Telia Company recognized by CDP as a Supplier Engagement Leader on climate

Telia has reduced emissions in its own operations by 85% since 2018. Most of the company’s value chain emissions – more than 90% – come from our supply chain. Since 2020, we have asked our suppliers to set science-based targets. By the end of 2022, suppliers representing 35% of Telia’s total value chain emissions had set science-based targets for climate action. Another 16% have committed to doing so within two years.

Sara Nordbrand, Group Head of Sustainability at Telia Company, says: “Engaging with suppliers is key for us to achieve net zero and, in turn, help our customers reach their climate goals. As a result, we are happy to see a strong response and willingness from many of our suppliers who are joining us on this journey. Through our supplier selection process, we spur supplier action by monitoring maturity levels to make substantial and ambitious improvements. In parallel, we are joining forces with other parties to support companies in taking the next steps in efficient ways.”

One example is the 1.5°C Supply Chain Leaders initiative, created under the umbrella of the Exponential Roadmap initiative, with the aim of providing support materials and sharing best practices to accelerate action. Through these initiatives, companies across global supply chains are encouraged to at least halve emissions by 2030 and then continue carbon emission reductions towards net zero.

In addition to making it onto the 2022 CDP Supplier Engagement Leaderboard, Telia achieved an A- in the 2022 CDP Climate Change disclosure ratingThis rating was achieved in recognition of Telia’s substantial climate action and structured, science-based approach. CDP assesses a company’s climate work by considering elements such as governance of climate impact, management of climate risks, opportunities, targets and progress. CDP is constantly raising the bar, to reflect both increasing expectations and the latest best practices.

In its report published today, CDP emphasized the need to increase the speed, scale and scope of climate action, and to forcefully address climate impacts beyond own operations.

Sonya Bhonsle, Global Head of Value Chains at CDP, says: “Quite simply, if a company wants to be in business in the future, they need to start embedding nature into the way that they buy and collaborating with suppliers to drive action in the supply chain.”

In 2023, Telia will continue engaging with its suppliers, with an extra focus on companies responsible for a larger share of generated emissions. We are also working to integrate climate, circularity and energy-efficiency aspects into our product development process. Scaling circular measures will be key for Telia and our industry to achieve net zero.

What is CDP?

CDP (Climate Disclosure Project) is a not-for-profit organization that runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. It is considered the gold standard for corporate climate reporting. Its main purpose is to improve corporate awareness through the measurement and disclosure of climate performance, and it does so through a scoring methodology, from A down to D.

CDP’s main target group are investors, but it also serves as a benchmark among our peers and is often requested by B2B customers and other stakeholders. In 2022, over 680 investors with assets exceeding USD 130 trillion requested thousands of companies to disclose to them through CDP. 

For more information about Telia’s climate work, visit our Climate and circularity webpage or see pages 80-84 in the 2022 Annual and Sustainability Report.