Roman Friedrich

Abstract

More or less all telco operators have embraced sustainability targets by now. The first ones have already committed to carbon neutrality by 2030 across the supply chain. However, so far the biggest accomplishments occur only in scope 1 and 2.

European telcos have  been able to cut total energy consumption by more than 20% per year and even above 30% on a per data volume level. However, while this increase in energy efficiency is remarkable, sourcing of renewable energies remains a challenges. The cost impact would be tremendous if renewable energies would be used on a 24/7 basis.

While waste management has been not so much in focus in recent years this has changed significantly over the last twelve months. Circular device programs seem to become standard and even a must-have to play in all consumer segments. Network circularity, however, is just at the beginning.

And last but not least, telcos have started to realize that the decarbonization of other industry sectors offers tremendous growth opportunities that can be addressed with green digital sustainability services.

The telco industry has embarked on a steep learning curve. But a lot remains to be done!

Biography

Dr. Roman Friedrich is a seasoned professional in the telecommunications industry serving Telco operators across the globe with a strong focus on Germany, the Nordics, Russia, UK and Turkey. While having worked across the entire telecommunications value chain his current focus is very much on Telco sustainability and on infrastructure/fiber deployment. He has developed a unique Telco sustainability index that allows Telco operators to measure their sustainability performance and to identify improvement levers.