Telia Company presents 2022 sustainability highlights

2022 was clearly a tough year for the world, and Telia Company was no exception. Political and economic uncertainty – in large part due to the war in Ukraine – higher energy costs and some pretty tricky headwinds all impacted our financial performance. But it wasn’t all bad news. We grew service revenues in every country we operate in for the first time in over 10 years, and we made good progress on the strategic roadmap we launched two years ago.

Sustainability is firmly integrated throughout our strategic roadmap. As an example, one of our four strategic priorities is Delivering sustainably, which means we are committed to creating value for all our stakeholders, consistently, reliably and in a responsible manner. As detailed in the Sustainability section of the 2022 Annual and Sustainability Report published today, Telia Company is making progress towards realizing its ambitions within areas such as Climate and circularity, Digital inclusion, and Privacy and security.

Sara Nordbrand, Group Head of Sustainability at Telia Company, says: “Research shows that digitalization can accelerate progress related to all of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This report illustrates how Telia’s digital infrastructure and services can be used as a tool to manage natural resources in a more sustainable way and reduce inequalities. Sustainability is a key element of our business strategy and in 2022 we continued to generate positive impacts of digitalization while securing robust processes and actions to, for example, reduce our climate footprint and respect human rights. I’m proud of the progress we made last year and look forward to addressing gaps and taking the next steps with colleagues across Telia and with suppliers and other partners to achieve common societal goals.”

Sustainability highlights from 2022 include:

  • We have reduced CO2e emissions generated by our own operations by 85% since 2018, equivalent to emissions arising from almost 400,000 return trips by air between Stockholm and Helsinki.
  • By the end of year, suppliers responsible for 35% of Telia’s supply chain emissions had set science-based climate targets and suppliers responsible for another 16% of Telia’s supply chain emissions are committed to setting such targets within two years.
  • We only use renewable electricity for our own operations and networks across all markets.
  • Telia has reduced energy consumption per subscription equivalent by 7% compared to 2018.
  • 27% of all mobile phones sold to B2B customers were sold via a “Device as a Service” circular model that enables Telia to scale reuse and recycling of devices.
  • 10 of our top 12 mobile phone suppliers by spend participated in Eco Rating, an initiative launched in 2021 together with other operators to drive circular principles within the mobile phone manufacturing industry. Eco Rating makes it easy for customers to understand the circularity aspects of phones and incentivizes mobile phone manufacturers to apply ecodesign and circular principles to their products.
  • 66% of the waste in Telia’s own operations, including network construction and maintenance, was reused or recycled during the year, as part of our ongoing work towards achieving zero waste in our own operations by 2030.
  • Since 2021, Telia has reached 1,016,000 people with digital inclusion initiatives, focusing on seniors, children, SMEs and others. In 2022 alone, we helped 408,000 people to strengthen their digital skills to be better equipped in the online world.
  • Telia was ranked sixth among 104 telecommunications companies for its efforts and commitment to children’s rights and was recognized as a leader by Global Child Forum.
  • We achieved top-tier positions on customer privacy in four out of six markets in a Telia survey that asked consumers to compare Telia to its peers.
  • At year-end, 41% of Telia’s Extended Leadership Team (~130 managers) were women.
  • We achieved a Platinum medal from EcoVadis, placing Telia among the top 1% of companies surveyed, retained the highest possible rating from MSCI ESG Research, and received an A- Climate Change score from CDP.

Deloitte was engaged to provide limited assurance of the Sustainability section of the Annual and Sustainability Report.

The Law Enforcement Disclosure Report released alongside the Annual and Sustainability Report 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.