We see ourselves as a responsible company and have made that a core element of our Group strategy. Our Corporate Responsibility strategy, which is derived from this, has been further refined in the period under review, with four particular focal points identified where we aim to lead the way:
Our strict commitment to climate-neutral business practices
Our determined efforts to ensure our products and services are compatible with the principle of circularity
Our pursuit of diversity, equity and inclusion in our teams and our investment into future skills
Our determination to help shape a digital society that is based on our fundamental democratic values and in which all people can participate safely, competently, and with autonomy
More information about our focal points is available in the relevant section of the strategy chapter.
To support the climate strategy and achieve the ambitious Group targets, the national companies have developed and implemented their own climate protection strategies, concepts and measures. These can be viewed in the relevant profiles.
Our integrated climate strategy is based on four pillars: Emissions from the value chain; renewable energy; energy efficiency; and enablement (positive climate protection effects for our customers). We have defined objectives and/or key performance indicators for each of the four pillars.
The four pillars of our integrated climate strategy
We record all direct and indirect emissions using the globally recognized Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. As of 2021, all of the electricity we use comes from renewable energy. This has enabled us to reduce the emissions generated to zero (see “Renewable energy”). Additionally, we are modernizing our network to make it twice as energy efficient (see “Energy efficiency”). We are also taking measures to reduce emissions tied to the use of gas or oil. For example, we are transitioning to e-mobility and are carrying out facility-space consolidations. This has enabled us to significantly reduce emissions and contribute to our goal of climate neutrality by 2025 for Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Indirect emissions from the upstream and downstream value chain (Scope 3 emissions) pose the greatest challenge. Our goal is to become entirely climate neutral by 2040 at the latest. We consult closely with our suppliers in order to reduce the emissions generated during production, and to have products manufactured that are energy-efficient in their utilization phases.
Emissions from the
value chain
Since 2021, we have been drawing all of our electricity from renewable sources, having converted the entire Deutsche Telekom network, throughout the spectrum from mobile communications to high-speed DSL, to use renewables-only power. We are scaling up our in-house generation activities and concluding power purchase agreements (PPAs) with a view to reducing our reliance on the electricity grid. A PPA is a long-term electricity supply contract. For us, this additionally means that the electricity supplied always comes from renewable sources. We aim to meet 50 percent of our energy needs through PPAs by 2025. In Germany, PPAs already account for over 10 percent of the power we use. As of the end of 2022, 27.7 percent of the power used throughout the Group was obtained via PPAs. In 2020, we published a guide for the Deutsche Telekom Group, the purpose of which is to support our national companies in choosing the ideal solution for their individual needs by providing information on the various options they have available for the purchase of green electricity.
Renewable energy
The rapid growth in data traffic and the resultant need for network expansion must not also lead to a corresponding rise in energy consumption. This is why we have committed to doubling our energy efficiency in Germany and Europe by 2024, relative to 2020 levels. This will involve producing more data while using a similar or far lower volume of energy. Two key means of reducing our energy consumption are network modernization and the phasing-out of old technologies.
One example of this has seen us migrate our entire network infrastructure to IP technology. In addition, we are working to concentrate data traffic on a small number of data centers that are especially efficient. The PUE metric serves as one indicator for energy-efficiency enhancements in our data centers. We determine this metric using the method recommended by the EN50600 standard for data centers. In order to measure our progress, we also use the key performance indicators (KPIs) “Energy Intensity” and “Carbon Intensity”.
Energy efficiency
Many of our products and services provide sustainability advantages. They can help reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, improve healthcare and make logistics more efficient. In addition to our own carbon footprint, we also calculate the positive carbon effects facilitated for our customers through using our products and solutions. We assess both variables in relation to the Enablement Factor ESG KPI. This helps us evaluate our overall performance in relation to climate protection.
By offering increasingly sustainable products and solutions and by reducing our own emissions, we aim to consistently keep the enablement factor well above 1.0 in order to make a positive contribution to climate protection.
Enablement: Helping
our customers
protect the climates
Our contribution to the SDGs
We see ourselves as a responsible company and have made that a core element of our Group strategy. Our Corporate Responsibility strategy, which is derived from this, has been further refined in the period under review, with four particular focal points identified where we aim to lead the way:
More information about our focal points is available in the relevant section of the strategy chapter.
To support the climate strategy and achieve the ambitious Group targets, the national companies have developed and implemented their own climate protection strategies, concepts and measures. These can be viewed in the relevant profiles.
Our integrated climate strategy is based on four pillars: Emissions from the value chain; renewable energy; energy efficiency; and enablement (positive climate protection effects for our customers). We have defined objectives and/or key performance indicators for each of the four pillars.
The four pillars of our integrated climate strategy
We record all direct and indirect emissions using the globally recognized Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. As of 2021, all of the electricity we use comes from renewable energy. This has enabled us to reduce the emissions generated to zero (see “Renewable energy”). Additionally, we are modernizing our network to make it twice as energy efficient (see “Energy efficiency”). We are also taking measures to reduce emissions tied to the use of gas or oil. For example, we are transitioning to e-mobility and are carrying out facility-space consolidations. This has enabled us to significantly reduce emissions and contribute to our goal of climate neutrality by 2025 for Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Indirect emissions from the upstream and downstream value chain (Scope 3 emissions) pose the greatest challenge. Our goal is to become entirely climate neutral by 2040 at the latest. We consult closely with our suppliers in order to reduce the emissions generated during production, and to have products manufactured that are energy-efficient in their utilization phases.
value chain
Since 2021, we have been drawing all of our electricity from renewable sources, having converted the entire Deutsche Telekom network, throughout the spectrum from mobile communications to high-speed DSL, to use renewables-only power. We are scaling up our in-house generation activities and concluding power purchase agreements (PPAs) with a view to reducing our reliance on the electricity grid. A PPA is a long-term electricity supply contract. For us, this additionally means that the electricity supplied always comes from renewable sources. We aim to meet 50 percent of our energy needs through PPAs by 2025. In Germany, PPAs already account for over 10 percent of the power we use. As of the end of 2022, 27.7 percent of the power used throughout the Group was obtained via PPAs. In 2020, we published a guide for the Deutsche Telekom Group, the purpose of which is to support our national companies in choosing the ideal solution for their individual needs by providing information on the various options they have available for the purchase of green electricity.
The rapid growth in data traffic and the resultant need for network expansion must not also lead to a corresponding rise in energy consumption. This is why we have committed to doubling our energy efficiency in Germany and Europe by 2024, relative to 2020 levels. This will involve producing more data while using a similar or far lower volume of energy. Two key means of reducing our energy consumption are network modernization and the phasing-out of old technologies.
One example of this has seen us migrate our entire network infrastructure to IP technology. In addition, we are working to concentrate data traffic on a small number of data centers that are especially efficient. The PUE metric serves as one indicator for energy-efficiency enhancements in our data centers. We determine this metric using the method recommended by the EN50600 standard for data centers. In order to measure our progress, we also use the key performance indicators (KPIs) “Energy Intensity” and “Carbon Intensity”.
Many of our products and services provide sustainability advantages. They can help reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, improve healthcare and make logistics more efficient. In addition to our own carbon footprint, we also calculate the positive carbon effects facilitated for our customers through using our products and solutions. We assess both variables in relation to the Enablement Factor ESG KPI. This helps us evaluate our overall performance in relation to climate protection.
By offering increasingly sustainable products and solutions and by reducing our own emissions, we aim to consistently keep the enablement factor well above 1.0 in order to make a positive contribution to climate protection.
our customers
protect the climates
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD
)