Singtel has announced it has become the first company in APeJ to have its carbon emission reduction targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.
Singtel has committed to working to reduce its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions across its domestic operations and its wholly-owned Australian subsidiary Optus by 42% by 2030 compared to 2015.
The operator will also work with suppliers to reduce third-party emissions by 30% over the same period.
The Science Based Targets initiative is collaboration between CDP, World Resources Institute, World Wide Fund for Nature and the UN Global Compact that aims to recognize organizations complying with the Paris Agreement to keep the rise in global temperature below 2°C.
“Climate change is a global issue which requires all of us to take action and work towards a low-carbon economy. We are committed to minimising our environmental impact and building operational resilience,” Singtel VP of group sustainability Andrew Buay said.
“The Group’s science-based targets represent an aggressive reduction, especially when factoring in the expected increase in electricity consumption by our Singapore and Australian businesses. This comes as we continue to expand our networks to accommodate the explosion in data usage by customers and as more enterprise customers outsource their ICT operations to us.”
He said Singtel is reviewing ways of meeting its aggressive targets including operational efficiencies, new technologies or purchasing renewable energy.