Benchmarking telecoms operator strategies to improve upstream supplier-related emissions

Telecoms operators have much to learn from one another in reducing the environmental impact of their upstream supply chains. This report provides a comprehensive view of industry activities and outlines benchmarks for best practice.

Information included in this report

• A quantitative assessment of leading European operators’ performance in reducing the environmental impact of their upstream, supplier-related emissions and the wider supply chains. The analysis identifies the leading performers, benchmarks industry-average performance and highlights the areas in which further progress is needed.
• A best-practice roadmap based on an evaluation of the strategies that operators worldwide are using to engage suppliers, apply digital tools and data, purchase low-carbon products and set supply chain environmental targets.

Questions answered in this report

• What constitutes industry best practice, which operators are leading in this area and what are the main opportunities for improvement?
• What types of partnerships are telecoms operators forming to address supplier-related upstream environmental impacts?
• How are operators reducing upstream supplier-related emissions through sustainable procurement, supplier decarbonisation, circular economy initiatives and lower-carbon sourcing of devices, equipment and infrastructure?
• What sustainability targets are operators setting to reduce upstream supplier-related impacts, and which frameworks, programmes or funding mechanisms are they using to accelerate progress in this area?

Who should read this report

• Sustainability leads and board members at operators that must understand how their sustainability strategies compare to those of their industry peers.
• Supply chain and distribution teams, marketing teams, product designers and CTOs at operators that need to benchmark their circularity progress against that of other operators.
• Vendors that want to gain visibility into operators’ current and future needs and priorities in relation to product sustainability.
• Investors seeking to put potential client performance into context.
• Industry regulators that need to evaluate national operator progress against wider industry performance.