Telia Company presents 2021 sustainability highlights
- 2022-03-11
2021 was a year marked by change, as societies struggled with the pandemic and individuals and organizations changed behaviors to adapt to new realities. The need for building resilient societies has never been more evident and the importance of our products and services has never been more significant. In 2021 we integrated sustainability even deeper into our business strategy, guided by our purpose Reinvent Better Connected Living.
“Sustainability is at the core of what we do and during the year we have demonstrated what that can mean in practice. We enabled our customers to reduce emissions and energy use to limit their climate and environmental impacts. We launched initiatives to build digital skills for people that otherwise risk being left behind in digital development. We also took further steps to manage risks that are growing or emerging, such as cyber threats and risks related to AI and big data”, says Sara Nordbrand, Telia Company’s Group Head of Sustainability.
In our 2021 Annual and Sustainability Report, published today, we present achievements as well as challenges that we face along the way. Highlights from the year include:
- 78% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in own operations compared to our baseline year (2018) – we offset remaining emissions from energy and business travel to ensure climate neutrality in our own operations.
- We assessed suppliers climate maturity in the sourcing process - at year end, suppliers representing 27% of Telia’s supply chain emissions had set science-based targets.
- 74% of waste in own and network operations was reused or recycled during the year, as part of ongoing work towards our zero waste goal in our own operations.
- 608,000 individuals were reached through digital skills building initiatives, targeting e.g. seniors, children and SMEs – we ranked 11 out of 150 ICT companies in a global digital inclusion benchmark assessment
- We engaged with approximately 5,000 children via the Children’s Advisory Panel on their experiences with misinformation online to generate awareness and shape support materials for both children and parents.
- In 5 out of 6 markets we achieved top tier positions on privacy, according to a Telia consumer survey.
- We consolidated our human rights due diligence strategy and assessed human rights impacts associated with e.g. specific smart watches for children, COVID-19 pandemic effects on employees and 5G.
- At year end, 37% of the Extended Leadership Team (~130 managers) were women.
- We retained the highest rating by the MSCI ESG Research, Gold status by EcoVadis and were included in Bloomberg Gender Equality Index.
The sustainability content of the Annual and Sustainability Report has undergone limited assurance by Deloitte.
Released alongside the Annual and Sustainability Report is the Law Enforcement Disclosure Report (LEDR) which lays out how Telia Company respects freedom of expression and privacy when governments request data and access to our networks.
For more information, please visit www.teliacompany.com/sustainability, and get in touch at sustainability-group@teliacompany.com if you have comments or questions.
