Telstra signals ambition to be fossil-fuel-free by 2025

Australian telecoms giant Telstra has set an ambitious target of achieving totally carbon-neutral operations by 2025.

The company, one of the country’s largest native organisations with over 26,000 employees and revenues in excess of AU$26bn, has self-identified as one of Australia’s “largest consumers of power” and is determined to make a change.

Estimating that keeping the country connected expends almost 6 petajoules of energy and produces 1.3mn tonnes of GHGs (greenhouse gases) per year, Telstra’s motivation, amongst other reasons, is the recent 26% of its network in 2019 alone.

Projecting that its network may even triple in size by 2025, the company has decided, following its on-course plan to reduce GHG intensity by 50% by June 2020, to implement several eco-friendly initiatives to curb rising CO2 emissions.

A three-by-five plan

Telstra has summarised its core objectives as the following: 1) Achieving carbon-neutrality by the end of 2020, 2) Spearheading the switch to renewable energy for all operations and to have this 100% in place by 2025, and 3) Reduce total emissions by 50% by 2030. 

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Furthermore, as a roadmap to ensure these goals are properly maintained, Telstra has five supplemental goals:

• To lead by example.

• To work towards the total removal of CO2 emissions from its operations.

• To educate its employees, partners and suppliers on why the change is necessary.

• Foster enthusiasm for the goal amongst its customers with new products.

• Maintain a reliable network and service at all times during the transformation.

Commenting on the report, Andrew Penn, CEO of Telstra, said, “We are proud of these actions but they are nowhere near enough in the context of the climate challenge we are facing. 

“Changing the current trajectory on climate change – and meeting the defining challenge of the 2020s – will require bold and creative action along with decisive leadership and determination.”

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