian telecommunications company to join the United Nations (UN) Global Compact - the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world. By becoming a signatory to the UN Global Compact framework, Airtel is aligning its comprehensive Environmental, Societal and Governance (ESG) initiatives to the global body’s 10 principles spanning Environment, Human Rights, Anti-Corruption and Labour.

Airtel is already aligned to the Paris Climate Accord. It has a comprehensive environmental management framework and is proactively implementing clean, fuel-based power solutions for it towers, data centres, switching centres and other facilities. It has achieved 97% reduction in network emission intensity for mobile operations (from FY16) besides 25% increase in renewable energy deployment in operations over same period via various green power wheeling agreements which helped in saving CO2 emissions. For the FY ending 2021 Airtel e-bills initiative saved 667 tonnes paper sheets), besides 5,554.3 tonnes of e-waste was recycled.

About Airtel

Headquartered in India, Airtel is a leading provider of telecommunications services with over 474 Mn customers in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. [The company ranks amongst the top three mobile operators globally and its networks cover over two billion people]. [Airtel is India’s largest integrated communications solutions provider and the second largest mobile operator in Africa.] Airtel’s retail portfolio includes high speed 4G/4.5G mobile broadband, Airtel Xstream Fiber that provides speeds up to 1 Gbps with convergence across linear and on-demand entertainment, streaming services spanning music and video, digital payments and financial services. For enterprise customers, Airtel offers a wide range of solutions that includes secure connectivity, cloud and data centre services, cyber security, Internet of Things (IoT), advertising technology and cloud based communication. For more details visit www.airtel.com

Disclaimer: Bharti Airtel Limited is proposing, subject to receipt of requisite approvals, market conditions and other considerations, a rights issue of its Equity Shares, and intends to file a letter of offer with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited. 

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