AT&T Expands Focus on Sustainability Efforts

(Credit: AT&T)

by | Dec 2, 2021

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(Credit: AT&T)

With corporations continually expanding their focus on sustainability and how it impacts business, AT&T is concentrating on numerous areas to achieve stated goals and make continued improvements in the area.

AT&T says sustainability is increasingly a driver of cost savings and revenue generation and the company’s sustainability team listed several areas that will influence their work over the next year. They include lowering their carbon footprint across the business and supply chains, with an increase focus on Scope 3 emissions, growing renewable energy, being more transparent with sustainability efforts and preparing for disruptions from natural events among other tops.

It is also adopting broadband-enabled, low-carbon technology for AT&T’s operations as well as working with business customers to help them reduce emissions. Earlier in 2021 the company launched the Connected Climate Initiative, which is a collaborative effort by businesses to reduce emissions by a gigaton by 2035 compared with 2018 levels.

The company says more stakeholders and investors want to know where businesses stand on net zero efforts, as accountability becomes increasingly important on making sustainable transitions.

AT&T released its Climate Strategy & Transition plan this year to show how the company is working toward its goals. It also says it reports to CDP and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures.

The Science Based Targets Initiative says more than 80% of the world’s emissions are created by corporate Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. It recently launched its Net-Zero Corporate Standard, which includes a plan to help improve cuts in Scope 3 emissions.

“More and more AT&T business customers are ramping up their efforts to assess and reduce emissions in their supply chains,” says Tim Fleming, director of global enterprise sustainability at AT&T. “With an increased focus on Scope 3 emissions, we’re seeing a growing number of requests for information from our customers as they engage their suppliers on sustainability.”

AT&T also says it wants to grow its renewable energy resources. It says after an early focus on wind power, which includes a 15-year virtual power purchase agreement made earlier this year in Oklahoma, the company has seen more opportunities in purchasing solar energy.

AT&T says more tax incentives for renewable energy could offer increased deals for the power sources. The company says it is the seventh largest consumer of renewable energy in the United States and it plans to increase its ranking in 2022.

As climate volatility continues to pose risks to businesses, AT&T also says it is focusing on potential disruptions from natural disasters. It is developing a Climate Change Analysis Tool, which AT&T says will help predict impacts up to 30 years in the future.

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